Mayada El-Zoghbi, managing partner at Banyan Global, will lead a live web-based conference on how microfinance has contributed to broader economic recovery issues such as conflict resolution, integrating marginalized groups and achieving short-term impact gains quickly while building longer-term economic development. The event will also feature representatives from several financial providers in Afghanistan, Burundi and Nepal which participated in a series of case studies supported under the Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project.
On behalf of the Banking on Health project, Lisa Tarantino, an associate with Banyan Global, will give a presentation titled Public or Private: Options for Improving Sustainability. The presentation will show the results of Banking on Health's activities that support the financial sustainability and improvement of family doctor's practices in Romania. Research results, the factors contributing to the successful contracting of public health and reproductive health services, and applicability to other countries will be discussed.
Mayada El-Zoghbi, managing partner at Banyan Global, presented results of an evaluation of the First Microfinance Bank of Afghanistan (FMFB-A) at the annual International Finance Corporation's (IFC) FinNet meeting. The evaluation included a review of FMFB-A's institutional and financial performance, a global benchmarking study of its performance in relation to other microfinance institutions in conflict-affected countries, a review of the IFC's monitoring and evaluation systems for microfinance investments and advisory services and an impact study of FMFB-A's clients as compared to non-clients. Ms. El-Zoghbi discussed key lessons from this evaluation that are relevant for other IFC advisory services and investments in conflict affected countries.
Taara Chandani, an associate at Banyan Global, presented results of the private health sector trade fairs in Uganda, which are organized as part of the USAID-funded Banking on Health project. The fairs are one-stop marketplaces for health providers (such as midwives, nurses, doctors, and drug-shop owners) to access financing and other business inputs for their health practices. Ms. Chandani discussed strategies for sustaining these forums through commercial sponsorships and ownership by professional provider associations and other local stakeholders.
Banyan Global is one of more than 25 international development agencies contributing to an initiative led by the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network to develop standards for economic recovery after crises. The standards focus on strategies and interventions to promote enterprises, employment, cash flow, and asset management among affected businesses and households in countries recovering from natural disasters or conflicts. These standards follow the process and format of the Sphere handbook (The Sphere Project Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response) and have been developed with guidance and input from the Sphere Project. The first draft of the standards is available for review and comment at http://communities.seepnetwork.org/econrecovery. For more information, please contact Laura Meissner at Meissner@seepnetwork.org.
A speakers' corner about civil-military cooperation through provincial reconstruction teams was held on April 1–3, 2008, through the USAID-funded microfinance amid conflict topic of the Accelerated Access to Microfinance Program Financial Services Knowledge Generation task order. Mayada El-Zoghbi, research director for the microfinance amid conflict topic and managing partner at Banyan Global, hosted the discussion. A different technical expert moderated each day of the discussion with Frank Gunter, an associate professor at Lehigh University, moderating day one, Rick Carbone of the Gardez PRT in Afghanistan moderating day two, and Marc Chandler with Brown Brothers Harriman and New York University moderating day three. The lively discussion included practitioners working on economic recovery in conflict countries and military personnel from a variety of locations, including Afghanistan, Nepal, and the United States. DOWNLOAD SUMMARY NOTES
As part of the Banking on Health project, Banyan Global conducted an information session for Uganda Microfinance Limited on medical equipment. The information session was designed to help UML to develop and market a medical leasing product.
In April 2008, as part of the Banking on Health project, Taara Chandani, an associate at Banyan Global, was invited by the Jordan Pharmacists Association to deliver a presentation on access to finance at its annual regional congress.
Working as part of the Banking on Health project, Banyan Global worked with local partners in Zambia to organize a trade fair themed Growing Your Private Practice. The trade fair provided a forum for different cadres of private providers, including midwives, nurses, medical doctors, pharmacists, and drug shops, to interface with a variety of supporting businesses. It showcased financial institutions, equipment and pharmaceutical suppliers, technology specialists, and management experts. It was attended by 232 participants.
Banyan Global was commissioned by USAID and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Working Group on Microinsurance to develop a note consolidating lessons learned and recommendations for donors supporting microinsurance. Banyan Global interviewed stakeholders working in this nascent sector and presented its findings at the Microinsurance Working Group meeting in Mumbai. The CGAP Working Group will disseminate a full report of the findings to help donors channel their assistance in the microinsurance sector.
As part of the Banking on Health project, Banyan Global conducted a session at USAID's Global Health Mini University. This meeting explored business approaches to working with private service providers to promote and expand reproductive health and family planning services. This session highlighted three business approaches, including expanding access to financing; training private providers in business and financial management; and facilitating trade shows that enable private providers to network with pharmaceutical companies, equipment suppliers, financial institutions, and representatives of the ministry of health.
Meaghan Smith, a managing partner at Banyan Global, participated in the Women Advancing Microfinance International forum on gender and microfinance at the 2007 Annual Small Enterprise Education and Promotion SEEP Conference. Ms. Smith's presentation was part of the Limitations of Microfinance-Only Solutions session. She discussed examples of how gender impacts microfinance and health programming.
Meaghan Smith, a managing partner at Banyan Global, working as part of the Banking on Health project, will present an intervention to expand access to financing and improve the business skills of private providers in Zambia. The talk will address factors that limit the growth of the private sector and its ability to partner with the government to address the human-resource crisis in the public sector.
Taara Chandani, a senior program officer at Banyan Global, will organize and present at a panel on access to finance at an annual health-marketing conference hosted by the Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG). The panel will provide an overview of the financial services available to the private health sector and draw on perspectives from two private providers on their experience as borrowers. The panel is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Banking on Health project, which works with financial institutions to increase lending to private health providers in Uganda.
Lisa Tarantino, an associate at Banyan Global, and Makaria Reynolds, a program manager at Abt Associates, conducted a presentation for the Europe and Eurasia Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The presentation included an overview of Banking on Health's activities in Romania, market-research findings, and the project's preliminary results.
Jorge Balan, Banyan Global associate, and Taara Chandani, a senior program officer at Banyan Global, facilitated a seminar on financing for private basic education with Professor James Tooley from the University of Newcastle. Mr. Balan and Ms. Chandani presented the main findings of a report entitled Strengthening the Private Basic Education Sector: A Case for USAID Support and Financing through the Development Credit Authority (DCA). The study was commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Development Credit (ODC) and provides guidelines to USAID for investing in the private basic education sector. The seminar was an opportunity for partners from development finance and the education sector to discuss linkages in their work.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, working as part of Banking on Health, led a roundtable discussion highlighting the design and results of a public/private partnership in Nicaragua that brought together Nicaragua's Social Security Institute (INSS), private health providers, and commercial banks. Banking on Health partnered with local financial institutions, used the USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) guarantee, and delivered financial and business training to strengthen contracting-out in the private sector and help private health providers expand their delivery of reproductive health/family planning services.
Lisa Tarantino, Associate, Banyan Global, working as part of Banking on Health, participated in a roundtable discussion identifying strategies for increasing the financial sustainability of reproductive health/family planning providers in Romania. Under Ms. Tarantino's direction, Banking on Health has developed an accredited course on financial management for private providers and has increased the ability of financial institutions to structure loan products for such providers.
As part of the Banking on Health project, Banyan Global works with local partners in Uganda to organize trade fairs with the theme "growing your private practice." The trade fairs provide a forum for different cadres of private providers (including midwives, nurses, medical doctors, pharmacists, and drug shops) to interact with supporting businesses. The fairs showcase financial institutions, equipment and pharmaceutical suppliers, technology specialists, and management experts. More than 1,272 private health providers have participated in the trade fairs in Uganda so far. Additional trade fairs are scheduled for 2008 and 2009.
For Banking on Health, Lisa Tarantino led a policy meeting to present and discuss the findings of research conducted on the business and financing needs of family doctors contracted by the National Health Insurance House of Romania. The closed meeting involved representatives from the Ministry of Health, National Health Insurance House, Family Doctors Associations, commercial banks, microfinance institutions, the USAID Romanian Family Health Initiative Project, USAID, the World Bank and UNFPA.
Working as part of Banking on Health, Banyan Global led a symposium attended by over 1,000 OB/GYNs from the Andes region at the XVI Congress of the Society of Peruvian OB/GYNs. The symposium focused on how to improve the business and financial management of a private health care practice. Topics included business planning, financial statements, financing investments, and marketing.
Mayada El-Zoghbi, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, led roundtable discussions at a USAID Microfinance After-Hours Seminar that focused on Microfinance Amid Conflict. Ms. El-Zoghbi covered the current situation in the West Bank and Gaza and how MFIs have been affected by the economic and political crises caused by the election of Hamas to the Palestinian Authority. She also discussed the role of the newly created USAID emergency project SMART and its plans to help revive the sector.
Mayada El-Zoghbi, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, spoke on a panel at the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Forum. Along with other scholars and practitioners, Ms. El-Zoghbi shared the results of a global study conducted by Banyan Global with the International Finance Corporation's Gender Entrepreneurship Markets division. The study was a global inventory of best-practice programs that provide access to finance for women.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, was a guest speaker for The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health's graduate course, "The Role of NGOs/CBOs in Improving Global Public Health." She discussed strategies for improving efficiency and sustainability in health sector NGOs/CBOs and presented a case study.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, conducted a presentation for approximately 50 women doctors in Jordan as part of the USAID-funded Private Sector Project for Women's Health. The presentation provided an overview of health networks, described network models, and explained the benefits and obligations of network membership. After the presentation, Ms. Smith led a discussion on the feasibility of and interest in developing a women's health network in Jordan.
Lisa Tarantino, Associate, Banyan Global, conducted a technical poster presentation at a scientific session of the American Public Health Associations' (APHA) Annual Meeting and Exposition. Ms. Tarantino presented the findings and results of the USAID-sponsored Banking on Health Project activities for private practice midwives in the Philippines. The project tapped commercial sources of financing to help private practice midwives achieve sustainable reproductive and public health benefits.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, working as part of the USAID Banking on Health Project, participated in a panel discussion that explored strategies to improve the role of private midwives as champions of priority public health services. This session provided an overview of factors that support and constrain midwives' delivery of expanded services. Presenters discussed case studies of successful sustainable practices. The segment included a program to promote business training and access to finance to grow and improve private midwife practices in the Philippines. Panelists also explored the use of private midwives' networks for service expansion, quality improvement, and sustainability in Kenya.
As resident advisor to the USAID Banking on Health Project in the Philippines, Julio Banzon, Business Development Specialist, Banyan Global, organized a series of daylong business fairs for private practice midwives. In addition to midwives, participants included midwife associations, financial institutions, equipment and pharmaceutical suppliers, and providers of business support services in the Philippines. The inaugural fair attracted 650 midwives.
Lisa Tarantino, Associate, Banyan Global, working as part of the Banking on Health Project, participated in a panel discussion that examined strategic alliances between microfinance and health. Ms. Tarantino discussed activities for expanding access to finance for midwives in the Philippines and microinsurance in Nicaragua.
Taara Chandani, Senior Program Officer, Banyan Global, working as part of the PSP-One Project, presented key findings of a study on expanding the delivery of reproductive and family planning services through viable private provider networks.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, working as part of the Banking on Health Project, discussed the design and findings of an intervention that strengthened contracting-out in the private sector to support reproductive health outcomes in Nicaragua.
Meaghan Smith, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, was a guest speaker for The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health graduate course, "The Role of NGOs/CBOs in Improving Global Public Health." She discussed strategies for improving efficiency and sustainability in health sector NGOs/CBOs and presented a case study.
Mayada El-Zoghbi, Managing Partner, Banyan Global, presented the key findings of a Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) mapping study on donor and investor support of the microfinance sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Banyan Global hosted an open house to inaugurate its name change and brief staff, friends, and colleagues on corporate growth and business practice areas.
Global Microenterprise Initiatives, LLC announced that it changed its name to Banyan Global, Inc. to better reflect the growth and diversity of its four practice areas: Microfinance, the Health Sector, Enterprise Development, and the Financial Sector.
The Banking on Health Project discussed the design and preliminary findings from its first year of work in Nicaragua.