by Michelle Dold -

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.

by Michelle Dold -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Smart Communications, ICMFI to Offer Mobile Banking Accounts in Iloilo, Philippines

Smart Communications Incorporated, a mobile services subsidiary of publicly traded PLDT Incorporated (formerly the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company), has partnered with the Philippine nonprofit International Care Ministries Foundation (ICMFI) to provide Smart Communications’ “SMART Money” mobile banking accounts to members of the Pototan community in Iloilo province.

by Victor Mugo -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Disburses $15m in Local Currency to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Primarily in Rural Areas 

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently announced that it will disburse a syndicated loan in local currency equivalent to USD 15 million to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan, a subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International.

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Good World Solutions Uses Mobile Surveys to Promote Microfinance Client Protection

Good World Solutions (GWS), a US-based nonprofit organization that develops anonymous tools for people to report on how companies treat them, has built a mobile-based interactive voice response survey service to gather information from microfinance borrowers in India to determine whether microfinance institutions (MFIs) are following the client protection principles of the US-based Smart Campaign. 

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Fair Share, Triodos Microfinance Funds to Invest Debt, Equity in India’s Janalakshmi, Kazakhstan’s KazMicroFinance, Kyrgyzstan’s Kompanion

Two microfinance investment vehicles managed by a unit of the Netherlands’ Triodos Bank, the Triodos Fair Share Fund (TFSF), and the Triodos Microfinance Fund (TMF), have agreed to invest jointly in the following organizations: (1) Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), a Bangalore-based microfinance institution (MFI) that will borrow USD 11.4 million to expand its financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in India; (2) KazMicroFinance (KMF), which is reportedly the largest MFI in Kazakhstan and will sell the Triodos funds stakes totaling 13.7 percent of the organization’s shares; and (3) Kompanion Financial Group, an MFI in Kyrgyzstan that will sell the funds stakes totaling 17.5 percent of the organization’s shares as it seeks to transform from a community development financial institution into a microfinance bank [1] [2] [3]. Kompanion also sold a 17.5-percent stake to Dutch public-private development bank FMO; Mercy Corps, the founder of Kompanion, is retaining 65-percent ownership of the institution. The prices paid for the equity stakes in KMF and Kompanion have not been released.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India Completes Phase I of Jan-Dhan Initiative to Provide Banking Services to Every Household

Arun Jaitley, the Indian Finance Minister, reportedly announced that the government has completed Phase I of the Jan-Dhan initiative, a scheme created by Prime Minister Modi to give all Indians access to banking services, including credit, savings, insurance, direct benefits transfer and electronic payments.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Millicom’s Tanzanian Arm Distributes Profits of $1.8m to Tigo Pesa Mobile Money Customers

Millicom International Cellular, a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company that operates the brand Tigo, recently announced that its Tanzanian unit will distribute third quarter profits of TZS 3 billion (USD 1.8 million) to users and agents of Tigo Pesa, a mobile money service accessed by 3.6 million customers.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) Provides Technical Support, Access to $860k in Credit to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Via Banks

The Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) program, a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that focuses on improving access to financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by linking them with banks, provided clients in the agriculture, construction and trade sectors with access to loans totaling USD 860,000 from July to September 2014.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $5m to KazMicroFinance (KMF) of Kazakhstan for On-Lending to Small Enterprises

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has announced that it will loan the equivalent of USD 5 million in Kazakh tenge (KZT) to KazMicroFinance Limited Liability Company (KMF), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Kazakhstan.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (AID), CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), The Mastercard Foundation Award $1m to ideas42 for Financial Management Tool for Microentrepreneurs

The US Agency for International Development (AID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The Mastercard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded approximately USD 1 million to ideas42, a US-based nonprofit consulting and behavioral design firm, for the implementation of a SMS text-messaging “push” notification system and voice-based platform that is intended to help microentrepreneurs better manage their finances.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Call for Applicants for $227k Ashden International Sustainable Energy Awards Open until November 4, 2014

Ashden, a UK-based nonprofit established in 2001 that promotes the use of sustainable energy, has issued a call for applicants for the 2015 Ashden International Awards, which will recognize development programs with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and increasing access to sustainable energy.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas, Orange to Allow Money Transfers Between Bank Accounts, Mobile Money Accounts in Cote D’Ivoire

BNP Paribas, a France-based financial services provider with operations in 84 countries, and Orange, a French telephone and Internet service provider, have announced that their customers in Cote D’Ivoire will now be able to transfer money between their bank accounts and their accounts with Orange Money, Orange’s mobile money service.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade Donates $13m to Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP)

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Canberra-based government agency responsible for Australia’s international relations, trade and development assistance programs, reportedly will fund a three-year program with AUD 14.15 million (USD 13.13 million) to support the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP).

by Chikondano Faith Chisala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Receives Innovation Grant from GSMA’s mWomen

The Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA), a London-based association of 1,000 mobile operators and associated companies, recently announced that its mWomen programme has awarded the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, its Innovation Fund grant of an undisclosed amount.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Offers $5m Credit Line to FINCA for Lending in Kyrgyz Republic

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, England, recently announced that it will extend a credit line of USD 5 million to FINCA Kyrgyzstan, a unit of US-based microfinance nonprofit FINCA International.