Afluenta, an Argentina-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, recently announced it closed a series B funding round totaling USD 8 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to increase economic growth in developing countries, and Elevar Equity, a “development-focused” private equity fund based in India.
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MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion; Inclusive Finance in India; Financial Regulation for Inclusion and Development in Latin America
“Current Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion;” by M. Soursourian, E. Dashi and E. Dokle; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2015; 4 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Current-Trends-in-International-Funding-Dec-2015.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Loans $250m to Bayport Management to Boost Microfinance in Africa, Latin America
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently invested USD 250 million through a senior debt facility in Bayport Management Limited, Mauritius-based network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maria Cavalcanti to Serve as New CEO, President of Pro Mujer
Pro Mujer, a US-based nonprofit that provides healthcare, training and financial services to women in Latin America, recently appointed Maria Cavalcanti as its President and CEO.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mapping Pathways Out of Poverty; Marketing Insurance to Women; Sustaining Financial Inclusion in the Philippines
“Mapping Pathways out of Poverty: The State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report, 2015;” published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign; December 2015; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/library/mapping-pathways-out-poverty-state-microcredit-summit-campaign-report-2015
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.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Qualcomm, Project Concern International (PCI) India, Microware Computing & Consulting Partner to Offer 3G-based Mobile Microfinance Technology for Microfinance Institution Planned Social Concern
Qualcomm, a US-based semiconductor and telecommunications company, recently announced a collaboration with Project Concern International (PCI) India, a New Delhi-based branch of the US-based non-governmental organization PCI; Planned Social Concern (PSC), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Jaipur, India; and Microware Computing & Consulting, an Indian telecommunications and software company.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Mobile Financial Services in Latin America & the Caribbean: State of Play, Commercial Models, and Regulatory Approaches”
Published by the Global System for Mobile Association; May 2015; 29 pages; available at: http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/mobile-financial-services-in-lac
This report, published by the London-based Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA), provides an overview of the state of mobile financial services in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides 50% Credit Guarantee to $13m Bond Issuance of Mexican Microfinance Institution (MFI) Consorcio de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAMESA)
Consorcio de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAMESA), a Mexico-based, deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI), recently raised MXN 200 million (USD 13 million) through its first bond issuance to support the expansion of its lending services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GlobeOne, Eximbank to Bring New Mobile Banking, Internet Platform to Vietnam
GlobeOne, a US-based company providing a mobile platform for the provision of financial services, recently signed a letter of intent with Eximbank, a joint-stock commercial bank that is controlled by the Vietnamese government, to bring its platform to Vietnam.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Donates $1.2m to Effort by Center for Latin American Monetary Studies to Improve Remittance Market in Latin America
The Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the US-based IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) Group, has donated USD 1.2 million to fund a collaborative project with the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies, an association of Latin American and Caribbean central banks (also known by its Spanish acronym CEMLA).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Caribbean MicroFinance Alliance (CMFA) to Host “Sixth Caribbean Microfinance Forum (CMF VI): Solutions for Inclusive Growth;” July 6-9, 2015; Miami, Florida, USA
Event Name: The Sixth Caribbean Microfinance Forum: Solutions for Inclusive Growth
Event Date: July 6-9, 2015
Event Location: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Miami Airport & Convention Centre; Miami, Florida, United States of America
Cost: The fee to attend the forum is USD 600. A reduced rate of USD 475 is available for attendees who register by April 1, 2015, and a discounted rate of USD 200 is available for one-day registration.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DEG, EBRD Loan $10m – Part in Local Currency – to Bai Tushum of Kyrgyz Republic for On-lending to Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
The Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution offering long-term project and company financing, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced that the two institutions will collectively loan the equivalent of USD 10 million to Bai Tushum Bank (BTB), a provider of microfinance services in the Kyrgyz Republic.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Movistar, MasterCard Collaborate to Launch Mobile Money Service “Tu Dinero Móvil” in Peru
Movistar, the Spanish mobile phone operator owned by Telefónica S.A., and MasterCard, the US-based payments and technology company, recently launched “Tu dinero móvil” (Your mobile money), which reportedly is the first electronic money service operating in Peru [1]. The service will allow Movistar’s 16 million mobile users in Peru to perform financial transactions such as depositing and withdrawing money, refilling mobile balances and purchasing goods in the 65,000 establishments in Peru that are affiliated with MasterCard [2].
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Financial Services for the Poor: Lessons and Implications of the Latest Research on Credit; February 27, 2015; Washington DC, USA
Event Name: Services for the Poor: Lessons and Implications of the Latest Research on Credit
Event Date: February 27, 2015
Event Location: Preston Auditorium, World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC
Cost: The event is free of charge, however advance registration is necessary.
Summary of Event: This conference will present the findings from randomized evaluations that evaluate the impacts of microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Mongolia and Morocco. Attendees also will explore tools intended to increase the outreach and impact of financial services for low-income people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DID), Financière agricole du Québec-Développement international (FADQDI) to Offer Agricultural Microinsurance, Training in Colombia
Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian nonprofit providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies, and Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI), a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote rural economic development, recently announced that they will launch a joint project with the aim of supporting the agricultural sector in Colombia.
SPECIAL REPORT: Distinguishing Multiple Lending from Over-indebtedness at European Microfinance Week
“Multiple borrowing was endemic,” in Bangladesh as of 2008, says Shameran Abed, the director of microfinance at Bangladesh-based Brac International, “but we didn’t know if this was bad, although we knew it was a risk.” Mr Abed was speaking this morning at the opening plenary of the last day of European Microfinance Week, which is organized by the Luxembourgish NGO European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP). In the past, he explained, the members of borrowing groups were good at letting Brac staff know who was a good credit risk. As the market was getting saturated, “Groups became less cohesive, so we couldn’t totally rely on them to tell us if individuals were becoming overindebted.”
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: The Broadband Effect: Enhancing Market-based Solutions for the Base of the Pyramid, Strengthening Regulated SACCO Societies in Kenya, Microfinance Barometer
“The Broadband Effect: Enhancing Market-based Solutions for the Base of the Pyramid;” by Olivier Kayser, Lucie Klarsfeld and Simon Brossard; published by the Inter-American Development Bank; September 2014; available at http://www.iadb.org/en/publications/publication-detail,7101.html?id=75634
This report examines how private companies are using broadband, a high-capacity internet connection, to improve the efficiency and reach of their operations that are geared towards the “base of the pyramid (BOP) markets” [1].