The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has announced their December 2008 edition of the Global 100 Composite: Rankings of Microfinance Institutions. Based on data published on MIX Market, the MIX Global 100 Composite Ranking highlights institutions that achieve high outreach and low transaction costs while being both profitable and transparent. The ranking surveyed the business results of 971 institutions for FY 2007.

The Newsday.com article "Obama's mother, Hillary Clinton shared a belief" describes how Obama's mother, Ann Dunham Soetero, worked for WWB in New York City, during 1993 and 1994, convening experts, compiling surveys and drafting papers for a major United Nations conference in Beijing, where sh

Tackling global poverty with microfinance may be a massive, complex task but at its root lies a simple, powerful idea – that access to essential financial services gives the working poor a chance to improve their lives. As a featured resource in the book, Women’s World Banking is proud to highlight author Katie Smith Milway and her publisher, Kids Can Press. Together they’re inspiring younger generations to help others with the recently published One Hen – a vibrant and engaging children’s book that introduces readers to basic microfinance principles while teaching the invaluable lesson of compassion.

On Thursday, November 13, WWB welcomed more than 200 sponsors and supporters to acknowledge their generosity, which has enabled WWB to serve millions of poor women entrepreneurs for nearly three decades. Stage and television star Cynthia Nixon joined the event as a guest of honor.

In the last fifteen years, many African economies have begun to experience higher growth rates and increases in per capita income. High commodity prices, large-scale reduction in debt, Asian investment in the continent, and economic expansion of some of the non-oil exporting countries has helped drive this growth. However, there is still an alarming number of people living below the poverty line. Bringing financial services to this part of the population could break the poverty cycle. Sarita Gupta, Vice President, Communication of Women’s World Banking describes the current microfinance landscape on the continent. Read entire article on PDF