Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that its funds have added three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs) to their portfolios; Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras; Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU) of Ecuador; and Institución Financiera de Desarrollo (IFD) Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Partnering with Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) to Offer Mobile Banking
Nigeria-based Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has partnered with Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN), a telecommunications provider based in South Africa, to offer mobile banking services in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Partners With Unitus Capital Looking to Invest $40m to Increase Microinsurance Penetration in India
LeapFrog Investments, a US-based private equity fund focusing on microinsurance activities, is reportedly looking for opportunities to deploy up to USD 40 million in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s MicroSave Publishes “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” by Ann-Byrd Platt, Akhilesh Singh, Sachin Bansal, Anurodh Giri, Akhand J Tiwari re “No Frill” Microfinance Accounts
MicroSave, an Indian for-profit technical assistance, training and resource center, recently published “No Thrills: Dormancy in NFA Accounts,” a study on India’s “No Frill Accounts (NFAs),” a basic account option legally required of private banks as part of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) “Financial Inclusion Programme.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Launches Microfinance Transparent Pricing Initiative in Guinea Bissau, Tanzania
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization that provides information on credit products and pricing, recently announced plans to expand its Transparent Pricing Initiative to Guinea Bissau and Tanzania with the objective of collecting and publishing pricing data for microfinance products offered in each country and providing training on financial literacy for microfinance clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Opportunities to Partner With Opportunity International Bank of Malawi on Branchless Banking
Microfinance Opportunities (MFO), a microenterprise resource center based in Washington, DC, has announced a partnership with Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM), a Malawian microfinance institution (MFI) affiliated with US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, to implement its branchless banking program in Africa. OIBM joins Moble Transactions in Zambia, Financial Information Networks and Operation (FINO) Fintech Foundation in India and Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) in the Philippines as partners in MFO’s program, “Consumer Education for Branchless Banking” (CEBB).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Delivers “Business Edge” Training to Help Staff of Cameroonian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Advans Cameroun Support Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to train branch managers, loan officers and other staff of microfinance institution (MFI) Advans Cameroun using IFC’s Business Edge program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Vision Tanzania, MicroEnsure Partner to Launch Agricultural Microfinance Loans Bundled with Weather Index Insurance
World Vision Tanzania, a branch of US-based, Christian relief organization World Vision, in partnership with MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, has launched a pilot scheme to provide small-scale farmers in Tanzania with agricultural loans bundled with weather index insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure, PharmAccess Foundation Launch Health Microinsurance for Coffee Growers in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, and PharmAccess Foundation, a Dutch nonprofit that seeks to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, have partnered to launch a health plan serving members of the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), a group of coffee growers in the Kilimanjaro region of northern Tanzania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests in Nigerian Mobile Money Service, Paga
Goodwell West Africa, a branch of Goodwell Investments of the Netherlands, has invested an undisclosed amount in Paga’s mobile money service with approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, Equity Group Foundation Celebrate First Graduation From Financial Education Program in Kenya
The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian institution that seeks to alleviate poverty through microfinance and education, and Equity Group Foundation (EGF), the social arm of Kenyan microfinance institution Equity Bank, are celebrating the graduation of the first 1,000 participants from their financial education program in Kenya [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency Updates Pricing Data for Cambodia’s Microfinance Industry
MFTransparency, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides information on credit products and pricing, has published updated pricing data for Cambodia. The updated data builds on the original data published in 2009 as part of its collection of international microloan product pricing data.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroInsurance Centre Launches Microinsurance Learning and Knowledge (MILK) Project with $2m Grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The MicroInsurance Centre, a for-profit initiative of the MicroSave technical assistance company, recently announced the launch of the Microinsurance Learning and Knowledge (MILK) Project, supported by a USD 2 million grant from the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Launches Social Performance Management (SPM) Toolkit for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
MicroSave, a private consulting company that provides technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently launched its social performance management (SPM) toolkit to assist MFIs and their stakeholders in determining how closely an MFI’s operations are aligned with its social objectives.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation of Canada Commits Additional $25m To BRAC’s “Microfinance Multiplied” Program in Uganda, With Plans to Open 40 New Branches
The MasterCard Foundation of Canada recently committed USD 25 million to BRAC, a microfinance institution (MFI) formerly known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, in an effort to support the expansion of BRAC’s “microfinance multiplied” program in Uganda, which enables poor clients to use microloans to build income and assets while simultaneously encouraging social and community development. The commitment aims to enable BRAC to expand its network in Uganda by opening 40 new branches. The BRAC program provides credit, training and technical support to economically active women, with a focus on those engaged in agricultural poultry and livestock. The program also assists adolescent girls in furthering their vocational and life-skills training.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Makes $13.5m Equity Investment in Apollo Investments for Microinsurance in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
Leapfrog Investments, a private equity fund that supports microinsurance initiatives, recently made a USD 13.5 million equity investment in Apollo Investments Limited, an insurance company that operates in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, to improve access to microinsurance for low-income individuals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell Investments Expands Beyond Microfinance to Include SME Finance, Health, Renewable Energy
Goodwell Investments, a business development company based in the Netherlands, has announced that it will expand the scope of its impact investing services from a focus on microfinance to include small and medium-sized enterprise finance, water & sanitation, health care and renewable energy [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund Completes First Distribution to Investors of $7.5m
BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund (BOPE Fund), an investment vehicle of Switzerland-based, commercial microfinance intermediary Blue Orchard, has announced its first distribution to investors. The USD 7.5 million distribution comes three years after the fund’s first close and includes proceeds from a partial exit from indirect shareholding in TenGer Financial Group, the single owner of XacBank, a Mongolian community development bank and microfinance institution (MFI). BOPE Fund remains a direct shareholder of TenGer Financial Group which reported total assets of MNT 322 billion (USD 256 million).