The Small Enterprise Assistance Fund (SEAF), a US-based “impact investing” fund manager, recently announced its disbursement of an undisclosed amount of capital to Philippines-based startup CloudCfo. The firm will use the proceeds to boost its growth across its online accounting, bookkeeping and
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s ID4D Launches 2nd “Mission Billion Challenge,” Offering $150k in Prizes for Innovation in Identification, Digital Inclusion for Vulnerable Groups
The World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative recently announced the launch of the second Mission Billion Challenge, an initiative offering cash prizes totalling USD 150,000 for ideas that increase vulnerable groups’ access to digital identification systems. The target groups include women and girls as well as informal workers whose income has been reduced by COVID-19. Part of the motivation for the program is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Proximity Finance Raises $14m in Equity from Finnfund, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Proparco to Support Farmers in Myanmar
Proximity Finance, a unit of Myanmar-focused social enterprise Proximity Designs, recently agreed to a package of equity investments totaling USD 14 million in equal shares from three European institutional investors, Proparco (Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Économique), the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Finnfund. The deal, which is pending regulatory approval, would support Proximity Finance’s services to small-scale, rural farmers in Myanmar, including plans to disburse 1.5 million loans within four years and expand
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nordic Microfinance Initiative Raises $5m from Lauritzen Fonden to Invest in Women in Africa, Asia
Denmark-based Lauritzen Fonden recently invested USD 5 million in “Fund IV” of the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that invests in microfinance institutions and agricultural initiatives in developing countries. The new investment is specific to microfinance, mainly for women in Africa and Asia.
Lauritzen describes itself as a “commercial foundation.” It earns income from shipping concerns and investments in real estate, technology, software and equipment and then disburses approximately DKK 40 million (USD 6 million) per year to support youth and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Genie Enables 14m Bank of Ceylon Customers to Upload Funds for Digital Payments to Retailers, Utilities, Schools, Friends, Family in Sri Lanka
The operators of Genie, an app for performing financial transactions in Sri Lanka, recently partnered with the state-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) to allow the 14 million customers of BOC to upload funds to Genie, which can “securely hold credit and debit cards, current and savings accounts and eZ Cash accounts to promote seamless payment experiences.” Genie and the mobile wallet eZ Cash are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Good Return, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) to Support Women’s SMEs in Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal, Samoa with Credit Guarantees, Technical Assistance
Good Return, the Australia-based affiliate of the US-based NGO World Education, recently partnered with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to support women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a credit guarantee scheme in Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal and Samoa. Under the program, “International impact investors will be providing the funds to be guaranteed to partner financial institutions” in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Invests $19m in Microfinance for Women via Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
The Japan-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company recently invested JPY 2 billion (USD 18.6 million) in a “Microfinance and Gender Loan” scheme, which was arranged by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB), a member of the France-based Crédit Agricole Group. The funding will allow the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, “to support microfinance institutions focusing [on]
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kookmin Paying $603m to LOLC for 70% Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Prasac of Cambodia
South Korea’s KB Financial Group, whose name derives from its Kookmin Bank, recently issued the first of two tranches it agreed pay for 70 percent of the shares of Prasac, a microbank in Cambodia. Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group, whose name comes from the former Lanka Orix Leasing Company, will take in a total of USD 603 million on the deal, which has been approved by all pertinent regulators. Prasac has 180 branches and 150 automated teller machines (ATMs). As of 2019, it had total assets of USD 3.1 billion, USD 1.8 billion in deposits and a loan portfolio of USD 2.5 billion outstanding to 417,000 borrowers.
KB President Hur Yin said, “With long-term plans to turn Prasac into a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas Loans $9.4m to CreditAccess Grameen of India for Microfinance
BNP Paribas, a bank based in France, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a two-year loan of INR 700 million (USD 9.4 million) to CreditAccess Grameen, the Indian member of CreditAccess Asia, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. CreditAccess Grameen, formerly known as Grameen Koota, offers group microenterprise loans of USD 1,150; individual small business loans of up to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Loans $11m to Microfinance Institution ASA International India
Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany’s Invest In Visions (IIV), recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 11 million) to ASA International India, a microlending unit of ASA International. ASA India was founded in 2008 and serves
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Africa, Asia, Latin America Borrow $42m from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund, Including ASA International’s Institutions in Ghana, Uganda
Two microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the ASA International network, those in Ghana and Uganda, recently accepted local-currency loans from the Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency sub-fund of Austria-based C-Quadrat Asset Management. That sub-fund, together with the Dual Return Vision Microfinance sub-fund issued a total equivalent to USD 42 million during October. The other borrowing MFIs are located in Cambodia,
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Charting the Customer Journey in the Digital Age,” Published by CFI
By Pablo Anton-Diaz and Amin Khairy, published by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) at Accion, May 2019, 15 pages, available at https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/charting-the-customer-journey-in-the-digital-age
This report focuses on how financial institutions can “create effective digital customer journeys for underserved clients.” The authors identify the following stages of such journeys: 1) “the pre-purchase stage,” in which customers select the financial product
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution LOLC Completes $20m Bond Issue on Cambodia Securities Exchange
LOLC (Cambodia) Plc, a microfinance institution (MFI) controlled by LOLC International Private Limited of Singapore, recently announced the listing of Cambodia’s second-ever corporate bond on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX). LOLC Cambodia raised a total of KHR 80 billion (USD 20 million) through the issuance of two types of bonds underwritten by Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities: (1) fixed-coupon bonds and (2) FX-indexed bonds whose coupon payment varies depending on the KHR-USD exchange rate, thus protecting investors from foreign-exchange (FX) risk. The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund Invests in Varthana, Funder of Educational Institutions in India
The Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund, which is managed by C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM), recently invested an undisclosed amount of funds in Varthana, an India-based lender to “affordable” private schools, with the aim of improving educational access for children whose families have low incomes. C-Quadrat AM is a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group.
Varthana lends to primary and secondary schools for infrastructure, teacher training and working capital. It also offers management and educational consultancy to school owners. As of 2019, Varthana has secured and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bereke Microfinance Organization of Kazakhstan Borrows $680k from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
Bereke Microfinance Organization, which is located in Kazakhstan, has received a loan in local currency approximately equivalent to USD 680,000 from the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, to expand its loan portfolio. Bereke seeks to increase its clients’ standard of living by lending for microenterprise, small enterprise, agriculture, housing and consumption. The institution was founded in 2003 to serve the northern, eastern and central regions of Kazakhstan. As of 2017,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Africa 2019; April 9, 2019; Johannesburg, South Africa
The 2019 Mondato Summit Africa, which will be held at Summer Place in Johannesburg, is themed “Scaling Digital Finance & Commerce (DFC) Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Discussions are slated to cover the evolution of the digital economy, the transformation of telecommunication companies, investment opportunities and policy considerations.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 6th Sankalp Africa Summit; February 21-22, 2019; Nairobi, Kenya
This summit will focus on promoting social entrepreneurship and impact investing, which the event organizers describe as “using business as a tool to achieve social impact” while also generating profits. The themes for the first and second
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “The Bali Fintech Agenda: A Blueprint for Successfully Harnessing Fintech’s Opportunities;” published by International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group
This is a summary of a paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group; October 2018; 43 pages; available at:
http://www.findevgateway.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/pp101118-bali-fintech-agenda_1.pdf
The authors of this paper, whose title refers to its release at a conference in Bali, Indonesia, argue that financial technology (fintech) offers emerging markets both opportunities and risks, including risks to “financial