The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in Africa and other emerging markets, has partnered with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN initiative to increase access to microfinance and other forms of investment capital for small businesses and individuals in developing countries, to expand the UNCDF Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) program.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) Provides Technical Support, Access to $860k in Credit to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Via Banks
The Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) program, a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that focuses on improving access to financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by linking them with banks, provided clients in the agriculture, construction and trade sectors with access to loans totaling USD 860,000 from July to September 2014.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Next Stage of Financial Inclusion;” by Dean Karlan; Published by Stanford Social Innovation Review
“The Next Stage of Financial Inclusion;” by D. Karlan; published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review; fall 2014; 9 pages; available at: http://www.ssireview.org/pdf/Fall_2014_The_Next_Stage_of_Financial_Inclusion_1.pdf
This paper investigates the evolving role of nonprofit organizations in providing microcredit to people with low incomes.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP, MasterCard Foundation Award $500k for Behavioral Research to Freedom from Hunger, IFMR, Innovations for Poverty, The MicroInsurance Centre
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded a total of USD 500,000 to the following four organizations: Freedom From Hunger, a US-based NGO operating in developing countries to alleviate poverty and hunger; IFMR Finance Foundation, an arm of India’s Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Trust Group; Innovations for Poverty Action, a US-based nonprofit organization that uses randomized evaluations to research development initiatives; and The MicroInsurance Centre, a US-based, for-profit research, product development and training firm.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation, MicroEnsure, Penda, Clifford Chance Launch Uzima Health Microinsurance in Kenya
The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization; MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International; Penda Health, a Kenya-based, for-profit chain of medical centers; and Clifford Chance, a UK-based international law firm, recently announced that they have launched an initiative called the “Uzima Project” in Kenya with the aim of providing “low-cost“ health insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SolarNow Raises $2.5m from Novastar Ventures, Acumen Fund
SolarNow, an Ugandan-based company selling solar electric home systems, recently raised EUR 2 million (USD 2.53 million) by selling equity shares to Novastar Ventures, a Mauritius-based fund investing in new businesses with ‘innovative’ business models in Africa, and Acumen Fund, a New-York based nonprofit venture fund.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Innovation Fund (GIF) Receives $200m from Omidyar Network; Governments of Australia, Sweden, UK, US
The Global Innovation Fund (GIF), a UK-based nonprofit, recently announced its launch in the US city of New York.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans SA Raises $27m from Existing Shareholders in Third Round of Fundraising
Advans SA, a Luxembourg-based organization that provides financial services to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently raised EUR 20 million (USD 26.8 million) in its third round of fundraising.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $4m to Advans Côte d’Ivoire for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, has announced that it will loan CFA 2 billion (USD 4.3 million) to Advans Côte d’Ivoire, a bank that was founded in 2012 to provide savings and lending services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Globacom Launches Glo Xchange in Nigeria to Share 42k-Agent Mobile Money Network with Customers of Ecobank, First Bank, Stanbic
Globacom, a Nigerian telecommunications company that serves 25 million mobile phone subscribers in four countries in Africa, reportedly has launched Glo Xchange, opening its network of 42,000 agents to the following mobile money operators: FirstMonie, a mobile money initiative backed by First Bank of Nigeria; Ecobank, which has operations in 29 African countries; and Stanbic, a commercial bank that operates in Nigeria and Uganda.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: “Africa SME Champions Forum” Conference, November 11-12, 2014, Dakar, Senegal
Event Name: “Africa SME Champions Forum” Conference
Event Date: November 11 to November 12, 2014
Event Location: King Fahd Hotel, Dakar, Senegal
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Road to Inclusion: A Look at the Financially Excluded and Underserved;” Published by MasterCard
“The Road to Inclusion: A Look at the Financially Excluded and Underserved;” Published by MasterCard; May 2014; 18 pages; available at http://newsroom.mastercard.com/asia-pacific/documents/the-road-to-inclusion-a-look-at-the-financially-excluded-and-underserved
This report, published by US-based financial services corporation MasterCard, seeks to shed light on how people manage with limited financial services in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines and Vietnam.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Announces $1m in Advisory Services to Airtel Zambia to Strengthen Financial Inclusion
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced that it will enter into an advisory services agreement with Airtel Zambia, a subsidiary of the Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Issues $80m in Local- Currency Bond in Nigeria’s Capital Market
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral finance institution based in Tunisia and gives loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, reportedly has raised NGN 12.95 billion (USD 80 million) by issuing a 7-year local-currency bond in the Nigerian market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gemalto, GSM Association to Provide Mobile Services to Support “Pan-African Mobile Health Initiative” for Mothers, Children
Gemalto, a publicly traded digital security firm located in the Netherlands, reportedly has announced its support of the Pan-African Mobile Health Initiative (PAMI), which uses mobile phones to address issues in nutrition and maternal and child health in seven African countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s ActivEdge, SAP Africa to Launch Mobile Money Service
ActivEdge Technologies, a Nigeria-based company, and SAP Africa, the South Africa-based branch of German software provider Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (SAP), reportedly have partnered to offer a mobile money-transfer service to customers in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB), Kenya’s I&M Bank, Rwanda’s RSwitch to Offer Cardless ATM Banking Services in Rwanda
Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, the Rwandan branch of South Africa-based mobile telecommunications company MTN, reportedly has announced a partnership with Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB) and I&M Bank, which both offer corporate and retail banking services in Kenya, and RSwitch, an electronic payment service firm based in Rwanda, to offer cardless automated teller machine (ATM) services in Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Invests $500k in Equity to Acquire 8% of Kenyan Microinsurer Agriculture and Risk Enterprise (ACRE), Loans $334k to Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) for Technical Assistance
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which is based in Luxembourg and invests in “social businesses,” recently informed MicroCapital that it has made an investment of USD 500,000 in Nairobi-based Agriculture and Risk Enterprise Limited (ACRE), a microinsurance provider that aims to launch products in East and West Africa in exchange for an 8-percent stake in the company.