Good Return, the Australia-based affiliate of the US-based NGO World Education, recently partnered with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to support women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a credit guarantee scheme in Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal and Samoa. Under the program, “International impact investors will be providing the funds to be guaranteed to partner financial institutions” in
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Network Gojo Takes $14m Equity Stake in Satya Microcapital of India
Japanese microfinance holding firm Gojo and Company recently increased its minority equity holding in New Delhi-based Satya Microcapital with a share purchase in the amount of INR 1.05 billion (USD 13.9 million). Satya plans to use the capital to expand its work with migrant laborers and other poor people to create and preserve jobs, especially to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Satya CEO Vivek Tiwari said, “the capital infusion will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 26 Inclusive Finance Players Pledge to Support Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Clients Throughout Pandemic
At the initiative of the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, microfinance lenders and other operators in the inclusive finance sector have agreed to a set of “Key Principles to Protect Microfinance Institutions and Their Clients in the COVID-19 Crisis.” The commitment involves measures including: operating in a customer-centric manner, protecting staff members, sharing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cybercrime Up During Pandemic As FSP Clients, Staff Increase Usage of Digital Payments, Remote Technologies
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital payment services has risen, leading to an increase in fraud and thus a renewed urgency to educate and otherwise protect consumers of these services. Financial services providers also are boosting their vigilance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Loans $5m to Vitas Palestine for Microfinance
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned USD 5 million to the microfinance institution (MFI) Vitas Palestine. FMO sourced the funding from MASSIF, an investment vehicle it manages for the Dutch government that is meant to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jazzcash, Mastercard Partner to Expand Card-based, Digital Payments in Pakistan
Jazzcash, a unit of Netherlands-based Veon, recently partnered with Mastercard, a US-based payments company, to broaden the offerings of the mobile wallet service it operates in Pakistan. Jazzcash, which was founded in 2012, enables its users to send and receive money via mobile phones. Under the new partnership, Jazzcash customers will be able to use
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ipak Yoli Bank of Uzbekistan, IFC Collaborate to Manage Currency Risk, Increase Local-currency Financing for SMEs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Uzbekistan’s Ipak Yoli Bank recently signed an International Swaps and Derivatives Association Master Agreement under which they plan to execute currency-swap transactions. Saidabror Savdakhmedov, Chairman of the Board of Ipak Yoli, explained that the goal is to “help expand our lending to customers in local currency, while effectively mitigating financial risks and managing our currency-risk exposure.” In particular, the bank plans to increase local-currency financing to small and medium-sized
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wave Money – Joint Venture of Telenor, Yoma – Raises $74m in Equity from Ant Financial for Mobile Money in Myanmar
Ant Financial Services Group, a member of the China-based Alibaba Group that operates the online payment service Alipay, recently agreed to invest USD 73.5 million in Wave Money, a joint venture of the Telenor Group and the Yoma Group that provides digital financial services in Myanmar. Ant Financial will take a “substantial minority stake” in Wave Money, which seeks
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Bangladesh Providing Cash Pandemic Assistance to 5m Families, Including $24m via SureCash Mobile Money to Customers of Rupali Bank
Timed to coincide with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, the Bangladeshi government has announced that it will provide cash assistance of BDT 2,500 (USD 29) to each of 5 million Bangladeshi families that have been affected by COVID-19. As part of this program, the government-controlled Rupali Bank is disbursing BDT 2 billion (USD 23.6 million) to 800,000 of its customers. It is doing this via
SPECIAL REPORT: One Size Does Not Fit All – Restructuring for Uncertain Times, from Verdant Capital
This sponsored content was written by Edmund Higenbottam and Patrick Ball, who serve, respectively, as the Managing Director and a Director of Verdant Capital. Verdant Capital is a leading specialist financial advisory firm that operates across Africa.
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combination of factors is challenging the economic sustainability of financial institutions and other businesses large and small across Africa. Globally, the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdowns have had the effect of “calling the end of a long bull market” that has run since the credit crisis of 2008. In most African markets, however, the bull market had already ended some years before the pandemic. Instead, in Africa, the pandemic has compounded previously existing difficulties, such as weaker commodity prices, sovereign credit challenges, volatile exchange rates and uncertain public policy regimes. Despite some differences, there are many commonalities among the issues facing traditional banks, microfinance institutions and operating companies. From an investment
MICROFINANCE EVENT: CIS Islamic Banking and Finance Forum; POSTPONED; Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Originally, scheduled for August 13 to 15, 2020, this event has been postponed due to COVID-19. The new dates have not been announced. The first day of this event is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Launches Electronic Registry of Movable Assets, with Support from IFC
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan recently created an electronic registry to encourage the country’s banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and leasing companies to accept moveable assets as collateral for loans. The collateral registry will help these institutions “to register rights in moveable assets in offering credit to people, as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises” (MSMEs). Moveable assets may include
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd Annual Asia-Pacific (APAC) Microfinance Forum; October 26-27, 2021; NOW VIRTUAL
(This event was postponed from October 2020 and has been converted to an online format.) The first day of this event will focus on topics including the impact of COVID-19, overindebtedness, gender disparities in financing, providing services via tablets and mobile phones, and competing with digital lenders. The second day will consist of presentations and panel discussions on topics such as:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sindhuja Microcredit of India Raises $8.7m in Equity Sale to Carpediem Capital, Nordic Microfinance Initiative
The majority owners of Sindhuja Microcredit, a lender to women in India, recently sold minority shareholdings to Carpediem Capital, an India-based private equity fund manager, and the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a public-private partnership based in Norway, for a total of USD 8.7 million. The sizes of the stakes have not been released. Carpediem also invested USD 4 million in Sindhuja in 2019. India’s Vidura Capital served as advisor on the transaction.
The promoters of Sindhuja, Abhisheka Kumar and Malkit Didyala, issued a statement that, “Our customers, self-employed rural women, are the most vulnerable in the COVID–19 world… with their livelihoods under direct threat, this funding will be used to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Takes Equity Stake in Colombian Fintech R5, Provider of Online Loans, Car Insurance
Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion, recently purchased an unspecified amount of equity in Colombian financial technology (fintech) firm R5, an online insurance and lending platform. Most of R5’s borrowers pledge vehicles as collateral and use the loan proceeds for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SafeBoda Uganda, UNCDF Launch E-commerce Platform for Market Vendors Looking to Maintain Operations During Pandemic
SafeBoda, a Uganda-based owner of an app for hailing motorcycle rides in three countries, and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN agency that supports small businesses in developing countries, recently partnered to launch an e-commerce platform. This is a response to the
SPECIAL REPORT: True Leaders Shine in Crises! – by Ute Bühler, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
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of control vs under control
As leaders, we are a source of inspiration to those around us. We can guide others to draw on their inner strength and innovate to face challenges with courage and proactive decision-making.
I have been coaching leaders for five years at Frankfurt School. Rarely do we come across a situation like the pandemic we face today. In these times, true leaders will shine. By leadership, I mean not only leading a team but also adapting to the unexpected and creating an effective plan to deal with the situation at hand.
In my coaching sessions, I share content to help you help others navigate the uncertainty of a crisis. This includes giving you tools for continually motivating your staff, as well as maintaining
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 9 Microfinance Investment Vehicles Coordinate Response to Effects of Pandemic on MFIs, MSMEs in 80 Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reduce its health impacts have had major negative economic consequences for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). These enterprises thus are having difficulty repaying the loans they have outstanding from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other retail lenders, leading to liquidity challenges for these lenders. In response, nine investors in these lenders, which have an aggregate of USD 15 billion invested in 80 low- and middle-income countries, are working together to support the long-term viability of the retail financial services providers (FSPs).
The nine investors, which manage a range of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) and other funds seeking to generate positive social impact, have arrived at a non-binding agreement to