Dignity Fund, Unitus and MicroCredit Enterprises provide funding for MBK, Indonesia

In May 2007, Unitus, Inc., arranged a $1.2 million loan for MBK Ventura, a Unitus microfinance partner in Indonesia, structured in Indonesian rupiah. Two leading microfinance funds, The Dignity Fund, L.P. and MicroCredit Enterprises, each contributed $600,000, to fund MBK’s rapid growth.

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Unitus Welcomes Microfinance Leader and Business Executive Elizabeth Funk as New Board Chair

In January 2007, Unitus, Inc. announced that Elizabeth Funk, currently Vice Chair of the Unitus Board and CEO of the Dignity Fund, will assume the position of non-executive Board Chair. Ms. Funk will replace outgoing Board Chair and co-founder Mike Murray and will transition into her new role on January 15.

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MicroVest structures first syndicated loan to Ecuadorian MFI together with Calvert and the Dignity Fund

In December 2006, MicroVest successfully completed a syndicated loan among three independent US funds: MicroVest I, The Calvert Social Investment Foundation and The Dignity Fund, L.P.. The three-year, $2.0 million term loan was extended to Diaconía Microcrédito Rotativo (D-MIRO), an MFI operating in the outlying slums of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

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The Dignity Fund participates in the Microcredit Summit Campaign 2006

Elizabeth and Steven Funk and Maya Chorengel represented The Dignity Fund at the Microcredit Summit Campaign held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in November 2006 with over 2,000 microfinance practitioners in attendance. Among many things we did at the Summit, Steven served on the Microcredit Summit Campaign Advisory Committee at the request of organizer Sam Daley-Harris, Steven and Elizabeth chaired several panels on capital markets and marketing issues for microfinance institutions, a clip from Nathan and Morgan Funk’s (Steven’s sons) video on MFI, Jamii Bora in Kenya, was profiled at a plenary session, and we co-hosted with Unitus a terrific cocktail party for our friends at the conference. Photos are of Steven Funk with Her Majesty, Queen Sofia of Spain and Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of CGAP (and Dignity Fund advisor) and with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Maria Otero, CEO of ACCION International (and Dignity Fund advisor).”

Certificate of Commitment from the Clinton Global Initiative

The Dignity Fund was granted special recognition with a Certificate of Commitment from the Clinton Global Initiative on Saturday, September 17 in New York City. The CGI (www.clintonglobalinitiative.org ) was launched with a three day conference “to increase the benefits and reduce the burdens of global interdependence; to make a world of more partners and fewer enemies; and to give more people the tools they need to build a better future.” The Dignity Fund was highlighted as part of the CGI’s sessions on “The Escape From Poverty” to serve as an inspiration and call to action for the world political and business leaders attending the conference.

"For good or ill, we live in an interdependent world. We can’t escape each other. Therefore, we have to spend our lives building a global community of shared responsibilities, shared values, shared benefits.”

 

William J. Clinton