The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
Search Results for: Microfinance Institutions Bill India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Echosys, Rgreen Raise $93m for Solar Power for SMEs in Africa via Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund
Two French firms, Echosys Invest and Rgreen Invest, recently announced the first close of their Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund with EUR 88 million (USD 93 million) to finance solar power plants for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The fund will focus on Central and West Africa, and it is to include local-currency financing for projects in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Sells 20% Equity Stake in ACEP Burkina to SIDI
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) recently sold the 20-percent equity stake in Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) Burkina, a microfinance institution in Burkina Faso, that it had held through its Incofin CVSO fund. The buyer is Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement (SIDI), a French social business that is
SPECIAL REPORT: Measuring Impact with Agents for Impact’s AFISAR Tool
Agents for Impact: Driving Positive Impact… Together!
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the UN in 2015 provide a blueprint for a just and sustainable world. While actors across a range of professional arenas are rushing to catch up with the SDGs, the term “impact” is being thrown around loosely to give the impression that the desired goals have been reached. It is tempting to assume certain businesses have a positive impact on the SDGs, simply based on intuition. However, some might negatively impact the SDGs or elicit both positive and negative outcomes in the long run. Without proper tools for impact measurement and assessment, we can only get so far!
Agents for Impact (AFI) understands how essential it is to improve the practice of impact measurement through stable and coherent frameworks. To deliver on this promise, we have designed a specialized investment approach to support microfinance institutions (MFIs) that exhibit strong commitment to and proven track records of progress toward the SDGs. To evaluate an MFI’s performance, AFI peels back the surface to deploy a strong assortment of cohesive and rigorous assessment tools, including financial analysis and addressing social performance indicators; sustainability factors; and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BMZ, KfW Creating Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa) with Goals Including to Enable Diaspora Investments via Crowdfunding
Two German institutions, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and KfW, which was formerly known as Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, are launching a foundation called Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa). The foundation has EUR 49 million (USD 55.2 million) to donate in support of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IIV Disburses $18m to Khan Bank of Mongolia, Including for On-lending to MSMEs Developing Post-COVID Business Models
Germany’s Invest in Visions (IIV), under the advice of Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management, recently lent USD 18 million to Khan Bank of Mongolia from the fund IIV Mikrofinanzfonds. The proceeds primarily are slated for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Aavishkaar, Uncovered Participate in $4m Equity Raise by Sky.Garden of Kenya to Expand Its Digital Marketplace to Middle East, North Africa
The Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME recently led a Series A investment in Sky.Garden, a Kenya-based e-commerce platform serving 15,000 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Sky.Garden plans to use the fresh USD 4 million to expand into
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CommBanane from Dimagi, SIDA, UNCDF Facilitates Digital Loans to Cooperatives of Banana Farmers from Baobab Sénégal
Dimagi, a US-based provider of technical assistance to development organizations, recently developed CommBanane, a digital platform providing financial solutions to small-scale banana farmers via cooperatives in Senegal. CommBanane serves as a “data tracking system” for agricultural production and can be accessed by farmers to apply for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Money Transactions in Rwanda Quadruple, Cash-outs Plummet After NBR Mandates Free Digital Payments Due to Pandemic
Airtel, an India-based telecommunications company that operates in Rwanda and 17 other countries in Africa and Asia, recently reported “a spike in data, mobile payments and voice [usage] during the lockdown” imposed by the Rwandan government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in mobile payments was encouraged by a March 15 instruction from the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the country’s central bank, that mobile network operators (MNOs) in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Genie Enables 14m Bank of Ceylon Customers to Upload Funds for Digital Payments to Retailers, Utilities, Schools, Friends, Family in Sri Lanka
The operators of Genie, an app for performing financial transactions in Sri Lanka, recently partnered with the state-owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) to allow the 14 million customers of BOC to upload funds to Genie, which can “securely hold credit and debit cards, current and savings accounts and eZ Cash accounts to promote seamless payment experiences.” Genie and the mobile wallet eZ Cash are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Takes Equity Stake in Pintek of Indonesia, Provider of Online Loans to Students, Schools
Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion, recently placed an equity investment in Indonesian financial technology (fintech) firm Pintek. While the size and price of the stake remain confidential, the typical size of an investment by Accion Venture Lab is USD 300,000 to USD 500,000. Pintek lends to private universities, secondary schools and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Lending $20m in Local Currency to MicroCred to Support MSMEs in Western China
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently agreed to loan the equivalent of USD 20 million to MicroCred China, a unit of the France-based Baobab Group, to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The money is intended to
SPECIAL REPORT: Verdant Capital: Hybrid Capital Solutions to Support the Next Phase of Inclusive Growth
This sponsored content was written by Edmund Higenbottam, Managing Director of Verdant Capital, and Raj Domun, Director and Fund Manager of the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. Verdant Capital is a leading specialist financial advisory firm that operates on a pan-African basis.
In recent years, the Inclusive Financial Institution sector has grown significantly in Africa and elsewhere, driven in part by growth in the global specialist investor base supporting the sector, and in part due to the growth of local debt markets. In Africa, this growth has stretched the equity capital bases of many institutions – and of the sector as a whole – due to the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s MFS Africa Lands $14m in Equity from Equator Capital’s ShoreCap III Fund, FSD Africa, Goodwell Investments, Lun Partners to Boost Mobile Financial Services in Rural Areas
South Africa-based financial technology (fintech) company MFS Africa recently raised equity totaling USD 14 million to expand its mobile financial services (MFS) into additional rural areas in Africa. The investors, which are participating in undisclosed portions, are US-based impact fund manager Equator
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Point-of-sale Service Provider Yoco of South Africa Raises $16m in Equity from Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, FMO, Paratech
Yoco, a South African point-of-sale payment enabler, recently raised USD 16 million through its Series B funding round, which was led by US-based venture capital firm Paratech.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 4Di Capital, Accion Venture Labs, Lireas Holdings Invest Equity in Insurance Technology (Insurtech) Firm Lumkani of South Africa
Lumkani, a South Africa-based technology firm specializing in fire insurance and detection equipment, recently received equity investments of undisclosed amounts from the South Africa-based venture capital
SPECIAL REPORT: “Aadhaar: Lessons for the African Continent?”, by Edmund Higenbottam of Verdant Capital
In 2009, India launched the world’s largest IT project, i.e. the Aadhaar biometric identification program. The program is intended to drive social and financial inclusion, reform public-sector service delivery, improve fiscal management, increase convenience, etc. An Aadhaar number can be viewed as a permanent financial address. Considering that almost the entire Indian population is now enrolled in Aadhaar – the underprivileged as well as the rich – it also can be viewed as a tool for justice and equality.
The program consists of
SPECIAL REPORT: Public Solutions at SAM: Collateral Registries, Business Training, Higher Microinsurance Uptake Can Promote Entrepreneurship in Africa
At 
the SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) plenary on “Public Solutions to Promote Entrepreneurship in Africa,” Kennedy Komba of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) explained that his institution’s SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) Working Group comprises 53 regulatory and policy-making bodies. To facilitate the growth of entrepreneurship, these agencies have created collateral registries, adjusted lender liquidity ratios, updated know-your-customer frameworks and established rules for digital financial services. Trainers in Zambia used a financial education game to reach 5,000 people, of whom 80 percent were able to improve their businesses as a result. In Ghana, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Bank of Ghana collaborated to boost local value chains in an effort to reduce costly