by Meraj Husain -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Centre for Catastrophe Risks Hosts “International Congress on Insurance and Reinsurance of Agricultural Risks”, January 29 – 31, 2014, Marrakech, Morocco

Event Name: International Congress on Insurance and Reinsurance of Agricultural Risks

Event Date: January 29 – January 31, 2014

Event Location: Marrakech, Morocco

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: ANDE 2012 Impact Report; Microfinance Performance Evaluation; Status of Microfinance in Karnataka, India

“ANDE 2012 Impact Report”; The Aspen Institute; 2013; 39 pages; available at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/ande-2012-impact-report

This document covers aspects of small and growing businesses including the barriers women business owners face in the marketplace.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Issues $675m in Bonds to Fund Inclusive Finance, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Other Projects

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently issued five-year  “Sustainability Bonds” in the amount of EUR 500 million (USD 675 million) to finance environmentally friendly and socially responsible initiatives related to renewable energy, agriculture, food processing, forestry, transportation, access to water and microfinance [1].

by Makai McClintock -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services; Africa Microfinance Pricing Reports; Impact Assessment of EFC Zambia

“Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services: Factors for Success;” by Mark Flaming, Aiaze Mitha, Michel Hanouch, Peter Zetterli and Greta Bull; published by the MasterCard Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC); October 2013; 18 pages; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/88486280414940acb54ab79e78015671/Partnerships+in+Mobile+Financial+Services.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

This report presents findings from a study exploring the factors that determine the success of business partnerships among telecommunication firms, financial institutions and other organizations in providing mobile financial services.

by Anesa Kratovac -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Inclusive Business Models Group Publishes Case Studies

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), through “Inclusive Business Models Group,” has presented eight new case-studies of initiatives that operate within inclusive business principles [1, 2].

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya Commercial Bank, Safaricom’s M-Pesa Launch Mobile App KCB M-Benki to Increase Financial Inclusion

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), a publicly traded financial services company in Kenya, has partnered with Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile service provider that operates the mobile money service M-Pesa, to launch a mobile banking application called KCB M-Benki in Kenya and five other East African countries serviced by KCB [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Micro Pension Foundation, Invest India Micro Pension Services, Visa Partner to Promote Savings by Low-Income Households in India

Micro Pension Foundation, an Indian nonprofit that helps low-income households gain access to microsavings products, and Visa Incorporated, a US-based payments technology company, reportedly are partnering to establish the “Micro Pension Financial Inclusion Lab” [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The International Bank of Bob,” by Bob Harris; published by Walker Publishing

“The International Bank of Bob;” by Bob Harris; published by the Walker Publishing Company, Inc.; March 2013; 400 pages, http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-international-bank-of-bob-9781620405222/

This book stems from the moment that US-based author Bob Harris met a group of South Asian day laborers while on assignment for ForbesTraveler.com in Dubai.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya

MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced a new partnership with Airtel Kenya, a subsidiary of Indian mobile phone company Airtel, and Pan Africa Life, a Kenyan life insurance company, to launch a mobile life insurance product in Kenya [1].

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Orange, Visa Partner to Enhance Orange Money Mobile Payment System in Botswana

Orange, a France-based telecommunications corporation, recently partnered with Visa Incorporated, a US-based payments technology company, to launch an enhanced system of mobile payment services for subscribers of Orange Money, Orange’s mobile money service, in Botswana.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest Up To $28m in Trustco of Namibia for Higher Education, Insurance in Africa

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced plans to make an investment of ZAR 300 million (USD 28.8 million) in Trustco Group Holdings, a Namibia-based company specializing in microcredit and microinsurance, to increase the number of student loans in Namibia and expand microinsurance into unspecified countries in Sub-Saharan Africa [1].

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bharti Airtel, MicroEnsure Launch Mobile Microinsurance Service in Africa

Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications services provider with operations in 150 countries, has partnered with MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, to provide MicroEnsure’s microinsurance services to Airtel customers in Africa via mobile phone.

by Michael Averell -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda (AMFIU), National Network of People Living with HIV Uganda (PLHIV), Stop Aids Now, Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos), Agency for Co-operation in Research and Development (ACORD) to Support MFI Clients Affected by HIV/AIDS in Uganda

The Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda (AMFIU), an umbrella organization for Ugandan microfinance institutions (MFIs) and related organizations, recently announced four new partnerships in an effort to support clients affected by HIV and AIDS illnesses in Uganda.

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tigo Ghana, EB Accion, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, USAID to Help Women Become Mobile Money Agents

The Ghanaian branch of Luxembourg-based telecommunication firm Millicom International Cellular, which is also known as Tigo and has operations in 15 African and Latin American countries; EB Accion, a Ghana-based microfinance institution (MFI) affiliated with Togo-based Ecobank Group and US-based non-governmental organization (NGO) Accion; Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, a London-based charity focused on technology and access to finance; and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, reportedly have partnered on a mobile money project that is expected to involve hundreds of women in Ghana.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Guarantee Fund (AGF) Guarantees $3.5m in Loans from Commercial Bank of Africa, Investments & Mortgages Limited to SMEs in East Africa

The African Guarantee Fund (AGF), a Kenya-based organization that aims to increase financial access by underwriting commercial bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, recently reached an agreement with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), a bank based in Kenya, for a KES 200 million (USD 2.3 million) guarantee and with Kenya-based bank Investments & Mortgages Limited (I&M Bank) for a guarantee of KES 100 million (USD 1.2 million) to support the banks’ on-lending to SMEs.

by Brian LeBlanc -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, MicroEnsure Launch Savings-Linked Education Insurance Program, EduSave, in Malawi

Opportunity International, a US-based development nonprofit, and its subsidiary MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, have announced the launch in Malawi of a savings-linked education insurance product called EduSave.