Netherlands-based “NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance,” which was previously known as the Netherlands Platform for Microfinance, recently announced the winners of its Geodata Innovator’s Challenge, the goal of which was to encourage “technology companies to transform their geodata-based solutions for smallholder
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada Donating $29m for Youth, Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs in Palestine to be Run by CARE Canada, CowaterSogema International, Mercy Corps, Save the Children
The government of Canada recently announced it will fund four projects under its program titled Women and Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship and Employment in the West Bank & Gaza. More specifically, Global Affairs Canada, the government’s international development and diplomatic relations department,
SPECIAL REPORT: Ann Miles on Envisioning Agriculture As a Business for Youth in Africa – 3 Weeks Ahead of the SAM Conference in Ethiopia
MicroCapital: The Mastercard Foundation is organizing a session at SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) on “Envisioning agriculture as a business for youth in Africa.” What tools do youth need to be successful in agriculture?
Ann Miles: Learning and training is critical for youth to succeed in whatever they undertake, so we offer scholarships for talented but underprivileged youth to obtain secondary and university education. Once they graduate, we assist young people in finding work in agriculture; accessing finance or training for entrepreneurship; or developing the “soft skills” necessary to succeed in any job, such as networking, communication, or demonstrating reliability and resourcefulness.
Studies consistently have shown that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda Rolls Out “Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program”
In partnership with the US-based, nonprofit Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network and The MasterCard Foundation of Canada, the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (AMIR) recently rolled out the Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard, Unilever to Launch Partnership to Facilitate Growth of Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) with Pilot Project in Kenya
Mastercard, a US-based technology and payments company; and Unilever, a UK-based supplier of consumer goods, recently announced that they will develop a partnership to provide access to digital technologies to small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries with the aim of helping them buy supplies and sell goods more efficiently. The partnership’s first project will be to spread the use of Mastercard’s digital payment platforms via
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Young Africa Works Summit; February 16 – 17, 2017; Kigali, Rwanda
Event Name: Young Africa Works Summit
Event Date: February 16 – February 17, 2017
Event Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Summary of Event: This second iteration of this event will convene young agricultural entrepreneurs with leaders of NGOs and government agencies to address how young people
SPECIAL REPORT: Serving Youth: Back-to-School Savings Promotions, Lower Loan Portfolio-at-Risk (PAR) Ratios
On Friday, during the final day of European Microfinance Week, Ata Cisse of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) explained how that organization’s YouthStart program, which was launched in 2010 in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation of Canada, facilitated microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Africa collecting deposits equivalent to USD 16 million through 2014 from 600,000 youth, roughly evenly divided between young men and women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, ReGrow West Africa, Tata Communications Make Commitments at 11th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting
At the recent eleventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the US-based Clinton Foundation, 123 new commitments to “alleviate poverty, create a cleaner environment and increase access to health care and education” were announced, including [1]:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Doing Digital Finance Right: The Case for Stronger Mitigation of Customer Risks”
“Doing Digital Finance Right: The Case for Stronger Mitigation of Customer Risks;” by Katherine McKee, Michelle Kaffenberger, Jamie Zimmerman; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); June 2015; 40 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/publications/doing-digital-finance-right
Digital financial services (DFS), which allow the use of cellular devices to make and receive payments without travelling to a brick-and-mortar bank branch, are believed by some to be a pathway toward financial inclusion for low-income people.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Finance Implementation; Alternative Delivery Channels and Technology; “Market Insights for Innovations and Design” (MI4ID) Behavioral Research
“Expanding Access to Finance Through Mobile Payments;” published by the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International and The MasterCard Foundation; June 2015; 12 pages; available at http://www.finca.org/files/2015/06/FINCA-MasterCard-Case-study-2015.pdf
This case study offers suggestions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) implementing mobile technology.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Donates $28k to Vitas for Microfinance Client Protection in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories
The Luxembourg-based Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) recently donated USD 28,000 to Vitas Group, a commercial holding company created by US-based, international nonprofit organization Global Communities, to train the staff of Vitas Group’s microfinance institutions in the Middle East on client protection.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Seeks Partners for Customer-Centric Financial Services Project
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center devoted to worldwide growth of financial access, is searching for financial service providers with whom to partner to increase customer centricity within the providers’ systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion’s Smart Campaign Streamlines Microfinance Client Protection Certification Program
The Smart Campaign, a consumer-protection initiative launched in 2010 by US-based nonprofit organization Accion, recently announced changes to its Client Protection Certification Program that are intended to improve the certification process by reducing the time it takes for financial institutions to become certified, extending certification validity from two years to four years, and launching an appeals and complaints system [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation, TechnoServe Extend “Strengthening Rural Youth Development through Enterprise” (STRYDE) in East Africa
The MasterCard Foundation, which is based in Canada, and TechnoServe, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced a five-year, USD 25.9 million partnership to support 48,000 young people in rural East Africa via a second phase of the Strengthening Rural Youth Development through Enterprise (STRYDE) program, which was first launched in August 2011[1].
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: Amret Microfinance, Econet Wireless, myAgro, Urwego Opportunity Bank to Engage Human-Centered Design Firms to Improve Digital Financial Services for Smallholder Farmers in Cambodia, Africa
CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, recently selected the following financial service providers to receive an unspecified level of support from human-centered design firms to improve their digital financial services for small-scale farmers: (1) Amret Microfinance, a Cambodian microfinance institution; (2) the Zimbabwean arm of South African mobile network operator Econet Wireless and US-based relief and development nonprofit Mercy Corps; (3) myAgro, a nonprofit organization in Mali that sells agricultural inputs via mobile technology; and (4) Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB), a microfinance institution that was created as a result of a merger between Urwego Community Banking and Opportunity International Bank of Rwanda [1]. While the Econet-Mercy partnership will engage human-centered design firm Ideo.org, the other three programs have not yet released the names of the organizations with which they will work.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Movistar, MasterCard Collaborate to Launch Mobile Money Service “Tu Dinero Móvil” in Peru
Movistar, the Spanish mobile phone operator owned by Telefónica S.A., and MasterCard, the US-based payments and technology company, recently launched “Tu dinero móvil” (Your mobile money), which reportedly is the first electronic money service operating in Peru [1]. The service will allow Movistar’s 16 million mobile users in Peru to perform financial transactions such as depositing and withdrawing money, refilling mobile balances and purchasing goods in the 65,000 establishments in Peru that are affiliated with MasterCard [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Labs for Financial Inclusion in East Africa Launched with $19m Donation from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
MasterCard, a US-based global payments and technology company, recently announced that it is launching the MasterCard Labs for Financial Inclusion, which is intended to generate new ideas and financial tools to promote financial inclusion in East Africa via a three-year grant in the amount of USD 11 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that supports innovations in health, education and other fields.