FINCA Guatemala, whose name derives from that of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently agreed to borrow USD 1.5 million over two years from the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund, which is managed by Kiva Capital, a unit of the US-based NGO Kiva. The goal is to expand lending to “Guatemalan migrants returning
Search Results for: refugee
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFC, UNHCR to Convene Working Group on Access to Microfinance, Business Development for Refugees in Europe
The Microfinance Centre (MFC), a network of 95 microfinance providers in Europe and Central Asia, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently launched a project to support refugees in Europe by helping them become self-reliant via access to microfinance and business services. The partners will build a working group of financial services providers, regulators and other stakeholders
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Refugee Investment Fund Closes with $32m to Scale Lending to Forcibly Displaced Persons, Host Communities Via Microfinance Institutions
The Kiva Refugee Investment Fund (KRIF), an entity controlled by the US-based NGO Kiva Microfunds, recently completed its first close, with USD 32.5 million raised from
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Refugee Youth from South Sudan Build Skills to Benefit from Microfinance Lending in Uganda: Agricultural, Financial, Social
This 3-minute video shows how ICCO Cooperation, War Child and ZOA are partnering to help youth “improve their social and economic wellbeing through psychosocial and livelihoods support in Africa’s biggest refugee settlement, Bidibidi.”
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Most Refugee, Host Savings Groups in 2 Uganda Districts Continue Meeting, Saving Despite Loss of Income Due to Pandemic
VisionFund Uganda, a microfinance institution (MFI) subsidiary of VisionFund International, recently conducted a survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on refugee and host-community savings groups. The 417 respondents are members of savings groups in the Yumbe and Obongi districts of Uganda, to which many refugees from South Sudan have relocated. The results are divided into
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Digital Lives of Refugees: How Displaced Populations Use Mobile Phones and What Gets in the Way,” Published by GSMA
This is a summary of a paper published by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), July 2019, 87 pages, available at https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Digital-Lives-of-Refugees.pdf
Mobile technology in general, as well as mobile network operators in particular, are becoming increasingly important to the delivery of aid to populations in crisis. This report addresses the access to, use of, and barriers to mobile technology among refugee populations.
The authors conducted 3,000 face-to-face and telephone interviews as well 55 focus group discussions with refugees from Jordan, Rwanda and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: VisionFund Uganda Opening Branches to Deliver Microfinance to Refugees from South Sudan
The Ugandan subsidiary of VisionFund International, which is owned by US-based NGO World Vision, recently opened a branch in the Moyo region of Uganda, serving refugees and local residents near the Palorinya settlement for refugees from South Sudan. About 121,000 refugees and 48,000 Ugandans live in the area. During 2020, VisionFund Uganda plans to open three more branches targeting areas with large numbers of refugees, including one branch serving the town of Yumbe and the nearby settlement Bidibidi, where 230,000
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Analysis of the Strategy of Microfinance for Financial Inclusion of Refugees,” published by the European Microfinance Network
By Amna Malik, Halil Orhan, Halil Fatih Akgul, Altay Elçin; published by the European Microfinance Network; July 2019; 7 pages; available at https://www.european-microfinance.org/sites/default/files/document/file/6_Analysis%20of%20the%20Strategy%20of%20Microfinance%20for%20Financial%20Inclusion%20of%20Refugees.pdf
Turkey is host to an estimated 4 million refugees, more than are living in any other country. This paper assesses “the feasibility of microfinance as an appropriate strategy for the financial
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Guarantees $1.5m in Microlending by Tamweelcom of Jordan to Refugees from Syria via Nasira Program
The Dutch development bank, which is known by the acronym FMO, recently committed to a risk-sharing facility of up to USD 1.5 million to support Tamweelcom, a Jordan-based microfinance organization, in funding entrepreneurship among refugees from Syria. Tamweelcom will make loans of JOD 1,000 (USD 1,440) to JOD 7,000 (USD 9,900) to the refugees to put towards income-generating businesses. To be eligible, borrowers must hold identification from both the UN High
SPECIAL REPORT: 15k Refugees in Uganda Receive Assistance via AirTel Mobile Money, Cutting Delivery Costs by 47%, Boosting Speed by 42%, Reducing “Money Truck” Problems: UNCDF Reports at European Microfinance Week
At 
this month’s European Microfinance Week in Luxembourg, Pamela Eser of the UN Capital Development Fund described her team’s rollout of mobile money to 15,000 refugees in Uganda and 1,800 in Zambia. Most refugees in these countries lack mobile phones, and very few of the participants had
SPECIAL REPORT: RUFI Crosses Border with Refugees from South Sudan, Opens Doors in Uganda; Breaking MFIs’ Stereotypes About Victims of Conflict – Insights from European Microfinance Week
Friday at European Microfinance Week, Resi Janssen of Dutch NGO Cordaid described her institution’s Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI), which had been working in South Sudan when violence in 2016 caused most of its clients to flee to Uganda. With no license to accept deposits in Uganda, RUFI became an agent of Centenary Bank so it could continue to provide savings and other services to its customers – albeit in a different country – at a time of great need.
Not long after relocating, some of RUFI’s customers started asking how they could keep their children from being recruited as fighters. RUFI secured
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfund for Women (MFW) Borrowing $5m from EIB to Extend Microfinance to 146k Syrian Refugees, Local Entrepreneurs in Jordan
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently agreed to loan USD 5 million to Jordanian microfinance institution Microfund for Women (MFW) to give microenterprises greater access to finance. The deal will support 146,000 people, almost all of them women. A portion of the funds are intended to help Syrian refugees
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Finance for Refugees: “Making it Work;” September 7, 2018; The Hague, the Netherlands
Organized by the NpM Platform for Inclusive Finance, which was formerly known as the Netherlands Platform for Microfinance, this event will explore ways financial service providers can deliver products and services to refugee communities. One of the primary goals of the conference is to encourage private-sector investment in financial inclusion for refugees
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group’s IBRD Lending $400m to Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) for SMEs, “Women-inclusive” Enterprises, Businesses Serving Syrian Refugees
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a unit of the US-based World Bank, recently approved a 29-year loan of USD 400 million to the Inclusive Access to Finance Project, an initiative sponsored by the Turkish government that is designed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mowgli Mentoring to Engage Syrian Refugees in Jordan with Support from OeEB via Sanad
UK-based NGO Mowgli Mentoring recently secured funding from the Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, which is affiliated with the Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), to engage 15 Jordanian businesspeople in mentoring a like number of Syrian refugees looking to make their Amman-based businesses
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Somalia’s Kaah International Microfinance Services (KIMS) Wins $100k Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge Award (EFICA) for Returning Refugee Programs
Somalia’s Kaah International Microfinance Services (KIMS) recently won the USD 100,000 Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge and Award (EFICA), part of a group of awards sponsored annually by Thomson Reuters, a media firm traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which is based in the United Arab Emirates.
KIMS was recognized for two products it offers in the city of Kismayo, a “start-up micro-credit product for youth returnees…coupled with financial literacy and business training” and “growth financing for fisheries
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Refugee Fund Created by Kiva, Alight, Tent Foundation, USA for UNHCR to Collect Loan Capital from Individuals for Displaced People
Kiva, a US-based, nonprofit crowdfunding platform for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently launched its World Refugee Fund to raise money online from individuals for on-lending to institutions serving cross-border refugees and people who have been internally displaced.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN’s World Food Programme Uses Ethereum Blockchain, Retina Scans to Support 10,000 Syrian Refugees
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) is helping Syrian refugees in Jordan’s Azraq camp buy food from supermarkets inside the camp utilizing blockchain technology from Switzerland’s Ethereum Foundation.