by Sharanya Madhavan -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Role of Impact Investing in Achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals; Microfinance Investment Vehicle Survey; Lessons from Tanzania’s Digitization Efforts

“Achieving The Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Impact Investing;” published by The Global Impact Investing Network; September 12, 2016; 9 pages; available at https://thegiin.org/knowledge/publication/sdgs-impinv

This report profiles impact investors that have leveraged the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the following purposes: (1) as a framework to communicate their social impact goals; (2) to develop new or realign existing investment strategies and; (3) to attract capital from private investors that are new to impact investing.

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australian Government, ANZ Bank, PFIP to Connect Solomon Islands’ Coconut Farmers to Mobile Banking

The Australian government; the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Bank, a publicly traded commercial bank; and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP), a Fiji-based initiative of the United Nations that attempts to extend financial services to unbanked Pacific Islanders, recently started a program with a budget of SBD 5 million (USD 650,000) to connect rural coconut oil producers, laborers, buyers and transport operators in the Solomon Islands with digital financial services.

by Michelle Dold -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sa-Dhan Association to Host National Conference, September 14-15, 2016, New Delhi, India

Event Name: Sa-Dhan National Conference 2016: “Financial Inclusion on Path to Sustainable Development Goals”

Event Date: September 14-15, 2016

Event Location: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India 110003

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Invest $80m in Acquiring Data on Progress, Barriers to Success of Women, Girls

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the United States, recently announced that it will commit USD 80 million over three years to improve the availability and reliability of data on women and girls including: (i) how much time they spend on unpaid work; (ii) information on the efficacy of programs and other interventions; and (iii) how successful political leaders are in supporting gender equality.

by Imke Herholdt -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) Signs $3.4m Women’s Financial Inclusion Agreement (WIN)

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), a government organization that manages approximately half of Sweden’s budget for development aid, recently signed an agreement with Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ), a Zambian nonprofit organization that “provides information, innovation, and impact to increase financial inclusion”[4] local development organization that also operates in Kenya, to “build the financial capabilities of women and youths and reduce the gender gap”[1] as well as to increase financial inclusion in Zambia.

by Imke Herholdt -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: BWTP, FDC, ADA, UNCDF, ADB to Co-host “Mekong Financial Inclusion Forum”, July 11-14, 2016, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Event Name: Mekong Financial Inclusion Forum

Event Dates: July 11-14, 2016

Event Location: Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

by Imke Herholdt -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LUXFLAG), European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to Co-host “Impact Investing Conference,” May 12, 2016, Luxembourg

Event Name: Impact Investing Conference

Event Dates: May 12, 2016

Event Location: Namur Premises, Luxembourg-Hamm

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL) Members to Access Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR)

Nine financial cooperatives associated with the Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL), a network of 208 financial institutions that also provides financial services directly to the public, have met the requirements to access the Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR), a Cameroon-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs).

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Sector Development Program (FSD) Africa to Invest $2m in Microinsurance Innovation Laboratory of International Labor Organization’s (ILO’s) Impact Insurance Facility

The Financial Sector Development Program (FSD) Africa, a project funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID), will invest USD 1.8 million over the next four years in the “microinsurance innovation laboratory” to be developed by the Impact Insurance Facility (IIF) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dahabshiil’s “MicroDahab-MFI”, SolarGen Technologies Announce “Lease to Purchase” Energy Product for Low-Income Somali Farmers, Small-scale Entrepreneurs in Somalia

MicroDahab-MFI, the microfinance institution (MFI) that serves as the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Arab Emirates-based conglomerate Dahabshiil Group, and SolarGen Technologies, a Somalia-based distributor of renewable energy technologies, have announced a joint energy project in Somalia.

by Hye In Arielle Oh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Labor Organization’s (ILO’s) Impact Insurance Facility, Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) Partner to Promote African Microinsurance

The Impact Insurance Facility (IIF) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, and Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re), a Nigeria-based corporation that assists reinsurance institutions and invests in the African insurance sector, have agreed to partner to promote inclusive microinsurance markets for the financially excluded population in Africa[1].

by Hye In Arielle Oh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank India (RBI) Eases Microfinance Interest Rate Norm to Allow Cheaper Loans to Members of Scheduled Castes (SC) Earning Less than $2.50 Per Day

The Reserve Bank India (RBI), the nation’s central banking authority, has eased the maximum allowance of a variance of 4 percent between minimum and maximum interest rates on loans by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in order to encourage the provision of cheaper loans to those members of Scheduled Castes (SC), historically disadvantaged people in India, who earn less than double the international poverty line defined by the United Nations (UN) as USD 1.25 per day.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Loans $437k in Local Currency to Microfinance Institution (MFI) GRAINE of Burkina Faso

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a local currency, two and a half-year loan equivalent to EUR 385,000 (USD 437,000) to Groupe d’Accompagnement a l’Investissement et a l’Epargne (GRAINE), an MFI in Burkina Faso.

by Meredith Steih -

SPECIAL REPORT: e-MFP Announces Finalists for $112k Sixth European Microfinance Award in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States: Crédit Rural de Guinée of Guinea, First Microfinance Institution of Syria, Taytay Sa Kauswagan of the Philippines

The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network of approximately 120 microfinance individuals and organizations, has announced that there are three finalists for the Sixth European Microfinance Award, which is themed “Microfinance in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States” for 2015 [1].

by Hye In Arielle Oh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), MasterCard Partner to Build Inclusive Payment Systems in Low-Income Economies

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a United Nations (UN) organization that engages in “sustainable management”[1] of natural resources and works toward the eradication of hunger, and MasterCard, a US-based payments and technology company, recently formed a partnership to create “inclusive payment systems”[2] to support small-scale farmers and low-income households in developing countries.