LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit, private equity microinsurance fund, has invested ZAR 50 million (USD 6.8 million) in AllLife, a South African insurer for people with HIV and diabetes. AllLife provides life insurance only to those who follow an appropriate health monitoring and treatment program, enabling it to maintain more competitively priced coverage. Mr. Ross Beerman, Managing Director of AllLife said: “These are potential policyholders, willing to pay for reasonably priced insurance and willing to take steps to manage their disease so that they lead long and productive lives. From a business risk and profitability perspective, of course they’re insurable – we simply had to invent systems to monitor and support them in the right ways.”
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MICROCAPITAL.ORG BRIEF: SCOR Invests in LeapFrog Investments to Gain Experience in Microinsurance Sector
According to The Review, an insurance magazine, the Paris-based reinsurer, SCOR Group, has invested an undisclosed amount in LeapFrog Investments, a microinsurance fund with USD 44 million in equity. A statement issued by SCOR stated, “Our investment in LeapFrog is a demonstration of [our] support of a socially-responsible sector such as microinsurance.” SCOR also said that the “strict investment return criteria applied … to all its investments” was also applicable in this instance. Additionally, SCOR’s CFO, Mr. Paolo de Martin, will be joining LeapFrog’s advisory board.
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: AfriCap Microfinance Fund
Overview:
The AfriCap Microfinance Fund (AfriCap) is private equity fund that invests in microfinance related organizations that are committed to commercial viability.
Description:
AfriCap uses equity and quasi equity instruments with an aggregate exposure of $1.5 million per investment, with equity stakes ranging from 15 to 30 percent. AfriCap also offers a Technology Assistance Package through the AfriCap managed grant fund. AfriCap invests in a range of financial services companies, including micro-insurance, low-income housing, micro-leasing and money transfers.
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: ACCION Investments in Microfinance SPC
Overview:
The ACCION Investments in Microfinance, SPC fund (ACCION Investments) is a microfinance investment vehicle which mobilizes funds for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROFINANCE PROFILE: LeapFrog Investments
Name of Organization or Microfinance Investment Vehicle: LeapFrog Investments
Overview: LeapFrog Investments is a for-profit, private equity fund focused on microinsurance and financial inclusion
Description:
LeapFrog Investments was founded in 2007 by Dr. Andrew Kuper. It is a for-profit, private equity fund aimed at earning large returns by investing in and supporting microinsurance initiatives. LeapFrog has raised USD 44 million from a range of public and private investors, including the European Investment Bank, the Omidyar Network, FMO, Triodos-Doen and Hivos-Triodos, ACCION International, Calvert, and Felipe Medina (a senior Goldman Sachs wealth manager). The LeapFrog team has also committed USD 1 million of their own personal money into the fund. The fund focuses on ventures in Africa and Asia, with initial target countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Pakistand and the Philippines.
MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog Investments Ltd.
Dr. Andrew Kuper is President and Founder of LeapFrog, the world’s first microinsurance fund, which he founded in 2007. He was previously a Managing Director of Ashoka, a support organization for social entrepreneurs. He has worked with microfinance institutions Grameen and BRAC, and is the author of two books on globalization. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
PRESS RELEASE: BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund Takes 14% Equity Stake in XacBank Holding Company TenGer Financial Group, Allowing for Partial Exit of Unnamed Shareholder
Source: XacBank.
PRESS RELEASE: Starting to Expand Beyond Mongolia, Microfinance Holding Company TenGer Increases Share Capital by $5.3m
Source: XacBank.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: MFX Solutions Closes First Currency Hedge Transaction; $4 million Currency Swap With MicroVest
MFX Solutions Inc., a company providing currency hedging solutions designed specifically for microfinance, closed its first hedging transaction, a USD 4 million currency swap with MicroVest I, LP. The cross-currency swap transaction allowed MicroVest I, a Washington DC-based microfinance investment fund, to make a USD 4 million, 3-year loan in Columbian pesos to Fundacion Mundo Mujer, a Columbian-based microfinance institution. [3]
PRESS RELEASE: President Bill Clinton Honors LeapFrog Investments’ Microinsurance Fund as “New Frontier in Microfinance” at Clinton Global Initiative
Source: Leapfrog Investments.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Azerbaijan Microfinance Association Investors Fair in Baku, Azerbaijan, October 7, 2009
Microfinance Event: Azerbaijan Microfinance Association Investors Fair in Baku, Azerbaijan, October 7, 2009
Event Name: Azerbaijan Microfinance Association Investors Fair
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Date: October 7, 2009
Event Description: The conference will focus on MFI governance strategy, financial risk management, client protection, opportunities to learn about innovative products, and a chance to access capital investors [1].
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: AMFA Members: AZN 200 (USD 248)
non-AMFA Members: AZN 250 (USD 310)
International: USD 200
Summary of Event: The day will start with remarks from members of the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association, the Azerbaijani government, and business representatives. There will then be three panels on governance, risk, and client protection, respectively. Lastly, the Investors Fair will be a roundtable to discuss critical microfinance issues [2].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Roundtable 2009, presented by the United Nations, October 22-23, 2009 at Cape Town, South Africa
MICROFINANCE EVENT: United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Roundtable 2009, presented by the United Nations, October 22-23, 2009 at Cape Town, South Africa
United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), presented by the United Nations, October 22-23, 2009 at Cape Town, South Africa
October 22-23, 2009 at Cape Town, South Africa
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Indonesian Government And Central Bank Plans To Cut Interest Rates For Microfinance Loans
In a report by Mr Mustaqim Adamrah in the Jakarta Post entitled ‘Govt, Bank Indonesia seek lower rates for micro loans’ [1], it was stated that the Indonesian government and the central bank of Indonesia, Bank Indonesia [2], will work together to bring down interest rates charged by banks to small businesses to around 13 percent under its microcredit program or ‘KUR’. This move was seen as necessary to help Indonesia’s micro, small and medium enterprises. The article notes that Bank Indonesia recently cut its key base interest rate to 6.5 percent last December. It is not known whether the decision to reduce interest rates under the KUR program is related to this development. The details set out in the Jakarta Post article have yet to be confirmed by other public reports or sources at this stage.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Centenary Bank of Uganda to Increase Microfinance Lending within Agriculture Sector
For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/rural-microfinance
Centenary Bank of Uganda, a commercial bank with a focus on rural microfinance, has announced that it will increase its loans to farmers, further increasing its agricultural lending [1, 2]. The loans will enable farmers to buy tractors and other machinery up to a maximum of UGX 200 million (USD 95,000) [1]. Farmers owning 100 acres of land will be targeted. Recently the government declared in its 2009-10 budget that a UGX 30 billion (USD 14.2 million) loan guarantee will be made available to banks that extend loans to the agricultural sector this financial year [1]. The government believes this investment will help Uganda recover from the global recession as the agricultural sector employs 85 percent of the labor force. Centenary Bank will also seek to access part of the UGX 88 billion (EUR 30 million) credit facility that the European Investment Bank (EIB) is extending to several Ugandan commercial banks [1].
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Microfinance Conference 2009 in Amman, Jordan on October 26-27, 2009, Organized by UniGlobal Research in Association with Sanabel
Event Name: MENA Microfinance Conference 2009
Date: October 26-27, 2009
Location: Amman, Jordan
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Down in Cambodia: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Reduce Loan Volume in First Half 2009
For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/crash-of-2008-and-microfinance
The number of loans extended to clients by microfinance institutions (MFIs) declined during the first half of 2009 in Cambodia, according to an article in the Phnom Penh Post [1]. MFIs reported that they are being more cautious in their lending and clients are more nervous about taking out loans. Both factors are being attributed to the downturn in the global economy. The rate of non performing loans (NPLs) also increased during this period and the Cambodian Microfinance Association forecasts this to increase to three percent by the end of the year [1, 2]. A recent MicroCapital story discussed this trend and the increased credit risk rating that the Economist Intelligence Unit has assigned to Cambodia [9].
MICROCAPITAL STORY: MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX) in Washington D.C., USA Launches Hedging Operations Dedicated to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX), a new company based in Washington D.C. in the United States dedicated to providing microfinance currency risk solutions announced the launch of its hedging operations recently, according to a press release on the electronic news and information portal PR NewsWire. With the launch, MFX, in keeping with its mission to ‘make sure that existing flows of microfinance lending are not disrupted by currency devaluation’, will focus on making modern hedging instruments accessible to microfinance lenders in developing countries. As per information available on their website, MFX will focus on ‘high-risk markets in Africa and elsewhere where hedging can have a transformative effect’. Additionally, MFX will also create education programs in the form of easy-to-use web-based tools designed to help MFI managers analyze the risks they face under different economic scenarios. (PR Newswire is headquartered in New York, USA and is a subsidiary of the London based global business media company United Business MediaPlc).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Opportunity International’s MicroEnsure of the United Kingdom to Launch Microinsurance Program for Climate Change and Crop Failure in India
MicroEnsure, an insurance intermediary established in 2005, stated that it plans to launch a microinsurance scheme next year for up to 600,000 farmers in India’s Kolhapur province. MicroEnsure is also a subsidiary of Opportunity International, a global non-profit microfinance network, which was formed in 1974, has assets totaling USD 736 million as of 2007 and lends to over 1 million people globally. The plan will insure farmers against their rice crops failing due to drought or heavy rains. Furthermore, the plan is to help farmers access larger loans to pay for seeds and equipment. According to the World Bank, India’s rural population account for about 72 percent of the India’s 1.1 billion people, and most of the rural poor rely on rain-fed agriculture.