MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Star Microinsurance Company of Ghana Pays Insurance Claims to Kantamanto Fire Victims through MicroEnsure, Advans Ghana

Ghana-based Star Microinsurance Company Limited reportedly has paid some of the victims of the Kantamanto and Agbogbloshie markets fire outbreak in the Ghanian city of Accra a total insurance claim of GHS 115,000 (USD 57,629) through its partners MicroEnsure Ghana, an insurance intermediary and subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, and Advans Ghana Savings and Loans, a non-bank financial institution that focuses on micro enterprise.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration, Venture Capital Trust Fund Establish Centre for Impact Investing

Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF), an initiative of the government of Ghana to provide low-cost capital to private businesses, reportedly has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government-run business school Institute for Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), establishing a Centre for Impact Investing.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Low Repayment Rates Threaten Ghana’s Governmental Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC)

The Microfinance and Small Loans Center (MASLOC), a Ghanaian government-funded program established in 2004 to implement microfinance programs targeted at reducing poverty and creating jobs, reportedly has indicated that low loan repayment rates are threatening to collapse the program.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana Grants Licenses to 171 Financial Institutions as 116 Fraud Cases Involving Unlicensed Institutions are Pending

Dr Yaw Gyima-Larbi, the head of microfinance and banking supervision at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), reportedly has announced that the central bank has granted final operating licenses to 171 financial institutions.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies, Star Microinsurance to Help Microbanks Offer Insurance

Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies (GAMC), an association with 560 member microfinance institutions (MFIs), and Star Microinsurance Services Limited, a Ghana-based insurance provider that serves approximately 550,000 clients, recently signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the provision of microinsurance products to clients of various MFIs.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, International Finance Corporation, African Capitalization Fund Buy 34% of UT Bank of Ghana for $23m

Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the African Capitalization Fund (ACF), a US-based investment fund managed by IFC subsidiary IFC Asset Management Company, recently placed an equity investment totaling approximately GHS 46 million (USD 23.3 million) in UT Bank Limited, a publicly-traded Ghanaian bank that offers microfinance services and was formerly known as Unique Trust Financial Services.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Microinsurance in Ghana: Microinsurance as a Means of Insurance Sector Development;” by Jan Meissner; published by the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

By Jan Meissner; published by Ghana’s National Insurance Commission (NIC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); 2013; 243 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.61118/Promoting%20Microinsurance%20in%20Ghana_Full%20Book.pdf

This book analyzes potential ways to enhance the development of the microinsurance sector in Ghana, providing an overview of inclusive financial market development in the country as well as a series of recommended best practices for microinsurance development.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: West Africa Business School to Host 2nd International Conference on Bancassurance in Africa, June 11-13, 2013, Accra, Ghana

Event Name: International Conference on Bancassurance in Africa

Event Date: June 11-13, 2013

Event Location: La Palm Beach Royal Hotel, Accra, Ghana

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MTN Mobile Money, Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Partner to Launch KwikAdvance Payday Loans in Ghana

Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Mobile Money, an arm of South African telecommunications company MTN Group, reportedly has partnered with Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Africa, a for-profit firm based in Mauritius, to launch KwikAdvance in Ghana.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Center for Peace Building, Bank of Ghana to Host West Africa Microfinance Conference (WAMIC), April 24 – 26, 2013, Accra, Ghana

Event Name: West Africa Microfinance Conference (WAMIC) 2013

Event Date: April 24 – 26, 2013

Event Location: MPlaza Hotel, Accra, Ghana

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) to Issue Loans to Fishing Communities in Accra, Ghana

According to a statement attributed to Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe Ghansah, Ghana’s Minister of State in charge of Social and Allied Institutions, local fishing communities in the Greater Accra region will be offered microfinance loans from the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), the apex body in charge of implementing the Ghanaian government’s microfinance initiatives.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Insurance Commission of Ghana Announces New Regulatory Regime, New Book Released on Promoting Microinsurance in the Country

The National Insurance Commission (NIC) of Ghana, the country’s regulatory authority for the industry, reportedly has announced a new set of regulations that aims to formalize and facilitate the sale of microinsurance products.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: AITEC Banking and Mobile Money West Africa, July 10 – 11, 2013, Accra, Ghana

Event Name: African Information & Communication Technology Exhibition & Conference’s (AITEC’S) Banking and Mobile Money in West Africa 2013: “Consolidating and monetizing the gains of innovation”

Event Date: July 10 – 11, 2013

Event Location: Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mighty Microfinance CEO to Peers in Ghana: Expand to Rural Areas

Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sampson Ahmed of Mighty Microfinance Company, a microfinance institution with 9 branches in Ghana, recently called on microfinance stakeholders in the country to focus on expanding operations to rural areas.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inklas of Nigeria Automates 136 Ghanaian Rural and Community Banks

ARB Apex Bank, a government-backed institution that inspects and funds rural and community banks (RCBs) under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana, through a contract with Inklas Computers Limited, a Nigerian company that specializes in information technology and financial systems integration, has completed the automation of 136 RCBs with 700 branches throughout Ghana.