by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Frankfurt School Development Finance e-Campus: A Decade of Online Education

When we were getting ready to launch our first online course, I was full of hope and optimism. But I must admit, I was rather disappointed after the launch – I had expected the initial enrollment to be higher. This was when we realised that we needed to prove that online education is just as effective as traditional classroom learning – and that it even comes with its own unique advantages.

Ten years ago, the Development Finance e-Campus of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management consisted of just one course, Certified Expert in Microfinance. A decade later, that course has become an industry standard, and our portfolio spans 13 Certified Expert courses covering the fields of inclusive and green finance, contri­bu­ting to 14 of the UN Sustainable Devel­op­ment Goals. We also have added a full-fledged online Master Programme on Sustainable Finance as well as two Diplomas in

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kåpan, Nordea, Skandia Invest $90m via DWM Impact Investment Strategy in MSMEs, Including Female-, Minority-owned Businesses

Developing World Markets (DWM), a fund manager based in the US state of Connecticut, recently raised USD 90.4 million to “provide local-currency debt financing to benefit low-income communities and micro-, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs] in emerging and frontier markets.” The target beneficiaries include minority- and female-owned and operated businesses in sectors such as “sustainable” agriculture, housing, education, health, renewable energy, and water and sanitation. This funding comes from

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Supersim Raises $6m in Debt for Microfinance in Brazil

Supersim Análise de Dados e Correspondente Bancário, a Brazilian financial technology (fintech) startup, recently entered into a securitized debt agreement with a cap of BRL 30 million (USD 5.7 million), arranged by Navi, a Brazil-based asset manager. The source or sources of the funds remain confidential. This is the first time Supersim

by the MicroCapital Team -

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

by Romil Pandey -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-UN Development Partnership Fund to Provide $850k for Climate-disaster Index Insurance in Fiji

The government of India and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund that they co-manage, recently agreed to contribute FJD 1.8 million (USD 850,000) to implement the Developing Climate Disaster Risk Financing Framework and Parametric Insurance program in Fiji. The funding is intended to mitigate

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $2.4m to Microinvest of Moldova for Microfinance, Mostly in Rural Areas

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently loaned approximately MDL 39 million (USD 2.4 million) to Microinvest, a microlender in Moldova. Microinvest offers collateral and collateral-free loans for business, agriculture, housing, vehicles and consumption. These loans range in size from MDL 2,000 (USD 120) to MDL 4 million (USD 240,000), with terms of 3 months to 7 years. Microinvest has a portfolio of MDL 1.9 billion (USD 114 million) outstanding to 35,000 clients as of 2020. About two thirds of these customers live in rural areas, and the male-female ratio is even.

Microinvest is majority held by Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund. The Romania-based Banca Transilvania Financial Group was seeking

by Kate Finster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurtech PasarPolis Raises $54m in Equity for Microinsurance in Indonesia

Indonesian insurance technology (insurtech) firm PasarPolis recently closed its Series B round of investment, having raised a total of USD 54 million from nine investors. The firm plans to use the new funding to:

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Code for Responsible Lending Assessment Tool to Incorporate Comprehensive Credit Reporting, Microfinance Institutions to Increase Frequency of Reports to Credit Bureaux

The Code for Responsible Lending (CRL), an initiative serving microlenders in India, recently began developing a new credit assessment tool for evaluating loan applications from low-income households. The tool is intended to help lenders “go beyond multiple/over lending limits and more systematically evaluate the low-income customer

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banque Nationale de Crédit Lending $890k to Microfinance Institution FINCA Haiti to Support Microentrepreneurs, Small Businesses

FINCA Haiti, a microfinance institution owned by US-based FINCA Impact Finance, recently opened a credit line of HTG 100 million (USD 892,000) from Banque Nationale de Crédit, a bank in Haiti. According to FINCA Impact Finance, “This is the first locally-sourced credit line

by Kate Finster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MoneyGram International, Airtel Africa to Offer Mobile Remittances

MoneyGram International, a US-based money-transfer company serving 200 countries, is partnering with Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of India-based telecommunications firm Bharti Airtel, to allow 19 million users of the Airtel Money service in 12 countries to receive MoneyGram remittances directly into their mobile wallets. These funds then can be withdrawn at Airtel Africa service locations

by Kate Finster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maha Agriculture Borrows $6m from FMO for Digital Microfinance in Myanmar

The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently disbursed a loan of USD 6 million to Myanmar-based microfinance institution (MFI) Maha Agriculture Public Company Limited to be on-lent as microloans in rural Myanmar. The goal of the loan is to support small-scale farmers

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Lending $2.4m to BT Leasing MD to Support MSEs in Moldova During Coronavirus Pandemic

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently agreed to loan EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) to Banca Transilvania (BT) Leasing MD, a Moldovan entity controlled by Romania’s BT, to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) that need

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lends $47m to CaixaBank to Support SMEs in Morocco Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic

CaixaBank, a Spanish retail bank, recently accepted a loan of approximately MAD 430 million (USD 46.8 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution that has been investing in Morocco since 2012. CaixaBank is to use the funding to

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Fintech, Digital Finance and Funding: How the Development Sector Is Channeling Money to Digital Financial Services,” by Howard Miller

This paper outlines a system to “identify, classify and measure the funding flows going to DFS [digital financial services]” from funders such as development finance institutions and private foundations. The objective was to “help the inclusive finance sector better coordinate, fill gaps and identify new pathways for funding the sustainable development of digital financial services for financial inclusion.” Mr Miller’s primary findings were:

1) Development funders had USD 1.95 billion in outstanding commitments as of year-end 2018, 60 percent of which was allocated to

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banco del País, Citibank, DFC, Microsoft, Government of Taiwan, Collaborate to Support Women-led SMEs, “Gender-smart” Investing, Technology Infrastructure

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a government-backed institution, recently announced it will participate in the following initiatives promoting the economic empowerment of women:

1) The office of the US President and DFC increased the target of funds to be mobilized through the 2X Women’s Initiative of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative to USD 6 billion. 2X Women was launched in 2018 and has since documented

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh Bank Reports Record $2.6b in Remittances During July

The Bangladesh Bank, the country’s central bank, recently reported that Bangladeshis living in other countries sent USD 2.59 billion home during the month of July. This was an increase of USD 760 million over June 2020 and USD 1 billion higher than July 2019. Although some observers expected a fall in remittances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, others cite the following factors as contributing to the increase: requests for aid from Bangladeshis experiencing unemployment and other economic shocks associated with the pandemic;