Development Blogs.com

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Like-minded organizations host two upcoming events September 9 and October 13-15, 2008 in San Francisco, CA ————————————————————————————– Full Circle Fund invites SVMN members to: Global Opportunities in Microfinance with Elizabeth Funk Tuesday, September 9, 2008 — 6:30-9:30pm At the Google SF Offices, 345 Spear St, San Francisco, CA 94105 To RSVP visit: http://www.fullcirclefund.org/calendar.php and click on the event. Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area. Join Full Circle Fund for an...

  SVMN and Financial Research Associates partner on our very first Microfinance Investment Conference! For more info, view the Microfinance West conference brochure here. Register now with 15% SVMN discount by clicking here. Nonprofit, government and institutional investor rate: Conference Only ($795) Conference and Workshop ($995) Discounted SVMN Registration: Conference Only ($1525.75) Conference and Workshop(1780.75)...

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PlaNet Finance & ACI are hosting a microfinance investment conference in New York next May 14-16. More information is available at the Global Microfinance Investment Congress......

As mentioned at our most recent meeting and as a result of generous recent support from Omidyar Network and the Gray Ghost Fund, SVMN is now hiring for an executive director. The role will initially begin as a part-time position, and gradually expand as our members & activities continue to grow. We’re very excited to bring on someone special to SVMN who can help us raise awareness of and education about microfinance in the SF bay area, and around the world, and we hope you’ll help us locate a terrific person to fill a terrific role in our organization If you’re interested in this opportunity, or know someone great who might be, please contact us (details on how to apply below). Silicon Valley Microfinance Network (SVMN) Executive Director Job Description...

Thought i’d drop in a quick post about visualizing microfinance data, and reference the MixMarket.org website which tracks a large amount of Microfinance Institution (MFI) data on loans & returns. Below is an example of a the Mix Market “heat map” (sometimes also called a “tree map“) showing various MFIs around the world: The map uses size to indicate loan portfolio size, and color to indicate return on equity (blue = positive returns; red = negative returns), and is grouped by continent. You can also drill down into specific countries and/or MFIs, or also re-arrange the sorting criteria to focus on other microfinance data & attributes. It’s pretty neat… give it a whirl. For more info on data visualization (not just microfinance),...

On Thursday May 24th at 5:30 pm, there will be a microfinance event held at the Plug & Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale discussing commercial trends in the microfinance industry.  See attached flyer for additional details. The evening has been organized by Batoamigo, a for-profit Mexican microfinance institution.  Batoamigo was the first MFI to receive a financial license to operate under the legal framework of the “Popular Savings and Loans” microfinance law.  Featured speakers at the event will be: Marguerite Robinson: An acclaimed international development consultant with a specialty in commercial microfinance and former fellow at Harvard’s Institute of International Development, Marguerite Robinson is the author of numerous papers and articles on development, notably...

For those interested in the legal aspects of microfinance, SVMN member April Rinne will be speaking at the Santa Clara University Women & Law Association annual benefit on Friday, February 9, 2007. April will be speaking on microfinance law, appetizers, wine, and Polynesian dancers (!) The program is free to attend, however donations are encouraged.  Proceeds from the benefit will go to the association’s scholarship fund and to the Grameen Foundation Educational Scholarship Program, which helps pay  education costs for the children of microfinance borrowers. Date: Friday, February 9, 2007 Time: 4-7 pm Location: Adobe Lodge, located in the SCU Mission Gardens Address: 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA RSVP: please email Pelin Erdal - perdal@scu.edu...

For those who’d like to spend an evening with kindred spirits in microfinance, Unitus and the new Tanglewood Restaurant at Santana Row are hosting a microfinance dinner on Tuesday, August 22nd in San Jose, CA. Tanglewood has graciously offered to open its doors to the SF Bay Area microfinance community the night before its grand opening. Come join us for a fabulous dinner, and celebrate a terrific cause at the same time! To attend, please reserve a seat now. All proceeds will go to Unitus efforts to promote microfinance around the world....

The Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) conference on sustainable investment will be held in Bangkok on May 25th-26th. Conference program and event info is here...