The US-based social enterprise Pro Mujer recently launched “Digital Pro Mujer,” targeting southeastern Mexico, but open to women entrepreneurs and employees across Latin America. The platform offers a range of services, including digital wallets as well as virtual education and mentoring to help users develop digital and financial skills. The digital wallets offer services such as savings
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AXA, Acumen’s KawiSafi Lead $16m Equity, Debt Investment Round in Sistema.bio, Provider of Biogas Digesters
KawiSafi Ventures, a Kenya-based fund managed by US-based Acumen Capital Partners, and AXA IM Alts, which is controlled by France’s AXA Group, recently led an investment totaling USD 15.6 million in Sistema.bio, a Mexico-based biogas company that is active on four continents. The funding package includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tugende Raises $17m in Debt from Symbiotics, Goldfinch, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Lendahand to Expand Vehicle, Equipment Financing for MSMEs in Kenya, Uganda
Tugende, a financial technology (fintech) firm specializing in vehicle finance in Uganda and Kenya, recently raised USD 17 million in debt funding. The firm plans to use USD 12 million of the fresh cash to support growth in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reltime to Launch “Decentralized Banking Ecosystem” Allowing P2P Loans, Fee-free Transfers Across Eurasia, Latin America
Reltime, a Norway-based firm founded in 2018, recently told MicroCapital it will launch a “decentralized banking ecosystem” allowing anyone with a smartphone and internet access to engage in
SPECIAL REPORT: Networks in Nigeria, Latin America & Caribbean Boost Trajectory of Women Staff, Clients of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
At a session titled “Professional Women’s Networks and Women’s Leadership in Financial Inclusion,” Mariana Martinez of FinEquity, a platform hosted by CGAP that promotes women’s financial inclusion, described the platform’s new Spanish-language arm, FinEquityALC. FinEquityALC focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean, serving as a pilot project that could lead to FinEquity establishing other regional projects. The goals of FinEquityALC are to improve public policy that impacts women’s financial inclusion as well as financial products and financial education that are targeted at women. Its 1,100 users span 250 institutions.
Barbara Magnoni of Andares and EA Consultants described how Andares connects
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Launches Emprende Platform to Incubate Women-owned Microenterprises in Latin America
The US-based social enterprise Pro Mujer today launched the pilot phase of its Emprende platform, a Spanish-language resource for women running “subsistence” enterprises. Pro Mujer chose 600 women from 3,000 applicants to participate in the three-month pilot, which offers “pre-incubation” and incubation services in three categories:
Skills – Based on the idea of lifelong learning, Emprende offers learning opportunities, including via “edutainment,” with new content to be developed based on customer requests.
Collaboration – The platform includes a “collaborative hub,” with content partners such as the US-based technology firms Microsoft and Platsi. Platsi is a trilingual
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Acquires 40% Equity Stake in Asset Manager Adobe Capital, Seeking to Boost Social, Environmental Returns in Latin America
Deetken Impact, a Canada-based asset manager, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire 40 percent of the shares of Adobe Capital, a Mexico-based manager of investments intended to create positive social and environmental impact. The goal of the partnership is to increase the availability of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation, Norwest, IIFL Place $200m in Equity in Vastu Platform Offering Housing Loans via Alternative Credit Scoring in India
Two US-based firms, Creation Investments and Norwest Venture Partners, recently co-led a Series C financing round of USD 200 million for Vastu Housing Finance of India. Each investor committed USD 75 million to Vastu, with India’s IIFL Finance investing the remaining USD 50 million. Vastu plans to use the financing to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CredAvenue Raises $90m in Equity Round Led by Sequoia for Platform Connecting Lenders, Borrowers in India
CredAvenue, a service that facilitates transactions between lenders and institutional borrowers in India, recently raised USD 90 million in Series A funding. Sequoia Capital India led the round of funding, with participation from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Leads $30m Debt, Equity Funding Round for ReshaMandi, B2B App for Silk Farms, Manufacturers, Retailers in India
ReshaMandi, business-to-business (B2B) marketplace app serving 35,000 farms, manufacturing businesses and retailers active in the silk industry, recently raised USD 30 million in debt and equity. Creation Investments, a US-based alternative investment manager,
SPECIAL REPORT: CRECER, Dreamlopments, Fonkoze in Finals for European Microfinance Award 2021 on Inclusive Finance & Health Care
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On the 22nd and 23rd September 2021, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2021 (EMA 2021) on “Inclusive Finance & Health Care” chose the three finalists who will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 117,000) prize: CRECER IFD from Bolivia, Dreamlopments Limited from Thailand and Fonkoze from Haiti.
Access to quality health care underpins everything else: it allows education to play its role in opening new opportunities; it allows people to earn, invest and employ others; it lets groups and societies prosper. But paying for health care is the single biggest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Centraal, Google, IDB Lab Seeking Applicants for LAC Women Founders Accelerator Program Through September 12
Three organizations recently launched the LAC Women Founders Accelerator Program “for STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] startups led by women in Latin America and the Caribbean [LAC]”: (1) Centraal, “a coworking space, a meeting place, and home to a number of startups” in Mexico; (2) US-based technology firm Google; and (3) IDB Lab, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. Twenty startups will be selected to participate in the 10-week program, which includes mentorship; a “Demo Day,” during which entrepreneurs can
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nubank of Brazil Raises $750m in Equity, Mostly from Berkshire Hathaway, Sands Capital to Support Expansion in Latin America
Brazil-based digital bank Nubank recently raised USD 500 million from US-based holding company Berkshire Hathaway to help Nubank: (1) strengthen its management team with additional hires; (2)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions (IIV) Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $12m to Bayport for Payroll Lending in Colombia
Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest In Visions (IIV), has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 10 million (USD 12.1 million) to Bayport Colombia, one of the nine financial services providers (FSPs) of Mauritius-based microfinance network Bayport Management Limited. Bayport Colombia is using the cash to fund
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kushki Raises $86m in Equity to Grow Fintech Services for Retailers in Latin America
Kushki, a digital payment processor that is active in Latin America, recently raised USD 86 million in its Series B funding round. The investors – not all of which have been named – include Spain-based Conexo Ventures, Mexico-based Dila Capital,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Common Cents Lab, IDB, Mastercard, MercadoLibre Harnessing Behavioral Economics, Technology in Effort to Bolster Financial Stability of Entrepreneurs, SMEs in Latin America
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral financial institution that promotes economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently partnered with US-based Common Cents Lab, US-based financial services company Mastercard and Argentina-based e-retailer MercadoLibre on a program intended to improve the ability of entrepreneurs as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “to prepare for, deal with and recover later from economic shocks.” Over two years, the partners will design and test “behavioral-informed interventions,” such as reminders, deadlines or social pressure, “within the MercadoLibre platform and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: True North Sells $25m Stake in Fincare SFB, Provider of Microfinance in India, to Motilal Oswal Private Equity
Two India-based private equity firms recently exchanged a minority stake in India’s Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB). Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE) bought the shares through its India Business Excellence Fund-III for USD 25 million from True North. Although the size of the stake has not been disclosed, True North previously held 7.25 percent of the shares of Fincare SFB and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cívico of Colombia Launches “Negocios” App to Help MSMEs Advertise, Sell, Maintain Customer Relationships Online
Cívico, a Colombia-based online marketplace, networking and loan platform for micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched a mobile app called Negocios that allows users to “create a digital presence for their businesses, upload and sell their products, and connect with their clients.” Cívico also is using the app to collect data on the MSMEs’ interactions with their customers “to