MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Loans $1m each to Advans Banque Congo, Microfinance Institution (MFI) Vitas Jordan

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, reportedly has loaned USD 1 million to Advans Banque Congo, a commercial bank, and JOD 705,000 (USD 1 million) to Amman-based microfinance institution (MFI) Vitas Jordan.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: AITEC Banking & Mobile Money West Africa, July 15 – 16, 2014, Lagos, Nigeria – NEW DATES

Event Name: African Information Technology Exhibitions and Conferences (AITEC) Banking & Mobile Money West Africa 2014

Event Dates: July 15 – July 16, 2014 (Originally scheduled for March 12 – March 13, 2014)

Event Location: Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) Lends $4.1m to Association pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME) of Haiti to Boost Microlending

Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO), a French public-private development finance institution, reportedly has opened a credit line of HTG 178 million (USD 4.1 million) for Association pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME), a Haitian microfinance institution (MFI), to increase its lending portfolio. 

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID), NetHope Announce 3 Grants Totaling $42k to Support Electronic, Mobile Payments

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and NetHope, a consortium of 41 international humanitarian organizations, recently announced three grants totaling USD 42,000 that aim to support development organizations in testing electronic payments and performing cost-benefit analyses of cash versus electronic payment systems.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services; Africa Microfinance Pricing Reports; Impact Assessment of EFC Zambia

Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services: Factors for Success;” by Mark Flaming, Aiaze Mitha, Michel Hanouch, Peter Zetterli and Greta Bull; published by the MasterCard Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC); October 2013; 18 pages; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/88486280414940acb54ab79e78015671/Partnerships+in+Mobile+Financial+Services.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

This report presents findings from a study exploring the factors that determine the success of business partnerships among telecommunication firms, financial institutions and other organizations in providing mobile financial services.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Investments Loans $5m to Microfinance Institution Edpyme Raiz of Peru

Switzerland-based investment company responsAbility Investments AG recently notified MicroCapital that it has made a senior loan of USD 5 million to Edpyme Raiz, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Peru that provides loans to micro- and small enterprises [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Habitat for Humanity International, MasterCard Foundation Partner to Support Housing Microfinance in Kenya

Habitat for Humanity, a US-based nonprofit that seeks to provide poor people with clean, safe and affordable housing, and MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard, reportedly are partnering to build the capacity of three unidentified Kenyan financial institutions to expand housing microfinance products over the next five years [1] [2].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests Equity in Mainstreet Microfinance Bank of Nigeria

Goodwell West Africa, a private equity fund managed by Netherlands-based social investment company Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based investment management and advisory firm Alitheia Capital, has announced that it will be making an equity investment of an unspecified amount in Mainstreet Microfinance Bank (MFB), a microfinance institution in Nigeria [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s Futuregrowth Asset Management to Curtail Investments in Microlenders Distributing “Unsecured” Loans

Futuregrowth Asset Management, a South-Africa based investment company, recently announced that it will curtail its investments in microlenders that advance “unsecure” loans without collateral, which allegedly often results in borrowers receiving loans that they are unable to repay [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya

MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced a new partnership with Airtel Kenya, a subsidiary of Indian mobile phone company Airtel, and Pan Africa Life, a Kenyan life insurance company, to launch a mobile life insurance product in Kenya [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Shell Foundation, GroFin to Provide $100m in Risk Capital, Business Support to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in Middle East, Africa

The Shell Foundation, a social investment initiative of Netherlands-based petroleum firm Royal Dutch Shell Private Limited Company, reportedly has partnered with GroFin, a South African small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financier, to launch a program to provide USD 100 million in risk capital and unspecified business support to SMEs in the Middle East and Africa.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Microfinance in Africa: Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurs;” by Daniel Schriber; Published by The African Business Review

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Raises $204m for Second Fund; to Invest in Microinsurance, Other Financial Services for Poor People in Africa, Asia

LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in financial services for poor people in emerging markets, has raised USD 204 million for its second equity fund.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bharti Airtel, MicroEnsure Launch Mobile Microinsurance Service in Africa

Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications services provider with operations in 150 countries, has partnered with MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, to provide MicroEnsure’s microinsurance services to Airtel customers in Africa via mobile phone.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Western Union, eTranzact Launch Mobile Money Product in Nigeria

The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services company, reportedly is partnering with eTranzact, a Nigeria-based mobile money service provider, to launch a mobile money service in Nigeria. The service is expected to allow customers on the eTranzact mobile money platform, PocketMoni, to receive mobile money transfers from 23 “sender” countries using their mobile phones.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Loans $17m to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank) of Niger to Support Private Sector

African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently approved a credit line in the amount of EUR 13 million (USD 17 million) to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank), a commercial bank in Niger.