The authors propose that financial services providers (FSPs) have opportunities to enhance the resilience of users of informal saving mechanisms (ISMs) by developing services that help ISMs manage risk. In this context, resilience is defined as
Search Results for: Ghana
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Golden Brigades Launches Eskala, Investor of Microequity in Cooperatives in Rural Central America
Golden Brigades, which is registered as a charity in five North American and European countries, recently launched a for-profit entity called Eskala to focus on using microequity to support cajas rurales, rural banking cooperatives. As of 2021, Eskala has invested in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tagit Developing Mobile App for Advans Microfinance Institutions in Africa, Asia
Advans Group, a Luxembourg-based microfinance organization with operations in nine low- and middle-income countries, recently partnered with Tagit, a Singapore-based mobile technology company, to develop a mobile banking application for Advans customers. The app will be based on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alpha Direct of Botswana Expands Insurance Service to Zambia, Plans Equity Raise
Botswana-based insurance underwriter Alpha Direct recently expanded its operations to Zambia under the name Alpha Insurtech Zambia. Alpha Insurtech is partnering with Zambia-based General Alliance Insurance to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malawi Among Hosts of European Commission, OACPS, UNCDF Digital Finance Program for Women, Youth
The EU’s European Commission (EC); the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS); and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced the first two implementations of a program with a budget of EUR 15 million (USD 17.7 million) intended to utilize digital finance to improve financial inclusion and access to e-commerce for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&P Leads $8m Debt, Equity Funding Round for Zeepay to Expand Mobile Money Services in Africa
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), a France-based investor in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa, recently led a funding round for Zeepay, a financial technology (fintech) company with offices in Ghana and the UK, to expand Zeepay’s digital wallet services to more countries in Africa. The funding round comprises USD 3 million in equity from I&P, USD 800,000 in equity from Ark Holdings, USD 800,000 in
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Enabling Women’s Financial Inclusion Through Digital Financial Literacy,” by Catherine Highet, Published by FinEquity
In this paper, Catherine Highet evaluated the gender gap in digital financial literacy (DFL) and identified related enabling and constraining factors in various countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia and Ghana. The enabling factors include
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: CDC Group Announces $50m Risk-sharing Facility with Absa Bank to Boost Lending to Households, MSMEs in Africa
CDC Group, a development finance institution backed by the UK government, recently announced a risk-sharing facility of USD 50 million in partnership with Absa Bank Limited, which is based in South Africa and operates in 14 African countries. Under the agreement, CDC will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Chipper Cash Raises $100m in Equity to Expand Cryptocurrency, Peer-to-Peer Services, Distribution of Payment Cards in Africa, UK
Chipper Cash, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm active in Africa, recently raised USD 100 million in a Series C round of funding that it plans to use to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDH Farmfit Fund Acquires Equity Stake in LendXS, Provider of Fintech for Microfinance Institutions Serving Smallholder Farmers
The IDH Farmfit Fund, which is facilitated by the Sustainable Trade Initiative, a Netherlands-based NGO known by its Dutch acronym IDH, recently acquired a 21-percent stake in LendXS, a Netherlands-based financial technology (fintech) platform for rural financial institutions. The pricing of the transaction remains
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Guarantee $10m in Borrowing by Trine to Invest in Solar Power in Latin America, Caribbean
The US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently agreed to cover half of potential losses on USD 20 million being raised by Trine AB, a Sweden-based solar investment platform, to support industrial solar ventures as well as mini-grids in Latin America and the Caribbean. This funding is sufficient to supply renewable energy to approximately 600,0
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rent-to-Own Car Financier Planet42 of South Africa Secures Final Tranche of $13m Debt, Equity Package
Planet42, a car financier in South Africa, recently secured the closing portion of a funding package arranged by Verdant Capital, an African financial advisory firm, totaling USD 13 million in debt and equity. The names of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Motorcycle Leasing Company Tugende Raises $10m in Debt, Equity for Growth in Uganda, Kenya
Tugende, a company specializing in leases for motorcycle taxis known as boda-bodas, recently raised USD 10 million in debt and equity capital from a group of investors, bringing the size of the firm’s balance sheet to USD 30 million. The one investor that has been identified is Mobility 54,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Retail Capital Raises $6.8m for Merchant Cash Advances to SMEs in South Africa
Retail Capital, a provider of cash advances and asset financing to small businesses in South Africa, recently signed on to a credit line of ZAR 110 million (USD 6.8 million) arranged from an unspecified international investor by Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm. Verdant Capital reports that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, about 90 percent of Retail Capital’s clients have been authorized to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure, STP, TonkaBI Merge into “MicroInsurance Company,” Leveraging Straight-through Processing, Artificial Intelligence to Expand Access
Seeking to expand access to microinsurance for both individuals and businesses, UK-based companies MicroEnsure and TonkaBI along with the US-based STP Group recently merged to form the MicroInsurance Company (MIC). The new firm describes itself as “the first global end-to-end digital micro insurance solution,” benefitting from the three firms’ “reinsurance capacity, in-country insurance licenses, world-class distribution and market-leading artificial intelligence functionality.” STP Group brings the new company its straight-through processing (STP) methodology, which
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Planet42, Financier of Used Vehicles for Unbanked in South Africa, Raises $2.6m in Equity
Planet42, a lender in South Africa formerly named CarGet, recently raised EUR 2.3 million (USD 2.6 million) in equity to expand its “rent-to-buy” service for used cars in South Africa. Neither the names of the investors – a mix of private and institutional entities – nor the sizes of their stakes have been released.
Planet42 serves “the financially excluded…people ignored by banks…due to overly strict lending criteria.” The firm manages risk through “an automated scoring algorithm and securing its assets [via] title deed, tracking technology [and] comprehensive and mechanical insurance.” Clients submit a monthly rental payment and are offered a buy-out price that declines over five years to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cross-border Payment Settlement Network EMQ Expands Into Africa
EMQ, a financial settlement network based in Hong Kong, recently announced its expansion into Africa, including the nations of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. The firm facilitates access to “millions” of mobile wallets in Asia and Europe, and it plans to expand into