The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced it will disburse a local-currency loan equivalent to USD 470 million to Itau Unibanco, a Brazilian bank, in an effort to increase the financial inclusion of women-owned enterprises in Brazil.
Search Results for: Brazil
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Itau Unibanco of Brazil Commits $167m to Microloans for Urban Entrepreneurs in Concert with Business Call to Action, UN Millennium Development Goals
Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco recently joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a multi-organization initiative that seeks to reduce poverty through the private sector in support of the United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazil Doubles Microfinance Loan Ceiling to $19,000
Brazil’s National Monetary Council, a body charged with regulating and monitoring Brazilian capital markets and financial institutions, recently increased the limit for each microcredit loan from BRL 20,000 (USD 9,840) to BRL 40,000 (USD 19,677).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) to Make $4m Equity Investment in Vox Capital Impact Investing Fund of Brazil for Social Businesses, SMEs
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, recently announced that it will make a USD 4 million equity investment in Vox Capital Impact Investing Fund, a Brazilian venture capital fund targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups that serve the low-income population, also referred to as the base of the pyramid (BoP).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Brazil Launches Financial Inclusion Action Plan
The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB in Portuguese) reportedly has released an action plan that aims to strengthen the institutional environment of the National Partnership for Financial Inclusion (NPFI), which was launched in November 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Insurers Launch Global Insurance Principles at Rio+20, Brazil
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) launched the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (the ‘PSI Initiative’) on the eve of the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Information Exchange Diamond Rating System; Savings-Linked Microinsurance in India; Banking Correspondents in Brazil
“Diamonds No Longer Forever;” by Scott Gaul; published by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); April 2012; available at: http://www.themix.org/publications/microbanking-bulletin/2012/04/diamonds-no-longer-forever
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TIM Participacoes Launches Microinsurance through Text Messages in Brazil
TIM Participacoes, the Brazilian subsidiary of Italian telecommunications company Telecom Italia Mobile, reportedly will launch a funeral microinsurance product for low-income individuals that can be enrolled in and paid for via mobile telephones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Istanbul Declaration” Proposes Discussion of Income Inequality, Women’s Empowerment, Environmental Sustainability at United Nations (UN) “Rio + 20” Conference in Brazil in June
Participants in last week’s United Nations (UN) Global Human Development Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, have adopted an “Istanbul Declaration” that calls for unified action against global social inequities and environmental degradation at the UN “Rio + 20” Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Brazil in June 2012.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Snapshot, Eliminating Entry Barriers in Brazil, and Savings Commitments in Malawi
“2011 Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Snapshot;” published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); February 2012; 36 pages; available at: http://vx.worldbank.org/t/3341406/27487238/32401/0/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurer Mongeral Aegon, Microfinance Institution Finsol Team Up to Sell Microinsurance in Brazil
Brazilian insurance company Mongeral Aegon reportedly has partnered with microfinance institution Finsol to begin selling microinsurance policies in January 2012 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazilian Insurance Regulator Superintendencia de Seguros Privados (SUSEP) to Release Microinsurance Regulatory Framework
Superintendencia de Seguros Privados (SUSEP), Brazil’s insurance regulator, recently announced that it will release a framework for the regulation of microinsurance by the end of October [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kredits Offers Microfinance Institutions “Multi-Jurisdictional Regulatory Compliance Software Solution” in Kazakhstan, Brazil, India, Madagascar
Kredits, a US-based technology provider to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it is providing a “multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance software solution” to unnamed MFI clients in Kazakhstan, Brazil, India and Madagascar. The product is soon to be made available to additional countries in Southeast Asia and Africa [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazilian Government to Expand National Program of Oriented Productive Microcredit (PNMPO), Subsidize Reduction in Microcredit Interest Rates
In an effort to broaden access to microfinance and encourage lending by private banks, the Brazilian government is expanding its National Program of Oriented Productive Microcredit (PNMPO in Portuguese), an initiative through which the government provides funding to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other financial service providers for on-lending to small businesses and microentrepreneurs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Brazil Publishes “Inclusão Financeira” Calling for Increased Financial Inclusion, Urging Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to Boost Transparency, Product Innovation, Financial Education
In a recent report, “Inclusão Financeira,” the Central Bank of Brazil presents the bank’s financial inclusion initiative, which aims for improvements in governance, transparency, regulation, credit, technology, distribution channels and product diversity [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Natura Cosmeticos’ “Cosmetics Microfinance” Project Replacing Criminal Gangs in Brazil?
Projeto Comunidade (Community Project), which was launched by Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura Cosmeticos SA (Natura) in February 2011, is reportedly helping to revive the local economy after illegal drug operations were significantly curtailed by joint police-military operations in Complexo do Alemão, a neighborhood in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lauro González of Getulio Vargas Foundation’s Microfinance Studies Centre, Marcelo Azevedo Teixeira of Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) Praise Brazil’s National Productive Microcredit Programme, Argue More is Needed
Between August 2004 and August 2010, Brazil’s National Productive Microcredit Programme, which was developed in an effort to expand access to credit among formal- and informal-sector entrepreneurs, generated the equivalent of approximately USD 4 billion dollars in credit for low-income households [1]. Lauro González, coordinator of the Microfinance Studies Centre of Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation was recently quoted as stating, “the number of holders of small-scale loans rose from 200,000 to more than one million” since the launch of the programme in 2003 [1]. Marcelo Azevedo Teixeira, manager of the Urban Microfinance Unit at the state-run Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), stated, “The initiative has played an important role in strengthening and expanding credit for the low-income population…. New actors entered the market, new products were developed, and regulations evolved, which made it possible to coordinate the activities of different institutions” [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Munich Re Foundation to Host Seventh International Microinsurance Conference, November 8 – November 10, 2011, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Event Name: Seventh International Microinsurance Conference
Event Date: November 8 – November 10, 2011
Event Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil