The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Chadian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the governmental body charged with organizing and implementing development projects in the country, to support the development of leasing options for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Chad.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Commits $15m to Private Equity Fund EuroMena III to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Middle East, North Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly has committed USD 15 million to EuroMena III, a 7-year closed-end private equity fund that aims to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenyan Mobile Money Service Providers Finserve Africa, Zioncell, Tangaza Acquire Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Licenses, will Access Airtel’s Wireless Network
The Communications Authority of Kenya, the regulatory body for the country’s telecommunications sector, reportedly has granted mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licenses to three mobile money transfer service providers based in Kenya: Finserve Africa Limited, Zioncell Kenya Limited, and Tangaza Mobile Pay Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure Raises $10m in Equity from International Finance Corporation, Omidyar Network, Opportunity International, Telenor Group; First-Time Investors AXA, Sanlam Emerging Markets
MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International, has announced that it has raised a total of USD 10.4 million from six investors including some of the company’s past investors: Opportunity International; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm; and Telenor Group, a telecommunications company based in Norway.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WorldRemit to Allow Payouts to MTN’s MobileMoney E-wallets in Uganda
WorldRemit, a UK-based online money transfer service, recently announced that it has expanded its services in Uganda to enable remittances to be delivered through mobile phones via Mobile Telecommunication Network’s (MTN’s) MobileMoney service.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, MicroEnsure, EFU Life to Cover Loan Payments in Case of Sickness, Disability, Death, Death of Spouse
Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, a member of the Advans SA group that offers financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan, has joined with MicroEnsure Pakistan, a subsidiary of the UK-based MicroEnsure insurance agency, and Eastern Federal Union Life, a private-sector life insurance company in Pakistan, to introduce “Enhanced Credit Cover” for its borrowers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Africa to Launch Mobile Money-based Mjara Loans
Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Africa, a mobile payments firm based in South Africa, reportedly has announced that it will launch a mobile money-based product called Mjara Loans.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Responsible Equity Exits in Microfinance; Greenfield Microfinance Models in Africa; Mobile Financial Services Usage Among Rural Women in India, Philippines
“The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales;” by Daniel Rozas, Deborah Drake, Estelle Lahaye, Katharine McKee and Danielle Piskadlo; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); April 2014; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Art-of-the-Responsible-Exit-April-2014.pdf
This paper explores how microfinance investment intermediaries (MIIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) can exit responsibly from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in which they have invested equity as well as how investors can contribute to healthy development of the overall market. The authors conducted six case studies and interviewed representatives from MIIs, nongovernmental organizations, DFIs, MFIs and merger-and-acquisition specialists.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, MTN Group Partner to Provide Mobile Money Transfers Between Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast
Airtel Burkina Faso, a subsidiary of India-based telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, and Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Group, a telecommunications company based in South Africa, recently announced a partnership that will allow their mobile money customers to transfer funds between Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KfW, Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), Developpement International Desjardins, Lundin Foundation Commit $41m to AfricInvest Financial Sector Fund
AfricInvest-TunInvest Group, a Tunisia-based private equity firm, recently announced the closing of a third round of capital-raising for its AfricInvest Financial Sector Fund, a vehicle that invests in financial institutions that lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Receives Innovation Grant from GSMA’s mWomen
The Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA), a London-based association of 1,000 mobile operators and associated companies, recently announced that its mWomen programme has awarded the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, its Innovation Fund grant of an undisclosed amount.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Invests $29m in Equity in Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital of India
LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius that invests in microfinance, reportedly has invested USD 29 million in return for a minority stake of undisclosed size in the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital, an Indian non-banking financial company that facilitates funding for organizations that serve low-income people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation Donates $23m to Opportunity International for Agricultural Financing in Sub-Saharan Africa
The MasterCard Foundation, which was founded by US-based global payment processing company MasterCard and aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, has donated USD 22.7 million to Opportunity International, a US-based non-profit microfinance organization, to launch the “Africa Growth and Innovation Initiative” to deliver agricultural financial services to 7 million low-income people in the Sub-Saharan African countries Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tigo Introduces Cross-border Mobile Money Transfer Service With Currency Conversion Serving Rwanda, Tanzania
Millicom International Cellular, a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company also known as Tigo, recently introduced a cross-border mobile money transfer service between Rwanda and Tanzania that includes currency conversion.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 8th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference, “Microfinance: Beyond Its Roots,” March 29, 2014, Philadelphia, USA
Event Name: 8th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference
Event Date: March 29, 2014
Event Location: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Considers Relaxing Capital Requirements for New Bank Licenses
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, recently commissioned an investigative panel, the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households (the Committee), to create a policy framework for achieving financial inclusion in India and to make formal recommendations on how to implement the framework.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Gives Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) 6 Years to Plan for Higher Capitalization Requirements
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), the country’s central bank, has issued new capitalization requirements for money-lending bodies that will become effective in December 2020, increasing the minimum capital required to USD 10 million for deposit-taking microfinance institutions (MFIs) and USD 50,000 for credit-only MFIs.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microcredit Interest Rate Determinants; Mobile Phones and Microinsurance; Health Financing Through Gifts and Remittances in Kenya
“Microcredit Interest Rates and Their Determinants 2004-2011;” by Richard Rosenberg, Scott Gaul, William Ford and Olga Tomilova; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); June 2013; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Microcredit-Interest-Rates-and-Their-Determinants-June-2013_1.pdf
This study explores the factors affecting the determination of interest rates that microfinance institutions (MFIs) charge their customers by analyzing financial data reported from 2004 to 2011 by MFIs to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit data provider.