by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $63m to Various MFIs

Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management informed MicroCapital today that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds loaned a total approximately equivalent to USD 63.5 million during December to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mongolia and Sri Lanka. The

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $22m in Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Paraguay, Sri Lanka

Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management informed MicroCapital today that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds loaned a total approximately equivalent to USD 22 million during November to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in

by Michelle Dold -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MyBucks Launches Mobile App Offering “Nano-loans” in Kenya

GetBucks Kenya, a division of Luxembourg-based financial technology company MyBucks, recently announced the launch of its “Haraka” app, through which it will enable users in Kenya to take out “nano-loans” of EUR 4 (USD 4.30) to EUR 40 (USD 43) via mobile phones.

by Sharanya Madhavan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Verdant Capital Arranges $3m Revolving Credit Facility for Zambia’s Pan African Building Society (PABS)

Verdant Capital, a corporate finance firm serving Africa, recently informed MicroCapital that it has arranged a revolving credit facility in the amount of USD 3 million for the Pan African Building Society (PABS), a deposit-taking, non-banking financial institution operating in Zambia.

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation, Root Capital to Invest $5.2m in Early-Stage Agricultural Businesses in West Africa

Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit investment fund, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard Worldwide, recently announced a partnership aimed at raising incomes for 300,000 smallholder farmers in West Africa.

by Petra Barbu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s National Microfinance Bank (NMB) Launches AgriBiashara to Bolster Agricultural Value Chains; Wajibu to Increase Financial Literacy, Youth Savings

The National Microfinance Bank (NMB), a microfinance institution (MFI) 51-percent owned by the government of Tanzania, recently announced the launch of two new programs: AgriBiashara, to support agricultural value chains, and Wajibu, a set of youth savings accounts formed through a partnership with Women’s World Banking, a US-based nonprofit that aims to increase access to financial services for low-income women. 

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Controversy Brews as For-Profit Fintech Provider MyBucks Buys 6 African Microfinance Organizations from Nonprofit Opportunity International

The sale of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda over the first half of 2016 by US-based NGO Opportunity International to Luxembourg-based financial technology company MyBucks has raised concerns both that these MFIs’ clients could be negatively impacted and that these transactions signal that the sector’s overall direction has shifted toward profit-making.

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Money in Africa; Doing Business in Kyrgyzstan; Digitalization of Kenya’s Premier Credit

“Mobile Money Momentum in Four African Countries;” published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2015; 101 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/news/new-data-cgap-sets-benchmark-use-mobile-financial-services

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prudential Financial to Invest $350m in African Insurers, To Be Managed by LeapFrog

Prudential Financial Incorporated, a US-based financial services company, recently announced an investment of USD 350 million in life insurance companies in African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

by Meredith Steih -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell Investments Acquires Minority Stake in Microfinance Software Firm Musoni

Goodwell Investments, a for-profit social investment company based in the Netherlands, has invested an undisclosed sum to acquire a “significant minority stake” in Musoni Services, a Dutch microfinance software company with operations in Myanmar and nine African countries [1].

by Kevin van den Brink -

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].

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: ING’s Billion to Gain: Geographic Variations in Microfinance Impact; Indian Mobile Wallet Market Growth; Profiting From Financial Inclusion

“A Billion to Gain? Microfinance Clients Are Not Cut from the Same Cloth,” by G. Hieminga, R. Budjhawan, S. Eriksen, I. Unger; published by ING Bank; November 2015; 8 pages; available at: http://www.ingcb.com/insights/research/microfinance-emancipating-the-worlds-poorest

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Ceylinco Insurance, Bima Launch Disability, Accident Microinsurance in Sri Lanka

Two firms based in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Ceylinco Insurance, and Bima, a Sweden-based microinsurance service provider, recently launched an insurance program to protect microborrowers against permanent disability and accidental death.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s Jumo Launches Microcredit Borrower Assessment Technology Based on Mobile Telephone Usage Data

Jumo, the microfinance unit and “mobile money marketplace”[2] of AFB, a financial services company based in Cape Town, South Africa, recently launched a new borrower assessment service in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Holdings Raises $25m from Accion, LeapFrog, Lok Capital to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in India

IFMR Holdings, an arm of Indian nonprofit IFMR Trust, recently raised USD 25 million from Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization; LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius; and Lok Capital, an India-based microfinance investment vehicle.