The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it is partnering with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU); Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s international development agency; and the European Commission, the legislative body of the EU, via the Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF), to establish a USD 380 million financing facility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
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MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Africa, Social Performance Indicators for Microinsurance, Segmentation of Agricultural Households
“Financing Africa Through the Crisis and Beyond;” by Thorsten Beck, Samuel Munzele Maimbo, Issa Faye and Thouraya Triki; published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), World Bank Group, African Development Bank; 2013; 322 pages; available at: http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Financing%20Africa%20Through%20the%20Crisis%20and%20Beyond.pdf
This book presents a review of trends in Africa’s financial sector in the context of Africa’s past economic development trends and broader historical background.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asusu SA, West African Development Bank Sign $6.3m Loan Agreement to Enable Refinancing of Agro-industry Loans in Niger
Asusu SA, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Niger, reportedly has signed an XOF 1 billion (USD 6.3 million) loan financing agreement with the West African Development Bank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Telenor, Societe Generale to Purchase Serbian Unit of KBC Banka
Telenor Group, a telecommunications company based in Norway, and Societe Generale, a France-based financial institution, have agreed to purchase KBC Banka, the Serbian unit of KBC Group, a Belgium-based financial institution, for an undisclosed price.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Online Fundraiser Kiva Discloses Delinquencies of Microfinance Institutions Alidé of Benin, FECECAV of Togo
Kiva, a US-based online microlending fundraiser, recently reported on delinquent payments due to Kiva by non-profit institutions L’Association de Lutte pour la promotion des Initiatives de Développement (Alidé) of Benin and Faîtière des Caisses d’Epargne et de Crédit des Associations Villageoises (FECECAV) of Togo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Democratic Republic of Congo Fights Corruption by Paying 1m Civil Servants via Mobile Banking
Since Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo vowed in 2012 to replace all cash wage payments in the hopes of minimizing corruption, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has issued wage payments to 270,000 of 1 million civil servants via mobile banking.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Commit $150m to Microfinance in Asia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, reportedly has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank, a financial services company based in the United Kingdom, to increase access to financial services for poor people in Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $100k in Bank Eskhata of Tajikistan, $1.5m in Mitra Bisnis Keluarga (MBK) Ventura of Indonesia
ResponsAbility SICAV Mikrofinanz-Fonds (rAMF), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by responsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently disbursed approximately USD 100,000 in debt to Bank Eskhata of Tajikistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banking Production Centre’s SmartVista to Implement Banking Technology for Microfinance Institution Hattha Kaksekar of Cambodia
Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), has contracted Russia-based Banking Production Centre (BPC) Banking Technologies’ SmartVista, an electronic payments product provider, to implement electronic banking for the MFI.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA) Loans $2m to Cambodian Microfinance Institution Prasac
Prasac, a Cambodian microfinance institution, borrowed USD 2 million in a recent deal from the Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA), a commercial Cambodian bank. According to Prasac CEO SIM Senacheert, an advantage of the domestic loan is that it allows Prasac to “diversify fund sources” as well as reducing its reliance on overseas capital, which has moved jobs away from Cambodia. Despite the higher interest rate on domestic loans compared with foreign loans, domestic loans take less time to close and their structure is less complicated.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Insurance Timor-Leste (NITL), Tuba Rei Metin, Moris Rasik Introduce Life Microinsurance Products
National Insurance Timor-Leste (NITL), an insurance company in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, has partnered with local microfinance institutions (MFIs) Tuba Rai Metin and Moris Rasik to introduce regulated microinsurance products in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union Funds International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Support Microfinance Institution Arvand’s Agricultural Loans in Tajikistan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that supports private-sector development, has announced plans to assist Arvand, a deposit-taking microfinance organization based in Tajikistan, in developing its agricultural loan portfolio in the Sughd province.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Provides $2.71m Loan Guarantee to Cambodian Microfinance Institution Thaneakea Phum to Support Agriculture
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a four-year agreement to provide a 50-percent guarantee on a loan of up to USD 2.71 million for Cambodian microfinance institution Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Limited (TPC). Sok Voeun, TPC’s chief operations officer, reportedly said that USAID “will support us in providing more loans to the agriculture sectors in the four provinces” referring to Kampong Thom, Pursat, Battambang and Siem Reap.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Groupe Provoir Launches Prevoir Kampuchea Micro-life Insurance in Cambodia
Prevoir Kampuchea Micro-life Insurance Public Limited Company (PKMI), a subsidiary of French insurer Groupe Prevoir, has been launched in Cambodia after receiving an operating license from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore to Host Conference, “Present and Future of Microfinance: Transparency, Client Protection and Social Impact for a Sustainable Growth,” Milan, Italy, October 24, 2011
Event Name: Present and Future of Microfinance: Transparency, Client Protection and Social Impact for a Sustainable Growth
Event Date: October 24, 2011
Event Location: Milan, Italy
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Uniglobal Hosts Central Asian Microfinance Fair 2011, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, July 7 – July 8, 2011
Event Name: Central Asian Microfinance Fair 2011
Event Date: July 7 – July 8, 2011
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Updates Pricing Data for Cambodia’s Microfinance Industry
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides information on credit products and pricing, has published updated pricing data for Cambodia. The updated data builds on the original data published in 2009 as part of its collection of international microloan product pricing data.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency, Rural Bankers Association, Microfinance Council of the Philippines to Launch Transparent Pricing Initiative
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that aims to provide information on credit products and pricing, is expanding its Transparent Pricing Initiative to the Philippines in partnership with Microfinance Council of the Philippines, a trade association of microfinance organizations in the Philippines, and Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), a Philippines-based organization founded in 1955 to promote the rural banking industry [1].