Opportunity EduFinance, an affiliate of the US-based NGO Opportunity International, recently brought on seven new financial services provider (FSP) partners, with whom it plans to invest in affordable private education in India, Nigeria and Rwanda. Although the FSPs have not been identified publicly, they are expected to
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Seeking $1b for African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA) to Boost Microinsurance for Farms, Livestock Against Drought, Floods
The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently launched a fund called the African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA), aimed at increasing the continent’s resilience to adverse weather events. ACRIFA follows on AfDB’s Africa Disaster Risk Insurance Program, which supported the creation and uptake of insurance products and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB, Ingenosya Create Mada Business Linkage Online Portal to Boost SME Success in Madagascar
The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently introduced an online service called Mada Business Linkage to facilitate partnerships among companies in Madagascar, including to match firms with suppliers and subcontractors. The Madagascar-based technology company Ingenosya built the platform, which businesses can use for no
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Buys 28% Equity Stake in Unguka Bank, Provider of Microfinance in Rwanda, from Incofin
Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings, a Sri Lankan unit of the Japanese conglomerate Orix, recently paid an undisclosed sum to Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to acquire 28 percent of the shares of Rwanda’s Unguka Bank. Unguka provides deposit, lending and other services to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The bank has 15 service locations in the capital and three provinces. It serves 1,700 clients with total assets of USD 29 million. Unguka received its license from the National Bank of Rwanda in 2005.
Geert Peetermans, Co-CEO of Incofin commented: “From the time we
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lipa Later, Mastercard Partner on Buy Now / Pay Later Services in Africa
Lipa Later, a Kenyan financial technology (fintech) firm active in four countries, has partnered with US-based Mastercard to expand its merchant network and technological infrastructure in support of the “buy now-pay later” options that it offers online and in-store consumers. According to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bankingly, Woodcore Partner to Help FSPs in Africa to Offer Digital Financial Services
Bankingly, a Uruguay-based company that helps smaller financial services providers (FSPs) implement digital financial services, and Woodcore, a provider of core banking software with offices in Nigeria and the US, recently partnered on an effort to help microfinance institutions and other FSPs in Africa to add
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 60 Decibels Microfinance Index Data from 32 Countries Indicates Higher Confidence Among Group Borrowers, Greatest Debt Burden in Cambodia
This year’s second annual Microfinance Index from US-based impact measurement firm 60 Decibels draws on phone calls to approximately 32,000 users of microfinance services delivered by 115 financial services providers (FSPs) in 32 countries. In general, FSP clients reported higher confidence in dealing with economic shocks than
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest International Places $11m in Equity Fund uMunthu II to Support Rapidly Expanding SMEs in Africa
Netherlands-based Invest International recently committed EUR 10 million (USD 10.9 million) to the uMunthu II equity fund of Netherlands-based Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based Alitheia Capital. The goal of uMunthu II is to generate market-rate returns by helping fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund Lending $9m to LOLC to Finance MSMEs in Africa
The German subsidiary of Verdant Capital recently agreed to lend USD 9 million from the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund to support subsidiaries of Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings that offer savings and loans in Africa. These institutions, which serve Democratic Republic of Congo,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Enables Spenn Mobile App Users to Send Money to Financial Institutions Across Rwanda
Norway’s Spenn Technology recently expanded its partnership with the Rwandan unit of Kenya’s Investments & Mortgages (I&M) Bank to allow users of the Spenn mobile application to send money to any financial services provider in Rwanda, including banks and competing mobile money services. The app’s other features include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access Bank Botswana Borrows $20m from OPEC Fund for MSMEs, 30% Earmarked for Women
Access Bank Botswana, a subsidiary of the Nigeria-based Access Bank Group, recently agreed to borrow USD 20 million from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development to on-lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with USD 6 million of the total
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Impact Summit; July 13-14, 2023; Cape Town, South Africa
With a focus on impact investing, this event will explore how to build markets in Africa as well as pipeline opportunities and challenges. The agenda includes sessions such as: (1) Investing in SMEs [Small and Medium-sized Enterprises] and Start-ups; (2) Systems and Design Thinking for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Consult, Mastercard Foundation, Seek to Create 400k Jobs in Ethiopia via Access to Finance, Wraparound Support for MSMEs, Entrepreneurs
Ethiopia’s First Consult and the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched a programme intended to increase financial inclusion and support 72,000 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ethiopia to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: M-Kopa Raises $250m to Expand Financing of Mobile Phones, Solar Equipment in Africa
M-Kopa, a Kenya-based company serving 3 million customers in four African countries, recently announced that it has raised approximately USD 250 million in fresh funds to expand its facilitation of financial and digital inclusion. In particular, the firm finances devices that it sells, such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Disbursing $1.6m for Green Finance in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire
The African Development Bank (AfDB) recently announced green finance facilities in partnership with the government of Benin’s La Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin (CDC) and the government of Côte d’Ivoire’s Banque Nationale d’Investissement (BNI). The aggregate value
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxfam, Goodwell Launch Pepea, $23m Fund to Invest in SMEs in East Africa
Two Netherlands-based organizations, the NGO Oxfam Novib and for-profit Goodwell Investments recently partnered to create Pepea Fund, with EUR 20 million (USD 22.8 million) from Oxfam Novib to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Goodwell Investments will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lidya to Shift from Retail Lending to Providing Fintech Infrastructure
Lidya, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm that has provided digital loans in Nigeria, the Czech Republic and Poland, recently announced it will shift its focus to providing technology infrastructure to financial institutions. Lidya’s credit platform helps lenders “originate, manage and collect loans,” including via the Collect tool, which is intended to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al-Qutaibi Funding Renewable Energy Products, Climate Adaptation Strategies for SMEs, Farmers in Yemen in Collaboration with USAID
Yemen’s Al-Qutaibi Islamic Bank for Microfinance recently launched its Vendor Finance Department to support farms and other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in acquiring technology to produce renewable energy as well as “climate-smart” farming tools such as “solar-fed irrigation systems, greenhouses, and tunnel farming tools.” The bank did this with support from the