In 2011, the European Commission presented the Social Business Initiative (SBI) which established an EU level action plan with concrete measures to establish a favourable environment for social enterprises (SE). This study analyses the impact of the SBI on the development of social enterprises/social economy and their operating environments at national and EU levels. The study also includes an ...

The transition period of the updated Code, published on 30 June 2020, will end on 31 December 2020. As of 1 January 2021, all new Code evaluations of microfinance institutions will be made based on the updated Code. In addition, the Code Steering Group, chaired by the European Commission, has adopted on 27 November 2020 the following changes regarding the ...

2020 greeted everyone with many new challenges. For the Borrow Wisely Campaign it was no different. The formula of BWC had to be modified according to what is happening all around the world due to the pandemic outbreak. Who would imagine that instead of numerous educational events for MFIs clients and staff, the Campaign was forced to move (mostly) to ...

This paper summarizes the results of research conducted among MFC members on the digital solutions. Results are presented against the MFC’s Digital Transformation Framework to illustrate the scope of the digitalization. Our research shows that MFIs’ digitalization efforts focus primarily on credit processes (both its internal processes and its customer-facing processes). Other aspects of the digital journey are receiving less ...

Learn about saving groups in Europe – case study of ACAF, Spain! The Association of Self-Funded Communities (ACAF) who has been successfully establishing and promoting saving groups model as one of the ways to combat social exclusion presents key success factors to run saving groups, achievements and lessons learnt. This case initiates the series of case studies presenting various experience ...

 Opportunity International and its investment vehicle, Opportunity Transformation Investments, finalized the sale of 78 percent of Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS), Opportunity International’s banking operations in Serbia, to a consortium of European values-driven financial institutions. The consortium is led by Triodos Investment Management in the Netherlands, through its Triodos Sicav II Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund, and includes GLS Bank and UmweltBank, both from Germany. The ...

Launched in June and running through December 2020, the CGAP Global Pulse Survey of Microfinance Institutions is the first survey that aims to capture the full picture of COVID-19’s impact on microfinance at the global, regional, and national levels. By offering a full understanding of how the impact is playing out across the sector, the survey is designed to help ...

Digitalization of microfinance in Europe – where do we stand? which way to go? The Microfinance Centre is warmly inviting you to watch a webinar  (video recording below) where you will learn about the findings of our research about the digitalization.   READ THE PUBLICATION   Recent developments related to the restrictions to prevent the spread of the pandemic revealed ...

Leaders in Digital Era|| Track 1: Leadership in digital era   Date: 10 December 2020  Language: English See other webinars within the series The current challenges that MFIs face in 2020 make emotional intelligence more important than ever before. COVID-19 crisis only boosted the activities in digital world; both clients and staff suffer from insecurity and market risks. At the same ...

Source: Albanian Microfinance Association On November 10, 2020, the Albanian Microfinance Association organized an online presentation, where it made public the results of a survey conducted at the initiative of Kredo Finance regarding the microfinance industry and the future of digitalization in Albania. The online meeting was attended by leaders of microfinance institutions, well-known experts in the field of economics, ...