The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central banking authority of the country, recently announced that it raised the limit on the total of all loans disbursed by microfinance institutions (MFIs) to a single borrower from INR 50,000 (USD 790) to INR 100,000 (USD 1,600).
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MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market to Host Webinars on “Data Driven Social Performance Management,” May 26-27, 2015
Event Name: Webinar: Data Driven Social Performance Management
Event Dates: English-language webinars will be held on May 26, 2015, at 7:00 AM Eastern US Time and May 27, 2015, at noon Eastern US Time. A Spanish-language version of the webinar will be held on May 28, 2015 at noon Eastern US Time.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Grants Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Status to Indian Microfinance Network Sa-Dhan
Sa-Dhan, a microfinance network in India with 251 member organizations, reportedly has been granted status as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central banking authority.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WestBridge Capital Invests $16m to Acquire 20% Equity Stake in India’s Aptus Value Housing Finance
WestBridge Capital, an investment company with offices in India, Mauritius and the United States, recently invested a total of INR 98 crore (USD 16 million) to acquire 20 percent of the shares of Aptus Value Housing Finance, an India-based company that seeks to provide affordable housing finance, primarily for middle-income, self-employed customers [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Suisse to Fund Opportunity International’s “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Credit Suisse, a Swiss global financial services company with operations in 50 countries, has agreed to donate an undisclosed sum to Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance in 22 countries, to launch a three-year program entitled “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” that focuses on lending for education initiatives.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF) Loans $3.1m to India’s IntelleGrow for Loans to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises
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.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (AID), CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), The Mastercard Foundation Award $1m to ideas42 for Financial Management Tool for Microentrepreneurs
The US Agency for International Development (AID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The Mastercard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded approximately USD 1 million to ideas42, a US-based nonprofit consulting and behavioral design firm, for the implementation of a SMS text-messaging “push” notification system and voice-based platform that is intended to help microentrepreneurs better manage their finances.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation, MicroEnsure, Penda, Clifford Chance Launch Uzima Health Microinsurance in Kenya
The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization; MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International; Penda Health, a Kenya-based, for-profit chain of medical centers; and Clifford Chance, a UK-based international law firm, recently announced that they have launched an initiative called the “Uzima Project” in Kenya with the aim of providing “low-cost“ health insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) to Move Headquarters From Thailand to Malaysia in 2015
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a network of financial policymakers from developing and emerging economies, announced at its recent annual 2014 Global Policy Forum in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, that in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysia’s central bank, AFI will shift its headquarters from Bangkok, Thailand, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in January 2015.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Government Launches 15 “Technology Centres” to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The Ministry of Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Indian government agency in charge of regulating and supporting MSMEs, reportedly has launched its “Technology Centre Systems Programme,” which involves establishing 15 technology centers and improving the three existing such centers across the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Appoints Jeffrey Binstock as CEO
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit that provides performance data and analysis on microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their funders, networks and service providers, recently announced the appointment of Mr Jeffrey Binstock as the organization’s new CEO.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen Fund, Adolf H Lundin Charitable Foundation Invest $1.5m in Farmer Information Service Esoko Networks of Ghana to Expand into East Africa
The Acumen Fund, a New York-based nonprofit venture fund, and the Adolf H Lundin Charitable Foundation, a Liechtenstein-based nonprofit organization, have invested an aggregate sum of USD 1.5 million in an unspecified combination of equity and debt in Esoko Networks Limited (Esoko) of Ghana, a technology platform that aims to strengthen the connection between farmers and markets in Africa with the use of mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, MicroEnsure, EFU Life to Cover Loan Payments in Case of Sickness, Disability, Death, Death of Spouse
Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, a member of the Advans SA group that offers financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan, has joined with MicroEnsure Pakistan, a subsidiary of the UK-based MicroEnsure insurance agency, and Eastern Federal Union Life, a private-sector life insurance company in Pakistan, to introduce “Enhanced Credit Cover” for its borrowers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Ghana, MicroEnsure, Enterprise Life Roll Out Free Mobile Accident Insurance in Ghana
Airtel Ghana, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel; MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance company founded by US-based Opportunity International; and Enterprise Life, an insurance company that is part of Ghana-based Enterprise Group, recently announced that 100,000 Airtel Ghana customers have registered for Airtel Insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fish Farming Project in Nepal Wins Social Venture Challenge at Seventh Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA
The “Sustainable Fish Farming Project”, proposed to provide 500 families in the Baseri village of Nepal with funding to start fish farms, recently won a grant of USD 7,500 from the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge, a competition among aspiring entrepreneurs who attended the seventh annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting at the US-based Arizona State University, Phoenix [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Invests $29m in Equity in Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital of India
LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius that invests in microfinance, reportedly has invested USD 29 million in return for a minority stake of undisclosed size in the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital, an Indian non-banking financial company that facilitates funding for organizations that serve low-income people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Applies to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Self-Regulatory Organization Status
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association composed of 47 Indian microlenders that operate as non-banking finance companies, reportedly has applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, for status as a “self-regulatory organization” (SRO).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Zambia to Include Life Insurance Coverage In Mobile Subscriber Plans
Airtel Zambia, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Airtel, in partnership with Zambian insurance company Focus General Insurance and UK-based microinsurer MicroEnsure, is now including free life insurance coverage to mobile subscribers who pay ZMW 10 (USD 1.77) or more per month for their phone service.