Event Name: 5th Sankalp Africa Summit 2018
Event Date: March 1 – 2, 2018
Event Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Summary of Event: This conference focuses on harnessing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create growth in Africa. Sample session topics include “Driving the Sustainable Development Agenda:
Event Name: Ninth Sankalp Global Summit 2017
Event Date: December 7 – December 8, 2017
Event Location: JW Marriott Hotel; Mumbai, India
Summary of Event: The foci of this summit are social enterprise, impact investing and “inclusive development” worldwide. The event will also explore the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year’s agenda has not been released, but previous iterations of the conference included sessions on topics such as financing small and medium-sized enterprises and opportunities in agriculture.
Event Name: Third Sankalp Southeast Asia Summit 2017: Local Problems, Global Solutions
Event Date: September 19 – September 20, 2017
Event Location: Hotel Bidakara; Jakarta, Indonesia
Summary of Event: The focus of the summit is to “strengthen Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem,” and the theme of this year’s iteration is “Local Problems, Global Solutions.” Discussions will address topics such as policy, health, energy, financial services and agriculture.
Intellegrow, an India-based subsidiary of Intellecap Group specializing in venture debt, and Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based firm investing in smaller companies, recently launched a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) debt pool program, benefiting Indian entrepreneurs from “impact” sectors including, but not limited to, food and agriculture, healthcare, and waste management.
Event Name: Sankalp Africa Summit 2017: Spurring the Entrepreneurship Economy
Event Date: February 23 – February 24, 2017
Event Location: Kenya School of Government, Lower Kabete, Nairobi City, Kenya
IntelleGrow Private Limited, an India-based nonbanking financial company specializing in venture debt that was founded by India’s Intellecap Capital Advisory Services, recently announced that it has raised INR 134 billion (approximately USD 20 million) in equity and debt.
SKS Microfinance, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Hyderabad, India, recently announced it will change its name to Bharat Financial Inclusion [1].
SKS Microfinance Limited, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Hyderabad, India, recently partnered with IBM MobileFirst, the mobile division of US-based information technology company International Business Machines (IBM), in an effort to improve staff productivity in acquiring customers, completing loan disbursements and collecting repayments [1][2].
Goodwell West Africa, one of four funds of the Netherlands’ Goodwell Investments, recently acquired a 30-percent share of Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG).
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of undisclosed amounts to Annapurna Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI); Asociacion Fondo de Desarrollo (FDL), an MFI in Nicaragua; Crezcamos, a Columbian MFI; Hamkorbank, a commercial bank in Uzbekistan; Intean Poalroath Rongroeurng (IPR), an MFI in Cambodia; Intellegrow, a nonbanking financial company (NBFC) serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India; and Vitas Jordan, an Amman-based MFI [1].
Event Name: Sankalp Africa Summit 2015
Event Date: February 5 – February 6, 2015
Event Location: Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, Kenya
Cost: The cost to register is USD 500 with a rate of USD 250 available for entrepreneurs. Additional information regarding costs and fees may be found at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sankalp-africa-summit-2015-nairobi-kenya-tickets-13381531521?aff=SFWeb
Summary of Event: This conference is the second edition of Sankalp Africa Summit. This year, the theme is “Accelerating Innovation and Entrepreneurship Towards an Inclusive Africa”. It will include dialog among African entrepreneurs, investors and corporate and government representatives. Ten African social businesses will win Sankalp Africa Awards.
The Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF), a Netherlands-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently loaned EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.1 million) to IntelleGrow, an Indian nonbank financial company that specializes in making loans to small and medium-sized “social enterprises” in the agriculture, clean energy, education, financial, healthcare, sanitation and water sectors.
The United Nations (UN) Global Compact, an initiative to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and Gate Global Impact (GGI), a US-based regulatory-compliant electronic marketplace that focuses on impact investing, have launched Gateway 2.0, a website enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) listed on the UN Global Compact Social Enterprise Hub to access financing for sustainable and “socially responsible” projects [1].
“Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha and D.S.K. Rao; published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign and Freedom from Hunger; 2014; 36 pages; available at http://microcreditsummit.org/uploads/resource/document/ffh_indiareport_2014_web_58274.pdf
This paper builds on a report entitled “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: Harnessing the Strengths of Two Sectors to Improve Health and Alleviate Poverty”, which was written in 2012 by a group of authors that includes those who wrote “Volume Two.”
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that focuses on emerging markets, has completed bond transactions worth a total of USD 30 million with MicroCred China, an affiliate of the France-based MicroCred and PlaNet Finance groups; Arohan Financial Services Private Ltd., an Indian financial services company; Grameen Financial Services Private Ltd., a Bangalore-based microfinance institution (MFI) also known as Grameen Koota; and Annapurna Microfinance Private Ltd., an MFI based in the Indian state of Odisha.
Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently received an equity infusion totalling INR 270 million (USD 4.5 million) from three investors: INR 150 million (USD 2.5 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and INR 62 million (USD 1 million) each from Aavishkaar Goodwell, a for-profit Indian-Dutch joint venture promoting economic development, and Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on microfinance and other social businesses in India [1] [2].
Grama Vidiyal Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has raised an undisclosed amount of financing through both senior and subordinate loans from World Business Capital, a US-based lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
IntelleGrow, an India-based lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recently announced that it raised INR 250 million (USD 4.1 million) from Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm, and INR 30 million (USD 500,000) from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a US-based nonprofit institution, in return for stakes in the company of undisclosed size.