The Dutch development bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently signed an agreement to provide a five-year, local-currency loan equivalent to EUR 7.5 million (USD 9.5 million) to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI).
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Approves $5m Line Of Credit for AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria
AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria (ABN), a microfinance institution (MFI) offering financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently acquired access to a Line of Credit (LOC) in the amount of USD 5 million, equivalent in NGN, from the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Globacom Launches Glo Xchange in Nigeria to Share 42k-Agent Mobile Money Network with Customers of Ecobank, First Bank, Stanbic
Globacom, a Nigerian telecommunications company that serves 25 million mobile phone subscribers in four countries in Africa, reportedly has launched Glo Xchange, opening its network of 42,000 agents to the following mobile money operators: FirstMonie, a mobile money initiative backed by First Bank of Nigeria; Ecobank, which has operations in 29 African countries; and Stanbic, a commercial bank that operates in Nigeria and Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) Announces Microloan Payments $770m Since 2005
The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), a trade group of 900 microfinance banks in Nigeria, recently reported on the progress of microfinance in the country from 2005 to 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Issues First Disbursements from $1.36b Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) After 2 Years of Delay
President Goodwill Jonathan of Nigeria officially launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Fund at the eighth MSME finance conference in Abuja, Nigeria, where he announced the provision of NGN 870 million (USD 5.36 million) from the NGN 220 billion (USD 1.36 billion) fund to four beneficiaries
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian National Identity Management Commission, MasterCard Launch eID Cards for Biometric Identity Verification, Electronic Payments
The Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), a government initiative responsible for instituting a national identity database of Nigerian citizens and legal residents, recently announced the launch of its National eID Card pilot program in partnership with MasterCard, a US-based payment solutions company [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Methodist Church of Nigeria to Establish Microfinance Institution (MFI)
The Methodist Church of Nigeria reportedly has announced that it plans to establish a new microfinance institution (MFI) in Nigeria, called Wesley Microfinance Bank Limited (Wesley Microfinance).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Issues $80m in Local- Currency Bond in Nigeria’s Capital Market
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral finance institution based in Tunisia and gives loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, reportedly has raised NGN 12.95 billion (USD 80 million) by issuing a 7-year local-currency bond in the Nigerian market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Infinity Microfinance Bank, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems 2 (PATHS2) to Expand Micro Health Insurance Coverage in Nigeria
Infinity Microfinance Bank, a Nigerian microbank, and the Partnership for Transforming Health Systems 2 (PATHS2), a program intended to improve Nigeria’s health system that is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), reportedly will collaborate to expand PATHS2’s “Micro Health Insurance Scheme” (MHIS) in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Government Exempts Microfinance Banks (MFBs) from Value-Added Tax
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian government agency in charge of tax policy and collection, reportedly has revised the country’s tax laws to exempt microfinance banks (MFBs) from paying value-added tax (VAT) in an attempt to support the income of MFBs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Implements Bank Verification Number (BVN) Identification System for Customers in Lagos
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s central banking authority, reportedly has initiated the first phase of a nationwide identification system upgrade for bank branches in Lagos.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada to Support Nigerian Private Sector in Effort to Increase Job, Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Youth in Cross River State
A Senator representing Ontario, Canada, recently announced on behalf of Christian Paradis, the country’s Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, that the government of Canada will be providing unspecified financial support to “a new project that will increase job opportunities and promote entrepreneurship among young people in Nigeria.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s ActivEdge, SAP Africa to Launch Mobile Money Service
ActivEdge Technologies, a Nigeria-based company, and SAP Africa, the South Africa-based branch of German software provider Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (SAP), reportedly have partnered to offer a mobile money-transfer service to customers in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of Nigeria Approves Microinsurance Products from Mansard Insurance
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the Nigerian insurance regulatory authority, reportedly has given Mansard Insurance, a Nigeria-based insurance company, approval to offer microinsurance plans to the public [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Signs Deals with AB Bank Rwanda, IHS Holding of Nigeria, Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda to Expand Microfinance, Telecommunications
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly has signed deals with AB Bank Rwanda (ABR), a microfinance bank (MFB) affiliated with Access Microfinance Holding of Germany; IHS Holding Limited, a mobile services infrastructure company based in Nigeria that operates in five African countries; and Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB), a foreign-owned Rwandan MFB, in an effort to increase access to telecommunications and financial opportunities in Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mambu Sells Software to Nigeria’s One Credit, Premier Kenya, Angola’s Mão Solidária Microfinança
One Credit, a consumer finance company based in Nigeria; Premier Kenya, a financial services provider based in Kenya; and Mão Solidária Microfinança, a microfinance institution based in Angola, recently became customers of Mambu, a provider of web-based software designed for microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria Bans Debtors Owing More than $1.5m to Liquidated Banks from Seeking New Credit
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s central banking authority, recently banned the extension of new credit to debtors owing over NGN 250 million (USD 1.5 million) to insolvent banks in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Western Union, Paga to Augment Mobile Money Transfer Services in Nigeria
The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services company, recently partnered with Paga, a Nigeria-based mobile payment platform, to launch a mobile money transfer service in Nigeria.