According to a recent story published by The Guardian, a British newspaper, the African continent is now home to more than 500 million mobile phones and is experiencing a wave of innovation in the field of mobile banking.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI) Establishes Artisan Fund
The government of the Nigerian state of Lagos, in partnership with its Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI), has reportedly established a microcredit fund for artisans with the aim of alleviating poverty in the state.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP Reports State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Removing Regulatory Barriers to Branchless Banking
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) reports that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, recently announced modifications to its branchless banking regulations that include: removal of the requirement to have one’s fingerprint scanned to open an account; increases in transaction limits and the elimination of the maximum balance; and introduction of “Level 0” accounts that can be opened electronically, without physical paperwork.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Urges Banks to Increase Credit Provision to Micro- and Small-Sized Enterprises
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reportedly emphasized to commercial banks at the recent annual review meeting of its standing advisory committee on micro- and small-sized enterprise (MSE) that MSE lending should grow at a rate similar to that of overall bank credit growth, which recently has been approximately 20 percent per year.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Costs Decrease, Account Openings Increase via India’s Branchless Banking Model, Microfinance Institutions Remain Excluded
The National, an English-language newspaper owned by the Abu Dhabi government, recently reported that the branchless banking model in which local agents, or business correspondents, use handheld computers to offer banking services in areas of India with no traditional banking branches is “transforming lives”.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $6m in Local Currency to Microfinance Institution AccessBank Tajikistan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution, has agreed to make a four-year, local-currency loan of TJS 29 million (USD 6 million) to AccessBank Tajikistan, a bank that specializes in financial services for micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kyrgyz Microfinance Institutions “Successfully Compete” with Banking Sector in Providing Access to Finance
President of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, reportedly said at the recent Central Asian Microfinance Fair that microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Kyrgyzstan are emulating the banking sector in providing loans in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), Araratbank Sign $10m Loan Agreement for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, agreed to loan USD 10 million to Araratbank at EFSE’s recent annual meeting in Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $6m to ProCredit Bank of Moldova, Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Russia, FINCA Jordan
responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has loaned the equivalent of USD 6.3 million to ProCredit Bank of Moldova, Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Russia and FINCA Jordan through MIVs that it manages.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Loan $4m to AccessBank of Tajikistan for Expansion of Loan Portfolio, Movement Toward Deposit-Taking
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to loan USD 4 million to microfinance institution (MFI) AccessBank Tajikistan to expand the MFI’s loan portfolio, develop a greater variety of credit products and “support competition in the microfinance sector,” according to an IFC press release [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) Expects Consolidation to Result in Fewer, Stronger Rural Banks
According to the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), an association of approximately 700 banks that aims to promote rural development, the rural banking sector in the Philippines is expected to consist of fewer but stronger banks as mergers and consolidations continue. “Mergers and consolidations that are happening will result in fewer rural banks that are stronger in terms of resources,” said Tomas S Gomez IV, spokesman of RBAP, according to Business World.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GIZ to Invest $28m to Boost Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, a German governmental development organization formerly called GTZ, reportedly plans to invest EUR 20 million (USD 28.6 million) to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the country through its Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria (SEDIN) program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) May Invest in Nigerian Mobile Money Industry
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, is reported to be conducting due diligence on the Nigerian mobile money industry. Mobile Money Africa, a Nigerian-based online mobile financial inclusion news source, reports that IFC is “keen to play a major role in the country’s emerging mobile money ecosystem and was currently evaluati[ng] opportunities [in]…technology acquisition, e-Float management and agency networks” [1]. To address the lack of financial access in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has granted licenses to 16 mobile money companies in an effort to encourage growth in this industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests in Nigerian Mobile Money Service, Paga
Goodwell West Africa, a branch of Goodwell Investments of the Netherlands, has invested an undisclosed amount in Paga’s mobile money service with approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Depositors of Closed Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to be Reimbursed up to $63m by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), an agency of the federal government that guarantees the settlement of insured deposits, recently announced that it will pay approximately NGN 9.8 billion (USD 63 million) to 731,000 depositors of ninety-one microfinance institutions (MFIs) whose licenses have been revoked.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Continue to Require Collateral, Other Conditions for Loans; Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) to Cut Interest Rates
Most Nigerian microfinance institutions (MFIs) reportedly continue to place conditions on borrowers who are seeking to take out loans, despite the stated policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to de-emphasize such requirements.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI) to Partner with “Financially Capable” Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Lagos State Microfinance Institution (LASMI), an agency that was established by the government of the Nigerian state of Lagos to oversee its microfinance program, recently announced plans to partner with microfinance institutions (MFIs) that it deems financially viable in an effort to increase financial inclusion and the empowerment of poor people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Diamond Bank of Nigeria Offers Collateral-Free Loans to Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
Diamond Bank Public Limited Company (PLC), a Nigerian commercial bank that was established in 1990, recently announced that it would extend collateral-free loans to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).