The authors of this paper discuss the “financing landscape” of the food and agriculture sector and argue in favor of increasing the deployment of blended finance, “the use of catalytic capital from public or philanthropic sources to increase private sector investment.” A report from the 2019 UN Conference on Trade and Development estimates that the private sector could fund
Search Results for: opic
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Double $48m in Lending to MicroVest to Promote Investment in Microfinance, SMEs, Women
The US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently committed to doubling its USD 48 million debt funding of US-based asset management firm MicroVest, aiming to “expand financing opportunities for microfinance and SME [small, and medium-sized enterprise] finance institutions that support underserved microenterprises and small businesses worldwide.”
Algene Sajery, the head of global gender equity initiatives for DFC, stated, “DFC is pleased to support MicroVest’s
SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch on the European Microfinance Award 2021: Inclusive Finance and Health Care
MicroCapital: 
Why was “Inclusive Finance and Health Care” chosen as the topic of the European Microfinance Award 2021?
Christoph Pausch: As the past year has shown us all with such unfortunate clarity, health is everything. Being healthy allows education to play its role in opening new opportunities; it allows people to earn, invest and employ others; it keeps the economy growing and lets groups and societies prosper. And the opposite is true as well: without health – without health care to help people recover from serious health shocks and to stop minor health issues from becoming serious – it’s so hard for people to prosper.
This is especially true for the global poor – the financially excluded – who typically have volatile and precarious incomes and live in countries without high-quality universal health care. They not only need access to health care, but also the ability to pay for it. Too often this can mean taking on debt and selling income-generating assets or even
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Guarantee $10m in Borrowing by Trine to Invest in Solar Power in Latin America, Caribbean
The US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently agreed to cover half of potential losses on USD 20 million being raised by Trine AB, a Sweden-based solar investment platform, to support industrial solar ventures as well as mini-grids in Latin America and the Caribbean. This funding is sufficient to supply renewable energy to approximately 600,0
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, FinnFund Lend $25m to Kashf Foundation for Microfinance for Women in Pakistan
The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government, recently disbursed USD 25 million to Kashf Foundation, a Pakistani microfinance institution, in the form of a senior, unsecured term loan. The loan is 40-percent funded by FinnFund, a development finance institution controlled by the government of Finland.
Kashf Managing Director Roshaneh Zafar stated, “We are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kinara Capital of India Raises $10m from IndusInd Bank for Assisting Small Businesses, with Guarantee from DFC
India’s Kinara Capital recently accepted a five-year loan of USD 10 million from Induslnd Bank, a unit of India’s Hinduja Group, to increase the financial inclusion of small businesses active in manufacturing, trading and services. The loan carries a full guarantee from the US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Kinara offers loans primarily for
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Agri-Trade & Finance Forum; May 26, 2021; Nairobi, Kenya
Adiem Business Solutions is hosting this event for the fourth year, with a focus on “building [a] sustainable agribusiness economy.” It will address topics such as “smart agriculture in Africa,” “farmer management,” technology for agriculture, and the marketing and regulation of produce. Although the detailed agenda for this year’s edition has not been released, previous iterations included
SPECIAL REPORT: Digitizing Microfinance – Silver Lining of the Pandemic?
Ciprian 
Panturu of Belgium-based cooperative PHB Development opened a European Microfinance Week session on financial services providers (FSPs) moving toward digital services with a joke: “Who got the FSP to ‘go digital,’ the CEO, the CFO?” The answer, of course, is “COVID!”. Unlike before the pandemic, when FSPs were looking into digital services and clients were often unconvinced, Mr Panturu said, “Now there is a clear pull from the customer side.”
Jessica Schicks of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) agreed, “Client uptake has been a challenge in past. COVID is helping overcome digital literacy and trust issues.” However, she warned,
SPECIAL REPORT: Student Lending for Tertiary Education: Omtrix Offers Lessons Learned from 10 Years of HEFF
The 
The Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF) was implemented in seven Latin American countries with the objective of improving access to tertiary education for motivated yet socially disadvantaged young people. It was promoted by Omtrix, Inc., a consulting and fund management company based in Costa Rica. HEFF’s equity investors were the German development bank KfW, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets, the Luxembourg Finance and Development Fund, Corporación Andina de Fomento, Omtrix and the Calvert Social Investment Foundation.
HEFF was premised on the idea that student loans are an intrinsically viable product for financial institutions (FIs) with social objectives. The experience of HEFF confirmed the validity of this notion, provided that
SPECIAL REPORT: 40+ Reasons to Attend European Microfinance Week Online This Month
MicroCapital: European Microfinance Week 2020 (EMW2020) – like so many events nowadays – is going virtual. How will this change the conference? What will the experience be like for attendees?
Christoph Pausch: EMW2020 remains – like in all years – a member-led conference, with the agenda constructed around what members indicate they find most important each year. So that hasn’t changed at all. But there will be clear differences, of course. There still will be a diverse range of sessions over three days (even more than usual in fact, with close to 50 events on the programme). But going online dictates that we be imaginative and innovative in the format and presentation of those sessions. Attendees will experience a huge range of event types – big plenaries and traditional panel discussions, but also fireside chats, keynotes, case study presentations, working sessions, topic lounges and publication launches, including of
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: World Finance Conference; August 3-6, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL
Originally planned as an in-person event at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, this online program will cover the following themes: Sustainable Finance, Investments, Corporate Governance and Accounting. The papers that have been accepted for presentation cover
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 17th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; April 22-23, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL
Originally planned to take place in person in Prague, this virtual event is centered on helping actors in the microfinance industry to prosper in the context of future economic and regulatory environments. Session topics include repayment suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
SPECIAL REPORT: Saving(s) Microfinance in a Pandemic – and Beyond
Back
in the distant pre-pandemic memory, e-MFP launched the European Microfinance Award (EMA) 2020 on Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings. While clearly an important topic, with innovations across the sector that are ripe for exposure and commendation, little did we know just how relevant a topic it would turn out to be.
Many ema 525 wide.gif)
months later, the sector has suffered – and continues to reel from – challenges on multiple fronts: to clients, financial services providers, investors, support providers and others, all trying to mitigate losses and preserve the important gains made over recent decades.
Among the clearest lessons revealed by this difficult year is that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swedfund to Loan $12m to SunFunder Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund
Swedfund, the Swedish government’s development finance institution, recently pledged an investment of USD 12 million to the Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund, which was launched by SunFunder, a Kenya-based financier of solar energy firms in developing countries. SET is a nine-year, USD 70 million debt fund that aims
SPECIAL REPORT: Frankfurt School Development Finance e-Campus: A Decade of Online Education
When we were getting ready to launch our first online course, I was full of hope and optimism. But I must admit, I was rather disappointed after the launch – I had expected the initial enrollment to be higher. This was when we realised that we needed to prove that online education is just as effective as traditional classroom learning – and that it even comes with its own unique advantages.
Ten years ago, the Development Finance e-Campus of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management consisted of just one course, Certified Expert in Microfinance. A decade later, that course has become an industry standard, and our portfolio spans 13 Certified Expert courses covering the fields of inclusive and green finance, contributing to 14 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We also have added a full-fledged online Master Programme on Sustainable Finance as well as two Diplomas in
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Finovate Europe; March 23-25, 2021; Virtual – NEW DATES AND FORMAT
Originally scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany, in February 2021, this conference offers demo sessions; discussions on topics such as “A Hybrid Digital Customer Experience” and
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: “Post COVID-19: Will Physical Cash Exist in 10 years?”, London Institute of Banking and Finance
We are pleased to suggest this fun conversation between Dean Maria Carapeto and Visiting Scholar Jonathan Holman of the London Institute of Banking & Finance on the topic of “financial inclusion, developing economies, digital and more”!
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future Banking; September 9-10, 2020; Bucharest, Romania
This event features 25 speakers in a format offering both in-person and virtual options. It will cover a range of technical, marketing, funding and other topics