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The Micro-No-More (MNM) Movement

about-micronomoreThe Micro-No-More (MNM) Movement is a movement of like-minded individuals and organizations in the micro- and SME- (small, medium-enterprise) finance industry in the Philippines and around the globe. Launched in November 2008 in the central island of Leyte in the Philippines, the basis of unity of the MNM Movement is the need to build awareness and spur concerted action towards building truly economically self-sustaining communities (ESSCs) or economically empowered communities, and thus coordinate the mobilization of technical and financial resources in sustaining these communities.

MNM’s task includes providing investment facilities and management of equity investments, coordination and alignment of financial services of providers, tapping of macroeconomics-provided technology, information-dissemination and advocacy, and building of model communities through financing facilitation and enterprise development.

MNM’s headquarters is housed at the SEEDFINANCE Corporation office in Parc House Building, 227 EDSA Greenhills, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. More…

Posted on April 16, 2009
Micronomore | 2 Comments

Comments

2 Responses to “The Micro-No-More (MNM) Movement”

  1. Marlowe on April 17th, 2009 5:40 pm

    If we are serious in bringing about change to the long-drawn poverty situation, it’s time to do the thing that we’re not used to.

    Having a perspective of bringing microfinance to the next level of development financing is a challenge for every MFI. This perspective should not be misconstrued as abandoning the financial needs of the micro-entrepreneurs but rather expanding the microfinance’s outreach to achieve higher rate of opportunities for growth transformation.

    The greater challenge lies on our capacity to pool-in various sectors’ effort in creating an environment conducive for micro-enterprise development e.g. regulatory policies, government support, availability and use of renewable energy, and permanent infrastructure for communications especially in hard-to-reach areas.

    The social impact of financial services should be made a major indicator of an MFI’s performance to achieve meaningful change to the lives of the poor and their communities

  2. Marlowe on November 3rd, 2009 10:10 pm

    Have we successfully eliminated the “usurious and exploitative” money-lenders?

    Let’s face it. More and more poor people have now access to loans from sprouting microcredit institutions, including commercial banks that are steadily bringing its financial services and strength to the poor sectors. However it is still a fact that the services of moneylenders continued to be valued.

    What is with these money-lenders that we cannot even out?

    Poor borrowers are prepared to pay high interest rates for services like quick loan disbursement, confidentiality and flexible repayment schedules. In a study conducted by SEEDFINANCE-MAX in selected areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, micro-enterprise clients do not always see lower interest rates as enough compensation for the costs of attending meetings, attending training courses to qualify for disbursements or making monthly fund contributions that doesn’t find their way back to them.

    They also found it repulsive to be forced to pretend they were borrowing to start a business or capitalize existing business, when they were often borrowing for other reasons such as paying for school fees and education-related expenses, dealing with sickness and hospitalization costs or ensuring the family’s food requirement. These for them are more important, on numerous occasions, than the need for additional working capital and much more on meetings.

    Have we truly understood the household economics of the poor people?

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