by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Diffusing Excuses for Failing to Measure Microfinance Institutions’ Social Performance

Amelia SAM 2019Greenberg of the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), at a SAM session on measuring social impact, reviewed some of the excuses microfinance institution leaders use to postpone measuring client outcomes. Some say satisfaction surveys are sufficient, or they feel a robust process will be too expensive. Some worry that it is unreasonable to claim a cause-effect relationship between their institution’s financial services and changes in clients’ lives.

Colin Rice of South Africa’s Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) argued that it is valuable to start by measuring just a few parameters that the organization is already tracking. Monitoring the amount that clients save over time is a prime example. It is easy to

by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G7 Nations Raise $2.5b for 2X Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs

The Group of Seven (G7) large economies recently announced that they have mobilized a total of USD 2.47 billion in “gender-smart” investments as part of the 2X Challenge, which was initiated in 2018 by the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The goal of the 2X Challenge is to

by Umit Naz Deryaoglu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Arranges Syndicated Loan of $162m for Access Bank of Nigeria, Supporting Private Sector, Including MSMEs

The Dutch development bank, which is known by the acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan of USD 162.5 million for Nigeria-based Access Bank. In addition to FMO, the participating lenders are the BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund, which is managed by BlueOrchard of Switzerland; Dutch cooperative Oikocredit;

by Michelle Fleming -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s MFS Africa Lands $14m in Equity from Equator Capital’s ShoreCap III Fund, FSD Africa, Goodwell Investments, Lun Partners to Boost Mobile Financial Services in Rural Areas

South Africa-based financial technology (fintech) company MFS Africa recently raised equity totaling USD 14 million to expand its mobile financial services (MFS) into additional rural areas in Africa. The investors, which are participating in undisclosed portions, are US-based impact fund manager Equator

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MTN, Airtel Launch Rwanda-to-Tanzania Mobile Remittance Service

Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, and Airtel Tanzania, which is controlled by Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, recently launched a remittance service allowing MTN Rwanda customers to use their mobile phones to send

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G7 Nations Triple OPIC Target, Pledge to Mobilize $3b for 2X Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs

Seven development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 group of seven large economies recently pledged to raise an additional USD 2 billion by 2020 for the “2X Challenge: Financing for Women” initiative, which was unveiled by the US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) with a target of USD 1 billion in March 2018.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FijiCare Providing Life, Disability, Fire Microinsurance to Fiji Co-operative Dairy Members, Supported by UN’s Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)

FijiCare Insurance, a general insurer operating in Fiji and Vanuatu, has been working with the 300-member Fiji Co-operative Dairy Company to design an insurance package they plan to sell to cooperative members at a cost of

by Matthew ONeill -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda Rolls Out “Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program”

In partnership with the US-based, nonprofit Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network and The MasterCard Foundation of Canada, the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (AMIR) recently rolled out the Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Awards Small Finance Bank Licences to 10 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central banking authority of the country, recently has given “in-principle approval”[1] of the requests for Small Finance Bank Licences of the following microfinance institutions (MFIs): Jaipur-based Au Financiers, Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank, Ahmedabad-based Disha Microfin, Chennai-based Equitas, Chennai-based ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Bengaluru-based Janalakshmi Financial Services, Guwahati-based RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Chennai-based Suryoday, Bangalore-based Ujjivan and Varanasi-based Utkarsh.

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Holdings Raises $25m from Accion, LeapFrog, Lok Capital to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in India

IFMR Holdings, an arm of Indian nonprofit IFMR Trust, recently raised USD 25 million from Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization; LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius; and Lok Capital, an India-based microfinance investment vehicle.

by Mathew Cerf -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Fund, Apis Partners, Raises $157m for Financial Technology Startups in Africa, South Asia

Apis Partners, a London-based private equity firm, has raised USD 157 million in investments for the Apis Growth Fund that it launched in 2014 to target technology firms working in payments, savings, investments, credit and insurance in Africa and South Asia.

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides 50% Credit Guarantee to $13m Bond Issuance of Mexican Microfinance Institution (MFI) Consorcio de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAMESA)

Consorcio de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAMESA), a Mexico-based, deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI), recently raised MXN 200 million (USD 13 million) through its first bond issuance to support the expansion of its lending services.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DEG, EBRD Loan $10m – Part in Local Currency – to Bai Tushum of Kyrgyz Republic for On-lending to Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

The Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution offering long-term project and company financing, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced that the two institutions will collectively loan the equivalent of USD 10 million to Bai Tushum Bank (BTB), a provider of microfinance services in the Kyrgyz Republic.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital of Mauritius Seeking $100m for Third Fund, First Round Scheduled to Close by April 2015

Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund that focuses on microfinance and other social businesses in India, reportedly is seeking to raise USD 100 million for a new fund that will focus on financial inclusion as its key priority, with agriculture and energy as secondary areas of interest [1].

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans SA Raises $27m from Existing Shareholders in Third Round of Fundraising

Advans SA, a Luxembourg-based organization that provides financial services to  micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently raised EUR 20 million (USD 26.8 million) in its third round of fundraising.

by Ben Krupp -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Bellwether Microfinance Fund Exit Janalakshmi Financial Services of India

Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund; the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a US-based philanthropic organization that seeks to improve the lives of poor urban residents in India, South Africa and the US; and the Bellwether Microfinance Fund, an Indian investor of equity and in start-up and medium-sized businesses, reportedly have exited their private equity investments in Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), a Bangalore-based microfinance institution (MFI).

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suryoday Micro Finance of India Raises $4.5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Aavishkaar Goodwell, Lok Capital

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].

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Creation Investments Invest Total of $13m in Indian Microfinance Institution Equitas Holdings

Two institutional investors, Lok Capital LLC (Lok Capital), a Mauritius-based investment vehicle, and Creation Investments Capital Management Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company, reportedly have invested a cumulative sum of INR 800 million (USD 13.7 million) in Equitas Holdings Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI).