The Agence Française du Développement (AFD – French financial development institution under the authority of the French State) and the Banque d’Etat du Vietnam (BEV – Vietnam State Bank) have just signed an agreement for a grant aimed at improving microfinance regulation. The AFD will donate one million euros to fund technical assistance for the Vietnam State Bank.

In Bangladesh, the use of microcredit to bring renewable energy sources to the most disadvantaged is an idea that is gaining ground. In 1996, the Grameen Shakti social enterprise installed some twenty solar panels. In 2011, it sold 200,000 of them. Over that time, 700,000 panels have been bought on loan, providing families with lighting or enabling them to recharge their telephones, while saving on their kerosene purchases. This is a real bonus in a country where 70% of the population is not connected to the electricity network.

An interesting opinion column from the director of Janalakshmi, an Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI), was published by the Mint economic daily newspaper. “The market is a double-edged sword: the benefits of price discovery, innovation and customer centricity can sometimes be undone by an excessive focus on greed,” states Ramesh Ramanathan, who worked on the financial markets before turning to social business almost ten years ago.

Pakistan has gone from being an ill-reputed country in crisis according to the Quai d'Orsay to the top ranked country in terms of microfinance regulatory framework.