7/21 Roundup

At least a couple of bloggers have posted about a potential default by one of Kiva’s larger MFIs (or field partners). The letter sent out to lenders indicates that a shortage of capital has created obstacles. If this is indeed the case, then are we seeing fallout of the global credit crisis start to hit microfinance? If “access to capital” is causing the microfinance engine to seize up, does that make an even stronger case for faster self-sustainability for MFIs? It would certainly be unfortunate if MFIs began to fail because credit in the traditional finance markets dried up. Here’s the link to one blogger’s post: The First Kiva Default?

Jerry Ostradickey over at one of our sister blogs, Mykro.org, posts about the other side of the equation:

No money, no microfinance: Big companies cutting microfinance spend