by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG BRIEF: SCOR Invests in LeapFrog Investments to Gain Experience in Microinsurance Sector

According to The Review, an insurance magazine, the Paris-based reinsurer, SCOR Group, has invested an undisclosed amount in LeapFrog Investments, a microinsurance fund with USD 44 million in equity. A statement issued by SCOR stated, “Our investment in LeapFrog is a demonstration of [our] support of a socially-responsible sector such as microinsurance.” SCOR also said that the “strict investment return criteria applied … to all its investments” was also applicable in this instance. Additionally, SCOR’s CFO, Mr. Paolo de Martin, will be joining LeapFrog’s advisory board.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROFINANCE PROFILE: LeapFrog Investments

Name of Organization or Microfinance Investment Vehicle: LeapFrog Investments

Overview: LeapFrog Investments is a for-profit, private equity fund focused on microinsurance and financial inclusion

Description:

LeapFrog Investments was founded in 2007 by Dr. Andrew Kuper. It is a for-profit, private equity fund aimed at earning large returns by investing in and supporting microinsurance initiatives. LeapFrog has raised USD 44 million from a range of public and private investors, including the European Investment Bank, the Omidyar Network, FMO, Triodos-Doen and Hivos-Triodos, ACCION International, Calvert, and Felipe Medina (a senior Goldman Sachs wealth manager). The LeapFrog team has also committed USD 1 million of their own personal money into the fund. The fund focuses on ventures in Africa and Asia, with initial target countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Pakistand and the Philippines.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog Investments Ltd.

Dr. Andrew Kuper is President and Founder of LeapFrog, the world’s first microinsurance fund, which he founded in 2007. He was previously a Managing Director of Ashoka, a support organization for social entrepreneurs. He has worked with microfinance institutions Grameen and BRAC, and is the author of two books on globalization. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

by Kenny Kline -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: MFX Solutions Closes First Currency Hedge Transaction; $4 million Currency Swap With MicroVest

MFX Solutions Inc., a company providing currency hedging solutions designed specifically for microfinance, closed its first hedging transaction, a USD 4 million currency swap with MicroVest I, LP. The cross-currency swap transaction allowed MicroVest I, a Washington DC-based microfinance investment fund, to make a USD 4 million, 3-year loan in Columbian pesos to Fundacion Mundo Mujer, a Columbian-based microfinance institution. [3]

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: The 3rd Annual Global Microfinance Investment Congress 2010, presented by PlaNet Finance, May 24 – May 26, 2010 in New York City

The 3rd Annual Global Microfinance Investment Congress 2010, presented by PlaNet Finance, May 24 – May 26, 2010 in New York City

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX) in Washington D.C., USA Launches Hedging Operations Dedicated to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX), a new company based in Washington D.C. in the United States dedicated to providing microfinance currency risk solutions announced the launch of its hedging operations recently, according to a press release on the electronic news and information portal PR NewsWire. With the launch, MFX, in keeping with its mission to ‘make sure that existing flows of microfinance lending are not disrupted by currency devaluation’, will focus on making modern hedging instruments accessible to microfinance lenders in developing countries. As per information available on their website, MFX will focus on ‘high-risk markets in Africa and elsewhere where hedging can have a transformative effect’. Additionally, MFX will also create education programs in the form of easy-to-use web-based tools designed to help MFI managers analyze the risks they face under different economic scenarios. (PR Newswire is headquartered in New York, USA and is a subsidiary of the London based global business media company United Business MediaPlc).

by Chinq Yee Chong -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Investors Back The Leapfrog Financial Inclusion Fund To Raise USD 44 Million For Microinsurance

The LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund recently announced that it has raised USD 44 million. This was reported on several news portals including Bloomberg, the Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire, the Press Portal website and CNBC. The fund has been billed as the world’s first investment fund that is focused on microinsurance. The fund aims to invest in or partner with businesses that offer insurance products and financial services to low-income communities throughout Africa and Asia, including India, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda.

by Zoran Stanisljevic -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Funds Continue to Grow Despite the Crisis, by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)

By Xavier Reille and Jasmina Glisovic-Mezieres, CGAP, with research assistance from Yannis Berthouzoz, Symbiotics, published by Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), April 2009, CGAP Brief, 4 pages, available at: 

http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.34437/CGAP%20Brief_MIV_FinancialCrisis.pdf

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Unitus, in Partnership with Financial Sector Deepening (FSDK), Opens Africa Microfinance Growth Centre, a Leadership Development Program for Early-Stage Microfinance Institutions in East Africa

Unitus, an international non-profit organization, has opened the Africa Microfinance Growth Center, a non-profit program developed in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSDK), to help CEOs and senior managers of early-stage microfinance organizations (MFIs) improve strategy, leadership, and execution in order to grow their organizations and expand microfinance services in East Africa.  In addition to assistance from FSDK, financial support is also being provided by Omidyar Network, The Boeing Company, and SV2: Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund.  No information as to the amounts provided by these companies or the overall budget of the Center was available at the time of this release.

by Andrea Chu -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Microfinance Investment Congress Hosted by PlaNet Finance and American Conference Institute

GLOBAL MICROFINANCE INVESTMENT CONGRESS

MAY 19-20, 2009, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Global Microfinance Investment Congress 2009 is being co-hosted by PlaNet Finance Group and American Conference Institute. The conference consists of workshops, case studies, and panels focused on the latest strategies for success in microfinance investing.

by Ryan Hogarth -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Carbon Manna Unlimited Seeks Strategic Partners to Implement Carbon Micro Credit System in Kenya

Carbon Manna Unlimited, a San Diego-headquartered company, has put out a call for strategic partnerships with companies and philanthropies interested in implementing its envisioned cell phone based Carbon Micro Credit system in Kenya, and subsequently, other West and Southern African countries. Specifically, the call goes out to manufacturers of cell phone and wireless transmission equipment, wireless carriers doing business in Africa, and companies interested in co-promotional campaigns. Carbon Manna Unlimited, founded by David Palella, aspires to create a system in which impoverished families can profit from the carbon offsets they produce by switching from inefficient cooking methods that burn biomass and contribute to deforestation, to efficient solar cookers or modern charcoal stoves. Mr. Palella estimates that each family that makes the transition could claim approximately three tons of carbon-offset credits per year, worth about USD 20 to USD 35 – about a month’s wage for someone living on USD 1 per day. Furthermore, in transitioning to the new stoves a family would reduce their contribution to deforestation and desertification, and limit their lung exposure to unhealthy smoke.