The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle that supports energy-efficiency (EE) initiatives in Southeast Europe, recently announced that it will invest EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) in debt in Alter Modus, a Montenegro-based microfinance institution (MFI).
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Controversy Brews as For-Profit Fintech Provider MyBucks Buys 6 African Microfinance Organizations from Nonprofit Opportunity International
The sale of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda over the first half of 2016 by US-based NGO Opportunity International to Luxembourg-based financial technology company MyBucks has raised concerns both that these MFIs’ clients could be negatively impacted and that these transactions signal that the sector’s overall direction has shifted toward profit-making.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, ABN Amro, Privium Open FMO Privium Impact Fund to Invest in Job Creation, Environmental Efforts in Emerging Markets
Three Dutch institutions, development bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) Amro, and fund manager Privium, recently announced the opening of the FMO Privium Impact Fund.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Flexible Microloan Repayment Schedules in Bangladesh; Merchant Acceptance of Digital Payments in Developing Countries; Global Standard-setting Bodies and Financial Inclusion
“Cost-Benefit Analysis of Traditional Versus Flexible Microfinance in Bangladesh;” by S. Bairagi, W. Bin Shadat; published by the Copenhagen Consensus Center; May 2016; 32 pages; available at: http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/sites/default/files/bin_shadat_microfinance.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Switzerland’s SECO Donates $5m to EBRD for Small Businesses in Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) recently contributed USD 5.1 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD’s) Small Business Initiative to support “infrastructure, enterprise and financial sector development, climate change mitigation through energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives, and the sustainable use of natural resources” in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. EBRD provides loans, debt securities, equity investments, guarantees and technical assistance to micro- and small businesses primary via commercial banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs). SECO has donated a total of USD 189 million to EBRD from 1992 through 2016.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Updates Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS)
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of investments intended to solve social and environmental problems, recently announced it launched an updated version of the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS), a free tool intended to support the transparency, credibility and accountability of impact measurement.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Improving Financial Capability in India, Mexico; Mobile Money Usage; Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Microfinance
“A Change in Behavior: Innovations in Financial Capability;” by J. Arnold, E. Rhyne; published by the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, JPMorgan Chase & Co; April 2016; 47 pages; available at: https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/a-change-in-behavior-final.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe (GGF) Signs $2.2m Senior Loan Facility with ICS Total Leasing & Finance of Moldova
The Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency and renewable energy, recently announced that it has agreed to disburse a senior loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) to ICS Total Leasing & Finance S.A. (TLF), a Moldova-based non-banking financial institution.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Necessary for SMEs to Grow; Microfinance Challenges in the Arab World; Incofin on MFIs’ Social Performance
“ADB Report: Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014;” by S. Shinozaki, T. Chaiken, S. Jain, K. Dorofev, C. T. Delos Santos and J. Bautista; published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); September 2015; 318 pages; available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/173205/asia-sme-finance-monitor2014.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL) Members to Access Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR)
Nine financial cooperatives associated with the Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL), a network of 208 financial institutions that also provides financial services directly to the public, have met the requirements to access the Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR), a Cameroon-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) Allows Micro-Banking Offices (MBOs) to Approve New Deposit Accounts
Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, recently authorized micro-banking offices (MBOs) of financial institutions to extend the range of “allowable activities” [1] with the aim of increasing financial inclusion in the rural parts of the country.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion” Prepared for the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), World Bank Group
“Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion,” prepared for Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank Group, September 2015, 69 pages, available at: https://consultations.worldbank.org/consultation/payment-aspects-financial-inclusion
This report delineates the role of payment and settlement services – the mechanisms in place to facilitate electronic monetary transactions – in expanding formal financial access to people with low incomes in the developing world.
SPECIAL REPORT: Crédit Rural de Guinée Wins $110k European Microfinance Award for Response to Ebola
Crédit Rural de Guinée (CRG) has been announced as the winner of the 6th European Microfinance Award, focusing this year on Microfinance in Post-disaster, Post-conflict Areas & Fragile States, for its innovative response to the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. The Award was presented during European Microfinance Week by Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, during a ceremony on 19th November held at the European Investment Bank headquarters in Luxembourg.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Partners With Government of Belarus on Business Environment for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to increase economic growth in developing countries, recently announced that it will partner with the Ministry of the Economy of Belarus “to improve the business environment through measures that will support the growth of small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)”[1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Citi Foundation, Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) Present Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit, October 27-29, 2015, Manila, Philippines
Event Name: Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit 2015
Event Date: October 27-29, 2015
Event Location: Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Manila, Philippines
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Munich Re Foundation, FMSAR, Microinsurance Network to Host 11th International Microinsurance Conference, November 3-5, 2015, Casablanca, Morocco
Event Name: 11th International Microinsurance Conference 2015: Driving Growth and Sustainability – A Business Case for Microinsurance
Event Date: November 3-5, 2015
Event Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Casablanca, Morocco
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Is Health Microinsurance Sustainable? An Analysis of Five South Asian Schemes,” by Michael E. Weilant, published by the International Labour Organization
“Is Health Microinsurance Sustainable? An analysis of Five South Asian Schemes,” by Michael Weilant, published by the International Labor Organization, May 2015, 45 pages, available at: http://www.impactinsurance.org/sites/default/files/mp41_final.pdf
This paper analyzes five health microinsurance (HMI) schemes operating in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in order to evaluate the sustainability of HMI. All five schemes were in operation for more than 3 years and serve more than 25,000 active customers.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: 5th Pacific Microfinance Week: Next Mile Financial Services in the Pacific, September 21-25, 2015, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Event Name: 5th Pacific Microfinance Week 2015: Next Mile Financial Services in the Pacific
Event Date: September 21-25, 2015
Event Location: Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Event Summary: Pacific Microfinance Week (PMW) 2015 is a series of workshops, field visits and formal conference sessions focusing on providers of financial services for poor people in the Pacific region. The topics that will be discussed include digital finance and delivery channels, women’s empowerment through access to finance, enhancing the potential of non-bank financial institutions, policy and regulation, innovations in products and services, developing measures of financial inclusion, how corporate governance structures can improve organizational performance, and a special session on financial inclusion in the Solomon Islands. The most recent PMW was held in 2013.