The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services primarily to microfinance institutions, recently informed MicroCapital that it has committed to extending the following local-currency loans in phases over three years: the equivalent of USD 3.9 million to KazMicroFinance LLC (KMF) of Kazakhstan, the equivalent of USD 550,000 to Bereke of Kazakhstan, and the equivalent of USD 660,000 to Vasham of Indonesia.
Search Results for: "United nation"
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UBS Wealth Management Customers Investing $325m in The Rise Fund, Social Impact Private Equity Vehicle Managed by TPG
Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Wealth Management, a unit of Zurich-based UBS, recently announced that it has raised USD 325 million from its high-net-worth clientele to invest in The Rise Fund, a social impact private equity fund managed by the US-based Texas Pacific Group (TPG).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Sankalp Global Summit; December 7 – 8, 2017; Mumbai, India
Event Name: Ninth Sankalp Global Summit 2017
Event Date: December 7 – December 8, 2017
Event Location: JW Marriott Hotel; Mumbai, India
Summary of Event: The foci of this summit are social enterprise, impact investing and “inclusive development” worldwide. The event will also explore the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year’s agenda has not been released, but previous iterations of the conference included sessions on topics such as financing small and medium-sized enterprises and opportunities in agriculture.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN’s World Food Programme Uses Ethereum Blockchain, Retina Scans to Support 10,000 Syrian Refugees
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) is helping Syrian refugees in Jordan’s Azraq camp buy food from supermarkets inside the camp utilizing blockchain technology from Switzerland’s Ethereum Foundation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNDP Offers Training for Women, Youth Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recently launched the third phase of a program aimed at empowering youth and women entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel’s Annual Conference: Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries; November 7-8, 2017; Beirut, Lebanon
Event Name: Sanabel’s 2017 Conference: Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries; A Journey of Collaboration and Achievements
Event Date: November 7 – November 8, 2017
Event Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Summary of Event: This conference is intended to contribute to a more “inclusive and progressive” microfinance environment in the Arab region. The topics are to include the evolution of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and clients; supporting existing and new partnerships; MFIs’ role in advancing the UN’s sustainable development goals; strategic leadership and risk management; and advancing youth financial inclusion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Solomon Islands’ National Provident Fund Launches youSave Retirement Savings Plan for Self-employed With Support from UN’s PFIP
The National Provident Fund, a government-backed retirement trust in the Solomon Islands, recently launched youSave, a savings plan designed to help self-employed islanders establish and contribute to retirement accounts as do “formally employed” citizens.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development 2017; June 15-16, 2017; New York, United States
Event Name: The Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development 2017
Event Date: June 15 – 16, 2017
Event Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York, New York, United States
Summary of Event: This two-day event will address ways to achieve the United Nations Goals for Sustainable Development through discussions of global governance, migrant investment
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investing Conference: Addressing Climate Change and Social Development; April 26, 2017; Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Event Name: Impact Investing Conference
Event Date: April 26, 2017
Event Location: Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Event Organizers: Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) will organize the event in partnership with Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
Cost: The fee to attend is EUR 400 (USD 427) with a discount of EUR 50 (USD 53) available for members of ALFI, LuxFLAG, e-MFP and GIIN. Additional discounts of EUR 100 (USD 107) and EUR 50 (USD 53) are offered to those registering by March 17 and April 13, respectively.
Summary: This conference will focus on issues including how impact investing supports climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, the role impact investing is playing in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the growth of impact investing in general.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: UN Digital Financial Services Toolkits; 7th IMF Financial Access Survey; IFC, The MasterCard Foundation Mobile Money Handbook
“How to Succeed in Your Digital Journey: a Series of Toolkits for Financial Service Providers”; Published by the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s MicroLead Program; October 2016; available upon request via: https://uncdf.wufoo.com/forms/q4pnwh31pqtp7r/
This first portion of a six-part digital toolkit, which is available in English and French, was designed to benefit microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other financial services providers that aim to offer digital financial services to unbanked populations residing in remote locations.
SPECIAL REPORT: Realizing Potential and Minimizing Risk through Client Protection and Developing Financial Capability in Southeast Asia
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diverse set of panelists at this session of the Mekong Financial Inclusion Forum agreed that providing financial education can be expensive and yet often fails to produce measurable outcomes. Jayshree Venkatesan, a financial inclusion consultant, stated that “results from financial literacy campaigns are at best mixed.” Shane Nichols, Program Director for Good Return, said that the rise of randomized controlled trials has helped his organization discover that although “we used to do pre- and post-tests showing people gained knowledge…sustained behavior-change was virtually non-existent.”
Ms. Venkatesan explained that “there are a number of things that limit these efforts. They cost a lot of money. Most of these tend to be
SPECIAL REPORT: The Place of MFIs in the Financial Inclusion Ecosystem of the Mekong Region
The roles of MFIs in financial systems vary significantly from country to country, even within the Mekong region. Somphone Sisenglath, Managing Director of Ekphatthana Microfinance Institution, described the Lao industry as “very young,” with the median MFI just three years old. Most MFIs operate in the capital, Vientiane, while 80 percent of the population is rural. Since it often takes an hour to travel between villages, it is very expensive
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: D.light Raises $15m in Equity from Energy Access Ventures, KawiSafi, NewQuest, Omidyar to Expand Sales of Solar Products via Microloans, Develop Televisions for Emerging Markets
D.light, a privately-owned retailer of solar appliances based in the US city of San Francisco, recently raised USD 22.5 million in funding to expand its PayGo platform, which offers microloans to finance purchases of solar products.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: How the Private Sector Can Boost Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa; the Role of Impact Investing in Achieving SDGs in Africa; Documenting Reforms to “Doing Business”
Entreprenante Afrique; by Jean-Michel Severino and Jérémy Hajdenberg; published in French by Odile Jacob; September 2016; 288 pages; available for purchase at: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=_vslDQAAQBAJ&rdid=book-_vslDQAAQBAJ&rdot=1&source=gbs_vpt_buy&pcampaignid=books_booksearch_atb
Jean-Michel Severino and Jérémy Hajdenberg argue that the 5-percent average annual growth rate Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced since 2000 is being driven significantly by the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
SPECIAL REPORT: Mekong Financial Inclusion Forum: Overview of the Region
In anticipation of the recently announced Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Forum, which will be held in Hanoi, Viet Nam, on March 21 and March 22, 2017, MicroCapital is launching a series of stories from the Banking with the Poor Network‘s Mekong Financial Inclusion Forum, which was held in July 2016. The Foundation for Development Cooperation engaged MicroCapital to assist in documenting the event.
Ms. Nina Nayar, Associate of the Foundation for Development Cooperation, opened the session reviewing microfinance products and market segments in the region. She described the evolution from “credit and basic savings” years ago to today’s array of credit, savings, insurance, money transfer and other services for individuals as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These include “a whole slew of innovations” such as payment cards and automated teller machines. She argued that new products are in demand by many segments of often-excluded people: farmers, people in conflict areas, minorities, youth, urban informal workers, migrants and single mothers. At the same time, fear and lack of confidence often
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tigo; UNICEF; Tanzania’s Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency to Provide Mobile Birth Registration for 200k Children in Iringa, Njombe Regions
Tigo Tanzania, a brand of Swedish telecom provider Millicom, recently announced that it will expand its partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the government of Tanzania’s Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) to register and provide birth certificates to an estimated 200,000 children under the age of five in the Iringa and Njombe regions.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Correlations Between Financial, Social MFI Performance; Banking for a Better World; A Case for Partnerships Among Corporations, Social Enterprises
“Where Good Intentions Meet Good Business Practice”; by Meraj Husain and Micol Pistelli; published by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); August 2016; 16 pages; available at: https://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/publications/where_good_intentions_meet_good_business_practice_mix_august_2016_final.pdf
Drawing upon Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)’s database of financial service provider (FSP) performance indicators, the authors examine the relationship between the social and financial performance of 780 FSPs in 98 countries.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Aflatoun to Host Annual International Meeting on Social, Financial Education, November 2-4, 2016, The Hague, the Netherlands
Event Name: Aflatoun International Meeting 2016: Social and Financial Education Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Event Date: November 2 – November 4, 2016
Event Location: World Trade Center, Prinses Beatrixlaan 582, The Hague, the Netherlands