SimbaPay, a UK-based digital money transfer service, recently announced it is expanding its money transfer service to France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Stellar, Oradian Set Up Payment Transfer Network Among Rural Nigerian Microfinance Institutions
Stellar, a US-based nonprofit technology provider, and Oradian, a Croatia-based software developer serving financial organizations in West Africa, are setting up a “payment transfer network” to connect rural Nigerian microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator Capital Takes Equity Stake in Nigeria’s Fortis Microfinance Bank via ShoreCap II Fund
Equator Capital Partners, an “impact” fund manager based in the US city of Chicago, Illinois, recently invested an undisclosed sum to acquire a minority stake in Fortis Microfinance Bank PLC, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Abuja, Nigeria [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Joint Farmers Microfinance Bank Launches Operations, Serves 187 Agricultural Cooperative Societies
The Joint Farmers Microfinance Bank (JFMB), a microcredit organization that is based in Oyo, Nigeria, has commenced operations with unspecified number of branches in Abuja, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Osun.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Grants National Microfinance Banking License to Fortis Microfinance Bank (Fortis MFB)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently granted a microfinance banking license to Fortis Microfinance Bank (Fortis MFB), a privately owned microfinance institution in Nigeria [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Asset Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $7m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Nigeria, India
During August 2015, Austrian asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 7 million via its two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Nigeria and India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Asset Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Issue $6m in Credits to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay
During May 2015, Viennese asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management USD 6 million worth of credits via the two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay. Of this total, C-Quadrat Asset Management invested USD 500,000 in the microfinance institution based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Founded in 2001, this institution targets micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and provides services to approximately 3,200 clients.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Global Findex Database 2014; PEP Report on Female Entrepreneurs in Nigeria; YouthSave Research Report 2015
“The Global Findex Database 2014: Measuring Financial Inclusion Around the World;” by Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer and Peter Van Oudheusden; published by the World Bank; April 2015; 88 pages; available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/globalfindex
The World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2014 indicates that between 2011 and 2014, 700 million people became accountholders for the first time at banks, via other financial institutions and with mobile money service providers, reducing the number of unbanked individuals by 20 percent.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: AITEC Banking & Mobile Money Lagos 2015, July 28 – 29, 2015, Lagos, Nigeria
Event Name: AITEC Banking & Mobile Money Lagos 2015
Event Date: July 28 – 29, 2015
Event Location: Eko Hotel, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Event Theme: Financial Empowerment through Trusted Payment Solutions
Event Summary: Now entering its eighth year, AITEC (African Information Technology Exhibitions and Conferences) Banking & Mobile Money Lagos 2015 will address issues in Nigeria’s financial services sector, including developments in payment technologies, best practices in information technology project deployment, and trends in customer service delivery. Additionally, broader themes of risk management, governance, regulation and compliance will be covered.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SimbaPay Mobile Money Transfer Service Opens Remittance Channel from UK to Nigeria
SimbaPay, a UK-based digital money transfer service, reportedly has announced that it has begun offering transfers to Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Messrs United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) Partner on $5m Loan to Nigerian MFI Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO)
Messrs United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), an indirect subsidiary of the French construction materials company Lafarge, and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the international development department of the French government, reportedly have collaborated to loan NGN 1 billion (USD 5 million) to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI), for funding the construction of 5,000 new housing units in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Grooming Centre to Issue Microloans on MasterCard Pre-Paid Cards
The Grooming Centre, a nonprofit provider of loans and deposit services to women in Nigeria for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), has partnered with MasterCard, a US-based payments company, to replace the NGO’s cash- and check-based loan disbursals with prepaid MasterCard-branded payment cards.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loaning $2.5m to La Fayette Microfinance Bank, Nigerian Member of Advans Network
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing NGN 400 million (USD 2.5 million) in La Fayette Microfinance Bank, one of eight members of the Advans Network of microfinance institutions, which is based in Luxembourg and managed by Horus Development Finance of France.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) Earmarks $105m for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Country
The Bank of Industry (BOI), which was established by the Nigerian government to promote domestic sectors such as agriculture and finance in Nigeria, recently earmarked NGN 19.8 billion (USD 105 million) to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Etisalat, First Bank of Nigeria Merge Easywallet, Firstmonie Mobile Money
Etisalat, a United Arab Emirates-based telecommunications services provider, and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), a commercial bank based in the Nigerian state of Lagos, recently fused FBN’s “Firstmonie Mobile Money,” a service that allows customers to access their FirstBank accounts as well as transfer funds through their mobile devices [2], and Etisalat’s “Easywallet,” a service allowing money transfers, airtime top-up, and payment for goods and services via mobile phones [3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access Bank, Airtel Nigeria Collaborate to Launch “Access Money” Mobile Money Service
Access Bank Plc, a Nigerian commercial bank with branches in nine African countries and the UK, recently partnered with Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of India-based Airtel Limited, to launch a mobile money service named Access Money.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Nigerian Bancassurance Forum 2015; January 8-9, 2015; Lagos, Nigeria
Event Name: Nigerian Bancassurance Forum 2015
Event Date: January 8 – January 9, 2015
Event Location: Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria
Cost: The cost to attend is NGN 100,000 (USD 553).
Summary of Event: Themed “The CBN Policy on Bancassurance in Nigeria,” this conference offers panel discussions and presentations on various topics related to the bank insurance model (also known as bancassurance), including as it is impacted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Launches Microfinance Operations in Owerri, Nigeria
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has formally launched the operations of FINCA Microfinance Bank (FINCA MfB) in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria, following the issuance of its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 30, 2014.