MicroRate, a for-profit microfinance rating agency based in the U.S., has recently released its eighth annual survey of international microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs).
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: JP Morgan Chase “Catalyst for Growth” Reports Improved Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa
JP Morgan Chase, a US-based investment and banking firm, recently announced that the 20 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are participating in its two-year pilot programme Catalyst for Growth (C4G), have reported increases of: 43 percent in overall average revenue; 19 percent in permanent employees; and 13 percent in accessing capital for their businesses [1].
SPECIAL REPORT: Why Microfinance Institutions Offer Unprofitable Housing Loans
On November 14, the closing day of the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) European Microfinance Week, Wilson Twamuhabwa, CEO of Uganda’s Ugafode Microfinance Limited, explained that his organization began to offer housing loan products partly because its clients were using 30 percent of their loans for housing anyway.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya Commercial Bank, Safaricom’s M-Pesa Launch Mobile App KCB M-Benki to Increase Financial Inclusion
Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), a publicly traded financial services company in Kenya, has partnered with Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile service provider that operates the mobile money service M-Pesa, to launch a mobile banking application called KCB M-Benki in Kenya and five other East African countries serviced by KCB [1].
SPECIAL REPORT: Michael Chu: “Disrupt this Old Model to Unlock the Potential of Microfinance”
At today’s opening plenary of European Microfinance Week, which is hosted by Luxembourg’s 140-member European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), Michael Chu of the US-based Harvard Business School and the Mexico-based venture capital fund Ignia, argued that microfinance is generally implemented using a 20-year-old model that is inefficient and “ripe for disruption” through technology.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gates Foundation, International Finance Corporation (IFC), MicroSave, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Partner to Create Helix Institute of Digital Finance
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that provides grants to organizations; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank; MicroSave, an India-based for-profit consulting center; and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the global development network of the United Nations, have partnered to create the Helix Institute of Digital Finance, an online platform that will train mobile network operators, financial institutions and third-party providers in an effort to increase the efficiency and impact of their digital and financial services [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Releases 2013 Financial Access Survey
The US-based International Monetary Fund, a United Nations institution aiming to foster global cooperation on monetary issues, recently announced the results of its fourth annual Financial Access Survey (FAS), which provides global supply-side data on financial inclusion [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Makes $3m Equity Investment in Bina Usaha Keluarga (BUK) of Indonesia, Seeking to Triple Female Clients of Microfinance Institution Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK)
Bina Usaha Keluarga (BUK), the Indonesia-based controlling shareholder of Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution (MFI) in the same country, recently received an equity infusion of IDR 34.3 billion (USD 3 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a US-based international financial institution and a member of the US-based World Bank Group, to triple the number of female clients of MBK.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) Partner to Offer Mobile Banking Services
Airtel Tanzania, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, and Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB), a Tanzania-based bank that provides financial services to people in rural areas who do not have access to traditional banks, reportedly are partnering to offer free mobile financial services to their customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, EcoBank Partner to Provide Mobile Money Services in Africa
Bharti Airtel (Airtel), an Indian telecommunications company, recently partnered with EcoBank, an African commercial bank, to expand mobile banking services in Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests Equity in MicroCred Microfinance Bank Nigeria
Goodwell West Africa, a private equity fund managed by Netherlands-based social investment company Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based investment management and advisory firm Alitheia Capital, has announced that it will be investing equity of an unspecified amount in Microcred Microfinance Bank (MFB) Nigeria, a member of the France-based MicroCred Group [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests Equity in Mainstreet Microfinance Bank of Nigeria
Goodwell West Africa, a private equity fund managed by Netherlands-based social investment company Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based investment management and advisory firm Alitheia Capital, has announced that it will be making an equity investment of an unspecified amount in Mainstreet Microfinance Bank (MFB), a microfinance institution in Nigeria [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Launches “Impact Investing SME Focus Fund”
The United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), a Swiss financial services company, reportedly has launched an impact investment fund, named the “Impact Investing SME Focus Fund,” which will invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in unspecified emerging and frontier markets.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) Approves $300m Credit to Support “Housing Finance Project,” Housing Microfinance, in Nigeria
The International Development Association (IDA), the arm of US-based World Bank that provides interest-free credits and grants for programs in the poorest countries, has approved credit of USD 300 million to support Nigeria’s Housing Finance Project, which intends to provide access to long-term home financing for low-income people, including microentrepreneurs as well as those with higher incomes who are buying homes for the first time [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya
MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced a new partnership with Airtel Kenya, a subsidiary of Indian mobile phone company Airtel, and Pan Africa Life, a Kenyan life insurance company, to launch a mobile life insurance product in Kenya [1].
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance and Mobile Banking, Financing Incremental Housing Improvements, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2012 Microfinance Snapshot
“Microfinance and Mobile Banking: Blurring the Lines?”; by Michel Hanouch and Sarah Rotman; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); 2013; 20 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Focus-Note-Microfinance-and-Mobile-Banking-August-2013.pdf
This report presents the results from a study conducted by US-based NGO CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) that explored the impact of mobile banking services on the microfinance market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC to Support Citi in Loaning up to $200m to Support Small Businesses in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America
Citigroup (Citi), a US-based financial services corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution of the US government, reportedly have partnered to deliver USD 200 million to Citi’s local and multinational corporate and financial institution clients [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cambodian Microbank Sathapana, ElectraCard Partner to Provide ATM, Debit Card Services
Sathapana Limited, a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI), reportedly has partnered with ElectraCard Services (ECS), a subsidiary of India-based Opus Software Solutions that provides electronic payment services, to provide automated teller machine (ATM) and debit card services to Sathapana customers.