LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund that invests in microinsurance, recently made its second investment in India in the past year by taking a 15-percent equity stake in Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited (MIBL), an Indian insurance brokerage firm dedicated to serving rural Indians.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Etisalat Rolls Out Mobile Money Service in Nigeria
Etisalat Nigeria Limited, the local subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation of the United Arab Emirates, recently unveiled its “Easywallet” a mobile money system.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $1.9m in Advans of Cameroun, $1.2m in MicroCred of Senegal
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently disbursed the approximate equivalent of USD 1.9 million in subdebt to Advans Cameroun and the equivalent of USD 1.2 million in debt to MicroCred Senegal.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The African Microfinance Transparency to Host 5th Annual Investor’s Fair, Tunisia, October 11-12, 2012
Event name: Fifth Annual Investor’s Fair
Event date: October 11-12, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Belarus Develops Financial Literacy Program
Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus Sergei Dubkov recently announced the design of a government program to enhance financial literacy for individuals and small businesses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Partners with Planet Rating, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India to Improve Pricing Transparency
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), recently partnered with Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency that is a member of the France-based PlaNet Finance Group, and Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of microlenders in India.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean; Livestock Insurance in India; Using “Digital Footprints” to Boost Financial Inclusion
“Latin American and the Caribbean Microfinance Market Trends 2006-2011;” by Renso Martinez Ramirez; published by Microfinance Information Exchange; June 2012; 22 pages; available at: http://www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2012/06/latin-american-and-caribbean-microfinance-market-trends-
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Reaches Deals Totaling $1.5m with Advans Cameroun, PRIDE of Tanzania
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss microfinance investment manager, has reached investment deals with Advans Cameroun, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Cameroon, and Promotion of Rural Initiative and Development Enterprises Limited (PRIDE), an MFI based in Tanzania.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financial Advisors on Sustainable Investing; Risk Management in Microfinance; Supply-Side Financial Inclusion Data
“Gateways to Impact: Industry Survey of Financial Advisors on Sustainable and Impact Investing;” published by Calvert Foundation; June 2012; 14 pages; available at: http://www.gatewaystoimpact.org/images/gatewaystoimpact.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mifos Microfinance Software Update “Vinolia I” Adds Accounting Module, Embedded Reports
The Community for Open Source Microfinance, a US-based nonprofit that has taken over leadership of maintaining the open-source microfinance software package Mifos from the US-based Grameen Foundation, recently announced the release of Mifos 2.4.
SPECIAL FEATURE: Absolute Portfolio Management Interviews CEO Nurhayrah Sadava of Microfinance Institution Thaneakea Phum in Cambodia (TPC) Regarding Client Protection Principles
The following text is re-posted with permission from Absolute Portfolio Management.
The microfinance industry has taken big steps forward in the last couple of years to better serve their clients. The Client Protection Principles for microfinance and the accompanying Smart Campaign have been introduced to protect clients, businesses, and the industry as a whole.
Austrian based asset manager Absolute Portfolio Management (APM) offers two “Dual Return – Vision Microfinance” funds, endorses the Smart Campaign and has incorporated the client protection principles into their investment criteria and due diligence. However, APM wanted to double-check how the Principles are employed at the microfinance institutions that the Vision Microfinance funds invest in.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) Celebrates 2nd Anniversary, Reports Positive Financials for 2011
The Regional Micro-, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) SA, a Luxembourg-based investment fund that focuses on supporting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region, recently celebrated its second anniversary by presenting a summary of 2011 achievements along with an overview of its goals for 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Incorporates Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, La Fayette Microfinance Bank of Nigeria
Advans SA, a microfinance investment vehicle that mobilizes funds for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced the incorporation of the Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank in the Republic of Pakistan and the La Fayette Microfinance Bank in Nigeria.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Global Microfinance Equity Valuation Survey; Microfinance Governance Indicators; Audio Report: Role of Brokers in Microinsurance
“Volume Growth and Valuation Contraction: Global Microfinance Equity Valuation Survey 2012;” by Jasmina Glisovic, et al; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and JP Morgan; May 2012; 16 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.57526/VolumeGrowth.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: $700m in Grants, Loans from UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Support Rural Financial Services, Agency to Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa
According to International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Senior Rural Finance Adviser, Michael Hamp, “Approximately 17 percent (more than USD 700 million) of IFAD’s portfolio of loans and grants is focused on rural financial services, making IFAD one of the top ten funders of microfinance worldwide.” IFAD, an agency of the United Nations, works to alleviate rural poverty in developing countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Faulu Kenya, Airtel Form Partnership to Offer Mobile Credit
Faulu Kenya, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Nairobi, Kenya, is now offering mobile credit to customers of the Kenyan arm of Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation Scholarship Applications Due May 4 for Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program, New Hampshire, USA
MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian affiliate of US-based payments firm MasterCard that aims to promote financial inclusion and education in developing countries, is offering an undisclosed number of scholarships for microfinance practitioners to attend the Sustainable Microenterprise and Development Program (SMDP), which will address a “livelihoods approach” to microfinance, enterprise and economic development from June 18 to June 29, 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Innovation Facility: Market Reaches 500m People, 60% in India
According to a report titled “Protecting the Poor a Microinsurance Compendium” that was recently published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, an initiative of the UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) and Munich Re, a German reinsurance company, the total market for microinsurance reached 500 million people with the largest shares in India and China.