BlueOrchard Impact Investment Managers, a member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently partnered with Schroders and three development finance institutions to launch an initiative to fund lenders serving micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group of investors, which has committed a total of
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MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Consumer Protection and COVID-19: Borrower Risks as Economies Reopen,” by Elisabeth Rhyne, Published by CGAP
Dr Rhyne has analyzed data collected by CGAP, microfinance investors and financial service providers (FSPs) to consider how FSPs can collect outstanding microloans – including after repayment moratoria – and issue
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Microfinance Sector in Europe: Field Analysis and Policy Recommendations;” by Kinga Dabrowska, Pitor Korynski, Justyna Pytkowska
Based on data collected from 22 European microfinance institutions and industry associations, the authors describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Eco-Business Fund, IFC to Loan $40m to Banco Agromercantil (BAM) to Help MSMEs in Guatemala Manage COVID-19 Pandemic
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to lend Banco Agromercantil (BAM), a subsidiary of Colombia-based Grupo Bancolombia, USD 20 million, thus mobilizing an equal amount from the Eco-Business Fund, which is domiciled in Luxembourg. BAM is to use the liquidity to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, IFC Lend Alternatif Bank $50m to Sustain SMEs in Turkey During COVID-19 Pandemic
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) each are lending USD 25 million to Alternatif Bank,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ethiopia, IFAD Focus 3rd Phase of Rural Financial Intermediation Programme (RUFIP) on Supporting Farmers Through Climate Change, COVID-19 Pandemic
The government of Ethiopia and the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently launched a program with a budget of USD 306 million to support farmers that have been negatively impacted by recurrent droughts and the COVID-19 pandemic. This third phase of the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme (RUFIP 3),
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A COVID Perspective on Nepal Microfinance;” by Sanjay Sinha, Nara Hari Dhakal; Published by M-CRIL
This paper is intended to “enable international understanding of the finances of MFIs [microfinance institutions] in Nepal and the potential role of external lenders in supporting the ecosystem of the country.” According to Mr Sinha and Dr Dhakal, the COVID-19 pandemic has had less severe effects on the microfinance sector in Nepal than it has in countries such as India and Myanmar. This is partially because MFI customers in Nepal didn’t make significant withdrawals
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Digital Technology in Social Assistance Transfers for COVID-19 Relief: Lessons from Selected Cases;” by Alan Gelb, Anit Mukherjee; Published by Centre for Global Development
In this paper, the authors analyze the use of digital technology to implement government-to-person (G2P) social transfer programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Colombia, India, Namibia, Pakistan, South Africa and Togo. The analysis is organized around the following steps in the process:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazil Loosens Eligibility Requirements, Streamlines Online Microloan Application to Assist Small Businesses During COVID-19 Pandemic
Brazil’s Conselho Monetário Nacional (CMN), the country’s National Monetary Council, recently raised the revenue limit for firms to be eligible for microloans in an effort to assist more small businesses struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum income had been
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lending Banco Agricola $330m for Women, MSMEs, “Climate-smart” Investments, COVID-19 Relief in El Salvador
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently issued a financing package of USD 330 million to Banco Agricola of El Salvador to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), including those owned by women; housing for people with lower incomes; and “climate-smart” investments, including in buildings with lower environmental impacts. About 10 percent of the funding is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Loans $750m to BNDES to Support MSMEs in Brazil During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 750 million to Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian government’s development bank, to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Brazil that have seen significant drops in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan is expected to enable
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asosiasi Fintech Pendanaan Bersama Indonesia (AFPI) Proposes Partnership with Government to Disburse $47b in COVID-19 Relief
An association of 156 financial technology (fintech) lenders, Asosiasi Fintech Pendanaan Bersama Indonesia (AFPI), is offering to work with the Indonesian government to distribute funds intended to offset the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of September 2020, the government has disbursed 25 percent
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Contrary to COVID-19 Predictions, Mexico, Nepal Report Increases in Remittances
Contrary to many observers’ predictions regarding the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Nepal and Mexico have received increasing amounts of remittances from workers living abroad. During July 2020, USD 3.5 billion in remittances was sent to Mexico, a 7-percent increase from one year earlier. This July 2020 figure is the third-highest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Stonestep Developing Tele-health, COVID-19 Insurance in Partnership with DigiPay Mobile Money, Swiss Capacity Building Facility, TDO Nepal
The Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF), a Switzerland-based public-private partnership, recently announced its funding of the Nepalese unit of Switzerland-based insurance technology (insurtech) company Stonestep to build a product merging COVID-19 insurance and tele-health consultations. Customers of the service will be able to access digital health resources such as online health data
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Never Waste a Crisis: How Sub-Saharan African Insurers Are Being Affected by, and Are Responding to, COVID-19;” by Lucia Schlemmer, Kate Rinehart-Smit, Jeremy Gray
This paper analyzes the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the insurance market in sub-Saharan Africa and the effectiveness of the responses of insurers, brokers and regulators. The authors conducted 32 interviews with representatives of insurers, insurance technology (insurtech) firms, reinsurers, and insurance and broker associations across 18 markets in the region to assess: (1) the impact that the pandemic has had on insurers’ daily internal operations; (2) the impacts on new product development and how the insured move through current processes; (3) the impact on insurers’ and customers’ finances; and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $15m to PGMF of Myanmar for Microcredit, COVID-19 Relief
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private partnership also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently disbursed a five-year loan of USD 15 million to Pact Global Microfinance Fund (PGMF), a microfinance institution in Myanmar. The goal is to support microenterprises facing escalating income inequality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization’s “commitment to invest in business with women
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans Inecobank of Armenia $6m from Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Offset Effects of COVID-19 via Mobile Banking
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) recently disbursed a loan of USD 6 million to Inecobank, an Armenia-based institution, from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a fund launched by the German government’s KfW Entwicklungsbank and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. The proceeds will enable Inecobank to increase its lending during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March, due to the pandemic, the bank moved all of its
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: “Post COVID-19: Will Physical Cash Exist in 10 years?”, London Institute of Banking and Finance
We are pleased to suggest this fun conversation between Dean Maria Carapeto and Visiting Scholar Jonathan Holman of the London Institute of Banking & Finance on the topic of “financial inclusion, developing economies, digital and more”!
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
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