Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital payment services has risen, leading to an increase in fraud and thus a renewed urgency to educate and otherwise protect consumers of these services. Financial services providers also are boosting their vigilance in
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Launches Electronic Registry of Movable Assets, with Support from IFC
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan recently created an electronic registry to encourage the country’s banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs) and leasing companies to accept moveable assets as collateral for loans. The collateral registry will help these institutions “to register rights in moveable assets in offering credit to people, as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises” (MSMEs). Moveable assets may include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SafeBoda Uganda, UNCDF Launch E-commerce Platform for Market Vendors Looking to Maintain Operations During Pandemic
SafeBoda, a Uganda-based owner of an app for hailing motorcycle rides in three countries, and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN agency that supports small businesses in developing countries, recently partnered to launch an e-commerce platform. This is a response to the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Response to COVID-19, Western Union Transitions to Home Delivery of Money Transfers in Jordan
The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services and communications firm, recently announced that the company’s agents will deliver money transfers directly to customers’ homes in Jordan. Each delivery is to occur within
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kookmin Paying $603m to LOLC for 70% Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Prasac of Cambodia
South Korea’s KB Financial Group, whose name derives from its Kookmin Bank, recently issued the first of two tranches it agreed pay for 70 percent of the shares of Prasac, a microbank in Cambodia. Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group, whose name comes from the former Lanka Orix Leasing Company, will take in a total of USD 603 million on the deal, which has been approved by all pertinent regulators. Prasac has 180 branches and 150 automated teller machines (ATMs). As of 2019, it had total assets of USD 3.1 billion, USD 1.8 billion in deposits and a loan portfolio of USD 2.5 billion outstanding to 417,000 borrowers.
KB President Hur Yin said, “With long-term plans to turn Prasac into a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cross-border Payment Settlement Network EMQ Expands Into Africa
EMQ, a financial settlement network based in Hong Kong, recently announced its expansion into Africa, including the nations of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. The firm facilitates access to “millions” of mobile wallets in Asia and Europe, and it plans to expand into
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Taking $13m Equity Stake in Yeelen Financial Fund to Boost Inclusion in West Africa
The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, recently approved an equity investment of EUR 12 million (USD 13 million) in Yeelen Financial Fund, an investment vehicle that aims to strengthen financial institutions in the eight nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which also is known by its French acronym UEMOA.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: ICT4D (Information Communications Technology for Development) Conference; January 12, 2021; Virtual – NEW DATES AND FORMAT
The event had been scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, from April 21-23, 2020.
This conference will bring together approximately 900 delegates to explore the use of digital innovations to adapt to global challenges, such as providing humanitarian relief and building infrastructure to increase access to technology for poor people. Specific topics
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fenix, MTN, UNCDF Cross-train Staff to Sell Pay-as-you-go Solar Home Power Systems, Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions in Rural Zambia
During a 10-month pilot project, Fenix International, a provider of solar home power systems that is controlled by France-based Engie; MTN, a telecom based in South Africa; and the UN Capital Development Fund collaborated to train 93 “Fenix Traders” to expand the uptake of solar home systems in Zambia. Previously, usage of the systems, which are enabled and disabled remotely based on users’ “pay-as-you-go” payments, were limited by a scarcity of mobile-money agents to accept these payments, particularly in rural areas. To address this problem, these Fenix Traders were cross-trained and equipped for both solar sales and the provision of mobile money services. Of the group, 82 operate in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Invests $7.5m in Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund to Finance Early-stage Enterprises in Africa
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which is also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently invested USD 7.5 million in the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), an entity
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa 2018,” published by Microinsurance Network
By Alice Merry, published by the Microinsurance Network, November 2019, 27 pages, available at https://microinsurancenetwork.org/sites/default/files/Landscape%20of%20Microinsurance%20in%20Africa%202018_LR.pdf
This iteration of the Landscape series provides insights into the microinsurance industry based on data from 2017 supplied by 100 insurers in 16 countries in Africa, focusing on changes since a similar study published in 2015. Overall, as of December 2017,
SPECIAL REPORT: SheInvest to Deliver $1.1b to Women in Africa, Access Bank’s “Beta Friends” Bringing Digital Savings to Market Sellers, Women Move Slowly to Mobile Money: All at European Microfinance Week
At
Friday’s session on gender and financial inclusion during European Microfinance Week, Enrico Pini of the European Investment Bank (EIB) argued that, “It’s smart business,” to boost opportunities for women. Such is the motivation for EIB’s SheInvest program, which is scheduled to mobilize EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) to invest in entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, digital inclusion and climate-resilience efforts for African women.
Njideka Nwabueze of Nigeria’s Access Bank described her company’s product, “Beta,” which translates as “Good” in the local language. She said that many poor women use informal savings schemes because they do not believe that banks offer products that meet their needs. One of these women’s priorities is easy access to funds. Women who sell products in a market, for example, risk losing a good selling spot if they leave during the day to visit a bank. Also, bank lines can be very long.
This is why, six years ago, Access launched Beta, an interest-bearing savings account that leverages mobile money but is
SPECIAL REPORT: Sibling Rivalry, Pre-disaster Microinsurance Payments, Protecting Climate-displaced People via International Law at European Microfinance Week
At today’s opening plenary of European Microfinance Week, Manuel Tonnar, who leads Luxembourg’s Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said that his country “is committed to transforming itself and helping others transform their economies into sustainable economies.” This is “not for charitable reasons,” he argued, “but because it’s the most efficient way” to move forward. Mr Tonnar also said, “Financial inclusion should be closely allied with other development interventions to provide the most value to disadvantaged populations.” In closing, he quoted Jean Monnet, who said, “I am not optimistic. I am not pessimistic. I am
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Lidya Expanding MSME Lending to Czech Republic, Poland
Lidya, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm active in Nigeria, recently announced that it is beginning to lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Czech Republic and Poland, particularly in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and retail sectors. The projected average loan size in these countries is
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 21, 2019; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
This event will include sessions on topics such as: financial inclusion, blockchain, “Future of Banking,” and “AfCFTA (the African Continental Free Trade Agreement) and Fintech.” Additionally, there will be multiple pitch
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.5m to ACEP Niger, VisionFund Rwanda, LAPO of Sierra Leone
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has issued local-currency loans to three microfinance institutions (MFIs), approximately equivalent to the following amounts: USD 550,000 to ACEP Niger, an affiliate of the Agency for Private Enterprise Credit (ACEP) International; USD 540,000 to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Engie Acquires Mobisol, Provider of Pay-as-you-go Solar Systems in East Africa
Engie, a France-based, “low-carbon” energy firm, recently agreed to acquire Mobisol, a Germany-based provider of solar-powered products in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, for an undisclosed price. Among the reasons Engie is pursuing the transaction is the opening for “extending its customer base from rural to urban areas.”
Mobisol provides solar-powered products such as lights and telephone chargers that customers pay for via mobile payments over as many as four years. When a buyer wishes to delay a payment, Mobisol can temporarily disable the device remotely.
Engie’s holdings include: (1) Fenix International, which has delivered solar home power systems to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Smallholder Households: Distinct Segments, Different Needs;” published by CGAP
By Jamie Anderson, Ramesh Karrupusamy, Paul Enrico Neumann, Howard Miller and Ram Tamara; published by CGAP; April 2019; 12 pages; available at https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_04_Focus_Note_Smallholder_Households_Distinct_Segments_Different_Needs.pdf
To ensure that financial service providers (FSPs) are able to: (a) identify opportunities to serve smallholder households; (b) provide services that are tailored to smallholders’ needs;