Inter-American Development Bank calls for solutions for financial inclusion of people with disabilities

Most voted projects may receive up to $50,000 in grants

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a call for innovative ideas to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities as financial sector clients and workers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The competition organized by the IDB’s Innovation Lab is open to public and private financial institutions, either regulated or non-regulated, from the Bank’s 48 member countries for projects to be carried out in Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants must register and submit their proposals at the lab’s website, bidinnovacion.org.

Proposals, which must be submitted by December 31, 2012, will be put to a vote by the general public. The most voted ideas will be evaluated by a panel of experts, who will select the best ones to receive grants of up to $50,000 for their implementation.

The call for solutions is financed with resources from the Italian Cooperation, in coordination with the Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN) and the beyondBanking program of the IDB’s Structured and Corporate Finance Department.

About the Innovation Lab

The Innovation Lab, a virtual platform managed by the IDB’s Competitiveness and Innovation Division, uses crowdsourcing to foster the exchange of original ideas and find high-impact solutions to diverse development problems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The lab currently has two other competitions underway:

Inclusion in Firms: open to public and private companies and organizations with innovative solutions for labor inclusion of people with disabilities. Priority will be given to proposals with a focus on gender. The most voted ideas will qualify for a second phase, in which a panel of experts will select the best proposals. Projects may receive grants of up to $50,000 for their implementation. Applicants must register and submit their proposals at www.bidinnovacion.org/inclusion-in-firms.

Disruptive Ideas: open to organizations and individuals with ideas to break barriers to labor inclusion of people with disabilities. Participants with the most voted proposals will be invited by the IDB to present their ideas and discuss their implementation with the Innovation Lab’s staff. Participants must register and submit their ideas at www.bidinnovacion.org/disruptive-ideas.

Filed under: Banking, Caribbean, Development, Economy, Microfinance, Poverty, finance, inclusion, Latin America

EU: Access to finance major problem for SMEs

The European Commission published the results of the new ”Flash Eurobarometer: SMEs’ access to finance”. The survey, conducted with 9071 firms in 27 EU Member States, Croatia, Iceland and Norway, was set up to assess EU companies’ use of various sources of finance, to get a picture of the magnitude of companies’ difficulties in getting access to finance, and to obtain an overview of companies’ expectations for financing their future projects and developments. Overall, the survey revealed that businesses face difficulties in accessing finance, as almost half of them have problems to access bank loans. Despite the fact that availability of bank loans has deteriorated over the last six months for 46% of SMEs, over 70% of small businesses were able to receive all or part of the bank load they wanted, and only 15% were fully rejected.
http://tinyurl.com/yantrpd

Filed under: Banking, Economy, Entrepreneurship, European Union, Microfinance

AL-INVEST IV: A bridge between EU and Latin American SMEs

The fourth phase of AL-INVEST, financed by the European Commission, aims at supporting the internationalisation of Latin American SMEs in collaboration with their European partners in order to contribute to reinforce social cohesion in the region. Unlike the previous phases, the fourth phase of the AL-INVEST (2009-2012) is implemented through three groups of business organisations belonging to three distinct geographical areas of Latin America: 1. Central America-Cuba-México; 2. Andean Region; 3. Mercosur Chile and Venezuela. These three groups are supported through horizontal services delivered by a European consortium lead by EUROCHAMBRES. This consortium will carry out market studies, business meetings, technical assistance, individual exchange programmes and trainings. In addition, all European business organisations with experience and/or interest in working with Latin America will be gathered under a Network of Interested Institutions. AL-INVEST IV website:
http://www.al-invest4.eu

Filed under: Banking, Clusters, Economy, Entrepreneurship, European Union, Networks, Trade, Latin America

Launch of a new financial product for development

AFD and Crédit Agricole Asset Management have launched CAAM AFD Avenirs durables (Sustainable Futures), an innovative mutual fund that allows savers to participate in financing projects in developing countries. This innovative product aims to create new sources of financing for development, while at the same time meeting the demands of savers seeking socially responsible investments
http://www.caamafdavenirsdurables.org

Filed under: Banking, Development, Microfinance

CfP: The Microinsurance Innovation Facility

The Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the European Development Research Network (EUDN) invite academic researchers to submit proposals for research that will contribute new knowledge to support microinsurance development in developing countries. Deadline: 30 October 2009.
http://www.eudnet.net/microinsurance.html

Filed under: Banking, Development, Microfinance, Research

World Bank investigators and OLAF jointly target aid fraud

The joint fight against fraud affecting development aid is at the centre of a co-operation agreement signed today in Brussels between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the World Bank’s Integrity Vice-Presidency. The World Bank is the trustee of significant funds from the EU. The agreement will allow investigators from both institutions’ anti-fraud and anti-corruption bodies to join forces more effectively in the defence of monies dedicated to help the poorest and in other fields of their work. From the perspective of the European Union, the co-operation arrangement between OLAF and INT is of particular importance in the field of development aid. In addition to being involved in many projects together, the World Bank is also the trustee of significant funds from the EU. Closer co-operation between the investigative arms of both institutions will help maximise the protection of those funds. Source: EC,
http://tinyurl.com/md9fb8

World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT)
http://tinyurl.com/nqlaq4

European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
http://ec.europa.eu/olaf

Filed under: Banking, Development, European Union, World Bank

Helping developing countries during the financial crisis

Developing countries are severely hit by the global economic crisis. The leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies, recognising that the global financial crisis has ‘a disproportionate impact’ on vulnerable people in poor countries, have promised to make hundreds of billions of United States dollars available to these countries as part of a $1.1 trillion plan to rescue the world economy. In a communiqué released by the Group of 20’s London Summit, the leaders announced what they called ‘a global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale’. They said the rescue package would include resources totalling $850 billion, to be channelled through global financial institutions, ‘to support growth in emerging market and developing countries by helping to finance counter-cyclical spending, bank recapitalisation, infrastructure, trade finance, balance of payments support, debt rollover, and social support.’
http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/comments/2296/

The EU Commission helps with a support package. The EU has recognized that the current recession is affecting the global system at all levels – overturning the old notion that globalisation could only be good. The hardest hit are those who were already the world’s poorest – particularly those who had begun to climb out of poverty. To give EU action a coherent framework, the Commission has issued a policy paper – Supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis. The paper reaffirms the two guiding principles for EU relations with developing countries – partnership and solidarity.
http://ec.europa.eu/development/icenter/repository/COM_2009_0160_4_EN.pdf

Related Publications:

UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development

http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/pdf_ngls_bulletin_1.pdf

In an effort to help keep interested stakeholders informed on the latest developments and events leading to the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development taking place in New York from 1-3 June 2009, NGLS has launched a dedicated weekly ’bulletin’ up to the Conference. This first issue reviews the mandate and background of the Conference. It also contains information on related meetings and reports from the UN system.

DCED has launched a new web page providing links to a selection of the many materials now being produced on the global financial crisis and its impact in developing countries.
http://www.enterprise-development.org/page/the-global-financial-crisis

The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #24, ‘‘How the Global Crisis Is Transmitted to Developing Countries”. The author, Jan Toporowski, Department of Economics, SOAS, expose how developing countries are extraordinarily vulnerable to the financial crisis that is unfolding in the U.S. because its debt deflation (its reduction of expenditures to repay its debt) will reduce developing-country exports and, in turn, the outflow of U.S. dollars, the international reserve currency, which is crucial to financing international trade. He also notes that the recent fall in commodity prices and the appreciation of the U.S. dollar will only exacerbate developing-country problems.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/49755.pdf

CDPR also announced the publication of Development Viewpoint #26, ‘‘Global Financial Crisis and Recession: What Could Happen to Major Emerging Economies?”
http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/49965.pdf
. The authors, Terry McKinley, Director of CDPR, and Naret Khurasee, a researcher at Alphametrics, draw on the results of a 2010-2015 global scenario, generated by the State of the World Economy macroeconomic model, to assess the projected impact on the major emerging economies of Brazil, China, India and South Africa. They find that as the global economy is projected to recover after 2010, all four economies should resume credible rates of economic growth. But China is expected to perform the best during 2010-2015. The other three economies are projected to grow more slowly and confront problems of current-account deficits or government debt. For related material on the State of the World Economy model, see:
http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/researchareas/worldmodel
.

The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #28, ‘‘The Roots of the Global Financial Crisis”,
http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/50940.pdf
. The author, Costas Lapavitsas, Department of Economics, SOAS, and Research on Finance and Money, identifies several factors that he believes are at the root of the current crisis: loose US macroeconomics policies in the early 2000, the extraction of financial profits by commercial banks directly out of personal incomes (such as through subprime mortgages) and the adoption by banks of highly risky investment banking functions (such as securitisation of mortgages).

Labor Market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its Adjustment to Global Financial Crisis
http://www.adbi.org/email.notification/url.php?id=2711&url=%2Fevent%2F2941.labor.market.prc.global.financial.crisis

Filed under: Africa, Asia, Banking, Caribbean, Crisis, Development, Economy, European Union, OECD, Poverty, Publications

OECD countries reaffirmed commitments to open trade and aid

OECD countries have pledged to abstain from trade protectionism as part of a concerted drive to shore up the world economy and combat recession. They also have reaffirmed their commitments on aid to developing countries. Already in November 2008, at a meeting of the OECD’s Executive Committee in Special Session, OECD countries agreed to sustain recent commitments regarding open trade in support of developing nations, promising, ”Within the next twelve months… [to] refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports.” They also committed to making efforts to close the Doha trade negotiations, reaching agreements that would lead to ”an ambitious and balanced outcome.”

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/41/41836868.htm#H51

Filed under: Banking, Crisis, Development, European Union, OECD, WTO

The Global Financial Crisis: What does it mean for microfinance?

In most past financial crises – like those of the 1990s in Asia, Mexico, and Russia – financial services for poor people have been remarkably resilient. In fact, the quality of the loan portfolios of microfinance institutions (MFIs) during the Asian crisis and in Latin America during various banking crises barely quivered, while corporate portfolios collapsed. ”Our present crisis is like no other,” says CGAP CEO Elizabeth Littlefield. ”Microfinance is far more connected now. While it still has deeply shock-resistant roots, and many places seem unaffected today, there is little doubt that there will be impact.” Integrating microfinance into the mainstream has many benefits but it also has some costs. MFIs that depend on foreign capital investments are suffering, and the medium and longer term effects of a global recession are likely to be hard on microfinance clients in some countries.
http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.4511

Filed under: Africa, Asia, Banking, Crisis, Economy, Microfinance

ADB Approves Measures to Enhance Operations Evaluation Function

The Asian Development Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a series of measures to further enhance the independence and overall effectiveness of ADB’s operations evaluation function.

”These initiatives will further enhance the independence and effectiveness of ADB’s evaluation function and will place it at the forefront of international evaluation practice,” said Executive Director, Mr Phil Bowen, chair of the Working Group which also comprised fellow Executive Directors, Mr Howard Brown and Mr. Wencai Zhang, and ADB Managing Director General, Mr Rajat M. Nag.

The measures include extending the term of the Director General of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) to five years from three years on a non-renewable basis; and the position to be appointed by ADB’s Board, upon the recommendation of the Development Effectiveness Committee of the Board, in consultation with the ADB President.

The Director General’s performance will be subject to annual review by the Chair of the Development Effectiveness Committee, and the budget of the OED will be approved by ADB’s Board separately from the Bank’s administrative budget. OED would be renamed the Independent Evaluation Department to reflect its enhanced independent status.

Although ADB has a clearly articulated model of independent evaluation that emphasizes organizational and behavioral independence, protection from influence, and the avoidance of conflicts of interest, OED’s credibility as an independent evaluation unit could be further enhanced by the measures, the report said.
http://www.adb.org/article.asp?id=12756

Filed under: Banking, Development, Asia, Evaluation, M&E

Conditional cash transfer programmes: a useful step in the fight against poverty

Conditional cash transfer programmes constitute an important tool for reducing poverty and promoting social inclusion – two key objectives of the International Labour Organization. Mexico has one of the most successful programmes of this type, which was recently the focus of a seminar at the ILO headquarters in Geneva. But as it was clear from the discussion that followed, these programmes are not exempt from risks.
http://tinyurl.com/5g7egm

Filed under: Banking, Migration, Remittances, Banking

World Bank: Global Economic Prospects 2008

World Bank: Global Economic Prospects 2008
Technology Diffusion in the Developing World

Rapid technological progress in developing countries has helped to raise incomes and reduce the share of people living in absolute poverty from 29 percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 2004, says the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2008.

”Technological progress increased 40 to 60 percent faster in developing countries than in rich countries between the early 1990s and early 2000s,” said Andrew Burns, Lead Economist and main author of the report. ”Nevertheless, developing countries have a long way to go, given that the level of technology that they use is only one quarter of that employed in high-income countries.”

Subtitled ”Technology Diffusion in the Developing World,” the World Bank report notes that recent progress reflects increased exposure to foreign technologies. As a share of GDP, high-tech imports and foreign direct investment levels have doubled since the early 1990s.

”Rising trade and investment contacts with high-income countries, often facilitated by migrant groups, have been central to technological progress in developing countries.” said Uri Dadush, Director, World Bank Development Prospects Group. ”However, openness alone is not enough. To continue catching up, countries need to strengthen educational achievement, governance, basic infrastructures, and links to migrant groups.”
http://www.worldbank.org/gep2008

Filed under: Banking, Development, Economy