The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) and the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently announced an initiative to scale up food production in Africa. The program
Category: Key Players
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Private Asset Impact Fund Report 2022;” by Anne Estoppey, Ramkumar Narayanan; Published by Tameo
This report is derived from a survey of managers of private asset impact funds (PAIFs), which are defined as investment vehicles “that have more than 50 percent of their non-cash asset[s] allocated both to private debt or private equity instruments and to emerging and frontier markets, with a development impact bias.” The survey sample comprises
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Publish What You Fund Releases DFI Transparency Index Ranking Disclosure Record of 30 Development Finance Institutions
Publish What You Fund, a UK-based NGO aimed at increasing the transparency of international development efforts, today launched its DFI Transparency Index, which examines and ranks the operational transparency of 30 development finance institutions (DFIs). The rankings are based on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Proparco Lend $125m to NMB for MSME, Agriculture, Green Financing in Tanzania
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently led a senior loan package of USD 125 million in favor of Tanzania’s National Microfinance Bank (NMB). NMB is a commercial bank offering
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Loans $4.2m to RoCredit for SME Financing in Romania
US-based asset manager MicroVest recently reported lending EUR 4 million (USD 4.25 million) to RoCredit, a nonbank financial institution serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Romania. Established in 2007 and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans KICB $7m for MSME Financing in Kyrgyzstan
The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently lent the local-currency equivalent of USD 7 million to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) to finance micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kyrgyzstan. The loan is part of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Opportunity Collaboration: OC2023; October 15-19, 2023; Miches, Dominican Republic
The purpose of this event is to enable attendees to collaborate on solutions to global poverty and injustice. The agenda is primarily attendee-led, with an “unconference” style. For example, Affinity Circles allow attendees to meet informally in groups based on their region, role or goal of interest.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future of Fintech; March 1-2, 2023; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
With a focus on “disruptive ideas from across the fintech ecosystem,” this event offers online and in-person sessions including: (1) Evaluating Saudi Arabia’s FinTech [Financial Technology] Venture Activity – Key Drivers and Factors; (2) Offering Financial Flexibility to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: FinovateEurope; March 14-15, 2023; London, UK
This event will focus on financial technology (fintech) that can help financial services providers and their clients to prosper. In addition to 35 product demos, the agenda includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CRDB Bank Burundi Borrows $5m from IFC for Agricultural Microfinance, SME Lending
The Burundian affiliate of Tanzania’s CRDB Bank recently borrowed USD 5 million from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) for on-lending primarily to smaller agribusinesses in Burundi. IFC has agreed to support the loan with technical assistance on designing products that meet the needs of the target borrowers.
CRDB Bank Burundi Managing Director Fredrick Siwale said, “IFC’s financing will help us enhance the availability of long-term
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Guaranteeing $113m to Support $490m in Lending by EBRD to MSMEs in Eastern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
In partnership with the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU recently agreed to guarantee up to EUR 115 million (USD 113 million) in loans distributed by retail financial services providers (FSPs) to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in selected countries of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 2-4, 2022; Cape Town, South Africa
The eighth edition of this event offers attendees 21 sessions presented by stakeholders representing fintech [financial technology] firms and investors overseeing total capital of USD 4.5 billion. The detailed event program is yet to be announced, but it is to include
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Banking in Layers: Five Cases to Illustrate How the Market Structure for Financial Services is Evolving;” by Aiaze Mitha, Faith Biegon, Peter Zetterli; Published by CGAP
This paper cites several financial service providers (FSPs) in emerging markets in exploring how recent advancements in digital technology have enabled new business models, transforming the market for financial services. The authors argue that these FSPs have deconstructed the financial services market into separate modules, allowing these modules to be reassembled in innovative ways. These modules include:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Strengthening Financial, Training Technology in Lower-income Countries in Partnership with Krach Family Foundation, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy
Opportunity International, a US-based NGO, recently moved to strengthen the technology it uses to provide microfinance and other services in 30 countries. The goal is to help people with low incomes “make their businesses more scalable and efficient” through better access to market information, financial education, business training and financial services. These services can take the form of smartphone apps, cloud services, digital forms of identification and others. An element of achieving these goals is to boost users’ – and potential users’ – confidence in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans Banca Transilvania $25m to Support Businesses in Romania Adjusting to War in Ukraine
The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently lent EUR 25 million (USD 25 million) to Banca Transilvania (BT), a Romania-based bank, to on-lend to enterprises affected by the war in Ukraine. The loan is a part of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACEP Niger, ACFIME Borrow in Local Currency from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently announced it has issued a local-currency loan equivalent to EUR 762,000 (USD 756,000) in favor of Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) Niger. As of 2022,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EFSE, GGF Lending $9m to Bank Lviv to Support SMEs in Ukraine in Adjusting to War
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution, is arranging a loan package of up to EUR 10 million (USD 10 million) for Ukraine’s Bank Lviv to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The loan fulfills part of a pledge by EBRD to invest EUR 1 billion (USD 1 billion) this year into the Ukrainian economy to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest Lends $15m to Cordada to Bolster Lenders to MSMEs in Chile, Mexico, Peru
IDB Invest, the private-investment member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently announced a loan of USD 15 million to Cordada, a funder of financial technology (fintech) and other lenders to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Peru, Mexico and Chile. The deal includes a renewable two-year term as well