The Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME recently agreed to borrow EUR 15 million (USD 16.5 million) from Algemene Spaarbank voor Nederland (ASN) Bank, a retail banking member of the Netherlands’ de Volksbank, and USD 10 million from the US-based NGO Calvert Impact Capital. Sanad intends to use the fresh funds to facilitate
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AgCelerant, Bank of Africa, IFC to Support Rice Value Chains in Senegal with Access to Loans, Insurance, Tools, Inputs
AgCelerant, the agricultural technology (agritech) service of Mauritius-based Manobi Africa, recently partnered with the Senegalese unit of the Bank of Africa Group and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) on an effort to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Sustainable Finance in the MENA Region;” by Natalia Realpe Carrillo, Alexander Reviakin; Published by Sanad Fund for MSME Technical Assistance Facility, HEDERA Sustainable Solutions
This report examines the sustainable finance ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including the capabilities of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the region to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The objectives were
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Driving Financial Resilience Through Formal Savings Among the Low-Income Population,” by Laura Courbois et al, Published by World Savings and Retail Banking Institute
This paper explores the extent to which saving through the Scale2Save program allows customers to increase their financial resilience. Two NGOs, the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation and the Belgium-based World Savings and Retail Banking Institute, created
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BOA Kenya Nets IFC Guarantee for Lending to Women-led, Climate-focused SMEs; Potential Performance-based Incentives
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with Bank of Africa (BOA) Kenya to expand its lending to women-led and climate-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). IFC will reimburse BOA Kenya for
SPECIAL REPORT: CRECER, Dreamlopments, Fonkoze in Finals for European Microfinance Award 2021 on Inclusive Finance & Health Care
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On the 22nd and 23rd September 2021, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2021 (EMA 2021) on “Inclusive Finance & Health Care” chose the three finalists who will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 117,000) prize: CRECER IFD from Bolivia, Dreamlopments Limited from Thailand and Fonkoze from Haiti.
Access to quality health care underpins everything else: it allows education to play its role in opening new opportunities; it allows people to earn, invest and employ others; it lets groups and societies prosper. But paying for health care is the single biggest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ATL Secures $12m from Sanad for SME Leasing in Tunisia During COVID-19 Pandemic
Tunisia-based Arab Tunisian Lease (ATL) recently secured a senior loan of EUR 10 million (USD 12 million) from Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in lenders to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends $3m to Microfund for Women (MFW) for Entrepreneurs in Jordan
The European Investment Bank (EIB), an institution of the EU, recently lent EUR 2.7 million (USD 3.3 million) to Microfund for Women (MFW) to be on-lent for microenterprise in Jordan. These loans are intended to support 9,100 people, 90 percent of whom are women, whose livelihoods have been threatened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. EIB drew the funds from the Southern Neighborhood Microfinance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jordan Trade Facilities Company Borrows $5m for MSMEs from Sanad Fund
Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investor in organizations serving micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently agreed to loan the equivalent of USD 5 million in Jordanian dinar to the Jordan Trade Facilities Company (JoTF). The investment is intended to
SPECIAL REPORT: Resilience Among Microfinance Institutions? “Region of Crisis” Relatively Stable; “Moratorium Veil” Yet to Lift
As 
part of the opening day of European Microfinance Week, Mohammed Khaled of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation stated that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the microfinance sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) so far have not been as bad as was feared earlier in 2020. Most of the large microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the region have maintained 30-day portfolio-at-risk (PAR) ratios below 4 percent. Mr Khaled said, “Among leading MFIs, PAR did not rise as high as expected. We thought [it might rise to] 10 percent to 20 percent, but many MFIs have kept things under control.” Part of the reason for this, he believes is that “this is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al Hussein Fund, Sanad Fund for MSME Offer Online Curriculum for Young Owners of Small Businesses in MENA
The Jordan-based, nonprofit Al Hussein Fund for Excellence and the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently partnered to give young business owners in the Middle East and North Africa no-cost access to a course called “How to Start and Manage a Successful Business.” The course, which was delivered in Arabic on the Edraak online education platform, “comprises
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Guarantee Lending to SMEs by Raiffeisen Bank Albania
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution, recently partnered with Raiffeisen Bank Albania on a risk-sharing facility of EUR 50 million (USD 59.2 million). This will allow Raiffeisen Bank Albania to increase its
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, Egyptian Credit Bureau I-Score Seek to Boost Finance for Farmers; Agricultural Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Egypt
The Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, which is affiliated with the Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), has collaborated with the Egyptian Credit Bureau, also known as I-Score, to build an Agricultural Credit Evaluation and Risk Assessment System (ACERS). I-Score will implement this “web-based credit assessment and scoring tool,” with the goal of
SPECIAL REPORT: Climate-change Resilience Takes Centre Stage at European Microfinance Week 2019
As
a proud co-organiser of the EUR 100,000 European Microfinance Award (EMA), e-MFP leverages European Microfinance Week to spot-light the theme of the Award each year. With EMA 2019 focused on Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change, the many ways that financial inclusion stakeholders are helping vulnerable populations adapt to climate change are at the forefront of the European Microfinance Week programme. If your work involves addressing climate change through financial inclusion, #EMW2019 is not to be missed!
The opening plenary, titled Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change, features the three finalists for EMA 2019:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Launches Equity Sub-Fund II with $23m from BMZ, EU to Invest in Financial Inclusion, Job Creation in Middle East, North Africa
The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched its Equity Sub-Fund (ESF) II, to invest in financial intermediaries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. The sub-fund’s mandate includes
SPECIAL REPORT: HPS Poised to Digitize Network of MFIs in Benin After Participation in SAM Innovation Fair, Successful Rollout to 3 Network Members
During 
the “Innovation Fair” of the most recent SAM, Mohamed Asri of Morocco-based payment solutions provider HPS spoke about his firm’s microfinance strategy, including its suite of PowerCARD tools. Mr Asri called SAM “a great opportunity for us to meet dozens of MFIs in Africa and present to them our activity and our products.” These meetings led to HPS signing a memorandum of understanding with Consortium Alafia, a network of 44 MFIs in Benin. To date, three Alafia members have tested PowerCARD Microfinance, which offers pay-as-you-go pricing to manage functions such as client transactions, internal finances, services provided via agents, Shariah-compliant products, field staff using mobile devices and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $500k in Local Currency to Vitas Egypt for Microfinance
Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle, recently loaned the equivalent of USD 500,000 in local currency to Vitas Egypt, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was launched in 2018. The MFI is a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insular Life, IFC Launch “InLife Sheroes” Program to Boost Microinsurance Among Women in the Philippines
Insular Life, a Philippines-based insurance company, recently partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to form a program called “InLife Sheroes” to provide Filipino women with skills relating to “financial management, health, and well-being” and offer insurance programs with “specific coverage, bundling of products, and customized add-on services” intended to be of value to women. The program is