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Microfinance Pasifika Publications - Articles

PFIP Focus Note01, Can Fiji’s MFIs Be Sustainable?, August 2010 by Dennis Fisher & Till Bruett

“…Clients of MFIs, past and present, mostly believe they have benefited from their services.
This positive contribution has led many to overlook the failure of Fijian MFIs to become self-sufficient.
Fijian MFIs have faced considerable external constraints, including challenging geography, lack of technical support and funding constraints.
Stabilizing the MFIs involves a reorientation of their business model and incentive structures…..”  <Read more> 

For hard copies: contact Mereseini Senikau-Tuivuniwai on mereseini.senikau@undp.org

Measuring Results of Microfinance Institutions - Minimum indicators that donors and investors should track - A technical guide', by Richard Rosenberg, 2009.
This technical guide is written for funding agency staff who design or monitor projects that finance microfinance institutions (MFI's) or Community-Managed Loan Funds (CMLF's). The main text covers indicators from MFI's, CMLF indicators are treated in an Annex A.

Strategic Alliance Issues in Microfinance Management, by David Kavanamur.
This paper looks at how a lack of strategic alliance management skills has contributed to an unsatisfactory performance of MFI's involving two or more partners. The paper discusses possible lessons that might contribute to maximising the goals of MFI's in the region.

Microfinance Funds Continue to Grow Despite the Crisis', by Xavier Reille and Jasmina Glisovic-Mezieres.
This report briefly explains how the microfinance industry has managed to be relatively unscathed by  the global financial crisis. It look at how microfinance funds have still been able to attract a large pool of investors and how loan portfolio's proved to be resilient with no significant increase in non-performing loans in December 2008. The authors believe that continued by slower growth of the microfinance industry and that MFI's are preparing themselves for the increased credit risk caused by the GFC. It concludes by saying that while there are many challenges for MFI's caused by the GFC that the fundamentals of the sector will remain strong.

Gender and Microfinance in Bougainville: A Case Study, by Julia Byford.
This article describes the experiences of raising gender awareness among participants in the Bougainville Microfinance Scheme (BMFS) it its initial stages of development.

Re-positioning Non-bank Service Strategy in Papua New Guinea, by David Kavanamur, 2003.
This article considers the experience of the application of microfinance in Papua New Guinea. It looks at a selection of institutions involved in microfinancing activities at various levels and in various ways. It then draws lessons about the difficulties they have faced.

Bougainville Microfinance: Rebuilding Rural Communities After the Crisis, by John Newson, 2002.
This article examines the development and practice of the Bougainville Microfinance Scheme (BMFS). BMFS is a grass roots finance scheme created to meet the financial and community development needs in post-conflict Bougainville.

Microfinance in the Pacific - mipela katim bus!: The Experience of Putim na Kisim, by Karen Lewin, 2002.
This article outlines the microfinance system evolved by Putim na Kisim, a network of rural savings and loans cells operating under the auspices of the Luteran Development Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. Thus article demonstrates how Putim na Kisim has utilised the thinking behind Grameen Bank, but with a strategy which is relevant to the root-crop economy of Papua New Guinea.

South Asian economic models for the Pacific? The Case of Microfinance - A comment' by  Paul B. McGuire, 2000. 
In this article McGuire reviews an article written by Chris Gregory, publised in the December 1999 Pacific Economic Bulletin. McGuire challenges some of Gregory's findings regarding the application of microfinance models in a Pacific context. There are three main questions which McGuire addresses, these are - Are microfinance models culturally specific?, Where in the Pacific is microfinance appropriate? and Should microfinance target the 'poorest of the poor'?

Microfinance and Financial Intermediation in Rural Papua New Guinea: An Integrated Scheme, by Helen Kopunye, Aua Purumo and John Newson, 1999.
This article outlines the development of Putim na Kisim (PnK) in Papua New Guinea. Putim na Kisim was created using a number of microfinance instruments used in different parts of the world in order to fit to the needs and circumstances of the rural people of Papua New Guinea. It explores the need for PnK to be flexible to encompass all because of the diverse amount of cultures within PNG and highlights the importance of developing a strong sense of local ownership.

Resource Mobilisation for Microfinance in Fiji, Foundation for Development Cooperation, October 1998.
This paper presents a framework for analysing resource mobilisation by MFI's, emphasing the relationship between resource mobilisation and self-sufficiency. It then applies this framework to the Women's Social and Economic Development project (WOSED), the most prominent MFI in Fiji. The paper also looks at some particular aspects of resource mobilistion, specifically donor agencies and governments, commercial banks and the private sector, and savings mobilisation.

Accounting and Reporting Standards for Microfinance Institutions, by Paul B McGuire, 1996.
This paper discusses the recent emphasis on accounting and reporting standards. It explains the key features of the Guiding Principles for Selecting and Supporting Intermediaries, agreed by the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development and the Donors' Working Group on Financial Sector Development. It then goes on to note some areas that some members of the BWTP Network may need to look at, if they are to present data about their operations in the generally accepted format. The Guiding Principles are provided as an Annex to the paper.

How to Build Self Help Groups for Successful Banking with the Poor, by the Foundation for Development Cooperation, 1995. This booklet is available for both urban and rural models.
The purpose of these two booklets is twofold. First, they are intended to draw attention to the key role of self-help groups and non-government organisations (NGOs) in providing better access to credit for the poor in developing countries. Second, they provide NGOs and self-help groups with practical guidelines for the formation and operation of self-help credit management groups. Both booklets are based generally upon the detailed country studies carried out within the Banking with the Poor project. In addition, each draws specifically on the experience of particular members of the BWTP Network. The booklet on a rural model is drawn largely from the experience of the Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA), a prominent NGO which has organised large numbers of credit management groups in southern India. The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) and Vysya Bank, both involved in linkage programs with MYRADA, also contributed significantly to the preparation of the booklet. The booklet on an urban model in based largely on the experience of Kabalikat para sa Maunlad na Buhay, Inc (KMBI), or Partners for a Progressive Life. KMBI is a major NGO implementing successful self-help group credit management programs in the northern fringe of Metro Manila in the Philippines.