Monthly Update
August 2017
FSVC Promotes Access to Finance for Women and Youth Start-Ups in Lebanon

As part of the USAID-funded Livelihoods and Inclusive Finance Expansion Project in Lebanon, FSVC has partnered with Palladium in order to strengthen livelihoods, advance the microfinance industry, and expand inclusive finance throughout Lebanon. Specifically, FSVC is working to help women and youth entrepreneurs and small business owners gain access to microcredit to expand their economic opportunities.
 
As part of these efforts, FSVC trained the Makhzoumi Foundation (MF) in Lebanon on how to develop a microloan application specifically for start-ups. Earlier this month, FSVC volunteer experts worked with MF on identifying potential start-up borrowers and developing a process to assess their credit worthiness. FSVC volunteer experts also met with over 25 women and youth entrepreneurs to understand their credit needs, the types of products that would address those needs, and how MF could market these products to women and youth start-ups.
 
Thanks to FSVC's work, MF is adopting new criteria to increase its lending to women and youth start-ups. This approach will help improve access to finance for Lebanon's under-served populations, thereby enabling them to grow their businesses and achieve a better quality of life.
Help support FSVC's critical work to improve lives in developing and emerging market countries. Make a tax-deductible donation to FSVC today!
Please join FSVC for a panel discussion and reception on September 26 at 6 p.m. at the Yale Club, New York City.

The panel will focus on the intended and unintended consequences of international regulatory actions such as financial sanctions and de-risking. It will also focus on the role of the international financial system in linking emerging market countries with the global community. Space is limited, so please RSVP today!

For more information about the event, click here .
Marshall Islands: Strengthening the Financial Sector and Its Supervision

In late August, FSVC sent a senior-level delegation, including FSVC President & CEO Andrew Spindler and FSVC Board Members John Douglas and John Walker, to the Central Pacific to assist the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in strengthening its financial sector.

One example of the unintended consequences of de-risking is the impact this trend has had on the small Pacific island nation of the RMI. As financial institutions withdraw their correspondent banking services due to the threat of penalties, developing countries like the RMI are increasingly isolated from the global economy.

FSVC is working to strengthen the RMI's financial sector and protect the country's only connection to the international financial system. Simultaneously, FSVC is assisting the RMI Banking Commission to ensure that it has the supervisory policies and procedures necessary to mitigate prudential and money laundering risks.
Tanzania: Protecting Foreign Exchange Bureaus from Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks
With funding from the U.S. Department of State, FSVC has been working to strengthen anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts across East Africa since 2011. As part of this program, FSVC conducted a workshop in August for foreign exchange (forex) bureaus and money remittance providers (MRPs) in Tanzania to improve their ability to thwart criminal financial activity.

Forex bureaus and MRPs are often cited as more vulnerable conduits for money laundering and terrorist finance, in part due to the large amount of cash involved in their operations.

Working with key regulators in Tanzania, including the central bank and financial intelligence unit, FSVC volunteer experts were able to train more than 50 representatives from forex bureaus and MRPs on how to identify and report suspicious financial activity to the proper authorities. This approach will help block financial channels used by criminal networks, thereby strengthening the front line of defense against money laundering and terrorist finance, and helping to promote greater security and stability in Tanzania.
About Us
The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) is a not-for-profit organization that helps strengthen financial sectors in developing and emerging market countries. It does so with the ultimate aim of promoting job creation, economic growth and a better quality of life. FSVC structures practical, results-oriented technical assistance and training missions staffed by senior financial sector professionals who serve as unpaid volunteer experts. Over the past 27 years, more than 9,500 volunteer experts from the international financial, legal and regulatory communities have taken part in 3,000 missions, impacting millions of people in 65 countries.
FSVC has a new look! Head over to www.fsvc.org to check out our new website!