Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently borrowed EUR 4 million (USD 5.48 million) under a senior credit agreement from Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Luxembourg-based organization focusing on the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bandhan Financial Services of India Reduces Lending Rate to 22.4% per Year
Bandhan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian city of Kolkata, reportedly announced that it has reduced its lending rate by 50 basis points, or 0.5 percent, bringing its annual interest rate down to 22.4 percent.
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: International Finance Corporation, Microfinance Center of Poland Hire Cultural Consultant in Financial Literacy in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with the Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a 110-member network based in Poland, to attempt to improve financial literacy in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gulf African Bank of Kenya to Receive Advisory Services Under International Finance Corporation’s Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Finance Program
The International Finance Corporation, the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, has announced that the Gulf African Bank (GAB), which offers Shariah-compliant products and services in Kenya, has become a member of its Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Finance Program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital Sextuples Investment With Partial Exit from Indian “Socio-commercial” Outsourcing Firm RuralShores
Lok Capital (Lok), a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on the microfinance and social business sectors in India, reportedly has sold part of its equity stake in RuralShores Business Services, an India-based company offering business process outsourcing to public and private clients in the microfinance, banking, insurance, telecom and information technology sectors.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Financial Capability in Colombia: Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge;” by Rekha Reddy, Miriam Bruhn and Congyan Tan; Published by The World Bank
“Financial Capability in Colombia: Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge;” by Rekha Reddy, Miriam Bruhn and Congyan Tan; published by The World Bank; 2013; 87 pages; available at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/07/18054984/financial-capability-colombia-results-national-survey-financial-behaviors-attitudes-knowledge
This report, which was published by The World Bank, a US-based multilateral institution, analyzes a survey carried out in Colombia regarding “financial capabilities,” including behaviors, attitudes and knowledge regarding financial products.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” Published by the Development Research Group of the World Bank
“Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” by Shahidur R. Khandker and Hussain A. Samad, published by The World Bank, March 2014, 50 pages, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2417519
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh have experienced rapid growth over the past two decades and in 2008 disbursed approximately USD 1.8 billion to approximately 30 million clients.
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.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Money Agents in Uganda; Sustainable Microfinance; Mobile Money for the Global Unbanked
“Agent Network Accelerator Survey: Uganda Country Report 2013;” published by Helix Institute of Digital Finance; January 2014; 26 pages; available at http://www.helix-institute.com/data-and-insights/agent-network-accelerator-survey-%E2%80%93-uganda-country-report-2013-0
This document presents the results of a study conducted by the US-based nonprofit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and India-based for-profit consultancy MicroSave that seeks to identify the challenges, trends and successes of the mobile money market in Uganda by surveying 2,000 agents.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EFSE to Loan $16m to FINCA Azerbaijan to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Agricultural Lending
Through two unrelated transactions, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based microfinance network, received local-currency loans totaling USD 16 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, and the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a government-backed microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seven International Lending Institutions Launch Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF)
The Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF), an alliance focused on creating a sustainable financial market for small agricultural businesses, recently was launched by seven international lending institutions at the 11th Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship in Oxford, United Kingdom.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), World Bank (WB) to Develop National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, and the World Bank (WB), a US-based multilateral institution, reportedly have announced a partnership to develop a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) for Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $8.3m to Tutunska Banka of Macedonia for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Energy Efficiency
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, has approved a loan of EUR 6 million (USD 8.3 million) to be disbursed to Macedonian commercial bank Tutunska Banka for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: China Commercial Credit Launches Online Loan Portal “Pride Lending Group”
China Commercial Credit, a microcredit company based in the Chinese city of Suzhou, recently announced that it has launched an online lending portal called Pride Lending Club.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Macedonia-based Aspekt to Supply Microfinance Software to Georgia-based Microlender Credit Plus
Aspekt, a Macedonia-based information and computer technology company, recently signed a deal to provide their microfinance portfolio management software tool, “Microfinance Software Solution,” to Credit Plus, a Georgia-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Grants Preliminary Approval to Microlender Bandhan to Receive Banking License
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, recently granted “in-principle” approval to the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), an Indian financial services provider based in the city of Mumbai, and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian city of Kolkata, to acquire banking licenses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) Maintains Repurchase (Repo) Rate at 7%
The National Bank of Rwanda, which is known by its French acronym BNR, has announced that it will maintain the key repurchase (repo) rate, the rate at which commercial banks borrow from the central bank, at 7 percent.