by Makai McClintock -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services; Africa Microfinance Pricing Reports; Impact Assessment of EFC Zambia

“Partnerships in Mobile Financial Services: Factors for Success;” by Mark Flaming, Aiaze Mitha, Michel Hanouch, Peter Zetterli and Greta Bull; published by the MasterCard Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC); October 2013; 18 pages; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/88486280414940acb54ab79e78015671/Partnerships+in+Mobile+Financial+Services.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

This report presents findings from a study exploring the factors that determine the success of business partnerships among telecommunication firms, financial institutions and other organizations in providing mobile financial services.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Sevis Finansye Fonkoze (Fonkoze Financial Services) of Haiti Raises $2m in Equity from Digicel

Sevis Finansye Fonkoze (SFF), a commercial microfinance institution (MFI) in Haiti that is known in English as Fonkoze Financial Services, has received an equity investment of USD 2 million from Digicel, a Bermuda-based cellular network provider [1].

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure, Telenor Pakistan, Jubilee Life Insurance Company to Offer Free Life Insurance to Prepaid Mobile Customers in Pakistan

The Pakistani arm of MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced the launch of “Talkshawk Mohafiz Zindagi Beema,” a free mobile life insurance service, in collaboration with Telenor Pakistan, a unit of Norway’s Telenor Group. The insurance will be provided by Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited, a Pakistani insurance provider [1].

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Releases 2013 Financial Access Survey

The US-based International Monetary Fund, a United Nations institution aiming to foster global cooperation on monetary issues, recently announced the results of its fourth annual Financial Access Survey (FAS), which provides global supply-side data on financial inclusion [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar Goodwell Invests $6m in Electronic Payment Services (EPS); 4,500 ATMs Planned for Rural India

Aavishkaar Goodwell, an Indian-Dutch joint venture that invests in development projects, reportedly has invested an additional INR 360 million (USD 6 million) in Electronic Payment Services (EPS), an India-based company that provides electronic payment systems to merchants in Asia.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Invests Equity in MicroCred Microfinance Bank Nigeria

Goodwell West Africa, a private equity fund managed by Netherlands-based social investment company Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based investment management and advisory firm Alitheia Capital, has announced that it will be investing equity of an unspecified amount in Microcred Microfinance Bank (MFB) Nigeria, a member of the France-based MicroCred Group [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar Goodwell, Asia Pragati Invest $3.4m in Swarna Pragati Housing Microfinance in India

Aavishkaar Goodwell, an Indian-Dutch joint venture that invests in development projects, and Asia Pragati, an India-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) owned by Hong Kong-based Pacific Alliance Group (PAG), reportedly have invested a total of INR 210 million (USD 3.4 million) in Swarna Pragati Housing Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that partners with local MFIs to provide housing loans in the country [1].

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) Approves $300m Credit to Support “Housing Finance Project,” Housing Microfinance, in Nigeria

The International Development Association (IDA), the arm of US-based World Bank that provides interest-free credits and grants for programs in the poorest countries, has approved credit of USD 300 million to support Nigeria’s Housing Finance Project, which intends to provide access to long-term home financing for low-income people, including microentrepreneurs as well as those with higher incomes who are buying homes for the first time [1].

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $20m to Bank Republic of Georgia to Support Lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently agreed to grant a senior loan facility of USD 20 million to Bank Republic, a Georgian member of the France-based financial group Société Générale [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya

MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced a new partnership with Airtel Kenya, a subsidiary of Indian mobile phone company Airtel, and Pan Africa Life, a Kenyan life insurance company, to launch a mobile life insurance product in Kenya [1].

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers Lending $23.5m to Russia’s Transcapitalbank for Residential Energy Efficiency

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is considering financing a senior loan of RUB 750 million (USD 23.5 million) to Transcapitalbank (TCB), a Russia-based banking institution, for on-lending for residential energy-efficiency projects.

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe to Loan $6m to Inecobank to Support Micro- and Small Enterprises (MSEs)

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently agreed to loan EUR 5 million (USD 6.65 million) to Inecobank, an Armenia-based microfinance bank.

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Raises $204m for Second Fund; to Invest in Microinsurance, Other Financial Services for Poor People in Africa, Asia

LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in financial services for poor people in emerging markets, has raised USD 204 million for its second equity fund.

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Papua New Guinea, Pacific Financial Inclusion Program, Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion to Extend Financial Inclusion to 1.6m People in Papua New Guinea by 2015

The Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG), the nation’s central bank, the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP), a UN-sponsored initiative that provides financial services to poor people, and the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI), a coordinating entity for financial inclusion strategies in the country, met in August 2013 to discuss extending financial inclusion to 1.6 million unbanked and underbanked Papua New Guineans, of which 50 percent are low income women, by 2015.

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: YellowPepper Launches Mobile Payments System in Colombia

YellowPepper, a US-based mobile payments provider, recently signed an agreement with 12 unspecified Colombian banks to launch its services in Colombia in an effort to replace cash payments and provide greater access to financial services for the country’s unbanked population. 

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Fiserv Extend Mobile Money Services to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), an Australia-based bank, and Fiserv, a US-based financial services technology provider, reportedly have partnered to provide mobile money services to people lacking access to traditional financial services in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. 

by Adrija Vaiciulionis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group, National Housing Bank, Government of India Sign $100m Agreement for Low-Income Housing Finance Project

The World Bank Group, a US-based international financial institution; the National Housing Bank (NHB), an Indian bank and regulatory authority; and the government of India recently signed a USD 100 million credit agreement for a Low-Income Housing Finance Project, which will aim to improve accessibility to housing loans for low-income households in India to purchase, build or renovate homes.