Search Results for: Rwanda
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Non Profits World Relief, Hope International, and World Relief Canada Merge Operations in Rwanda With Opportunity International to Create Urwego Opportunity Microfinance Bank
Opportunity International, a global microcredit lender offering small business loans, savings, and insurance, will be bringing its financial and technological knowledge to
The Microcredit Investment Legacy of Plundering Poor People’s Savings: National Bank of Rwanda Shuts Down 8 Local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) shut down local 8 MFIs last Friday. The closures of Intambwe SA, Ongera Microfinance SA, Gwiza Microfinance SA, CMF Urugero SA, Urumuri Microfinance SA, Coopec Intera, Coopec Iwacu and Coopec Ubumwe Iwacu represent the beginning of an anticipated MFI crackdown by BNR.
There are over 200 MFIs in Rwanda, many of which emerged after the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Since 2004 especially, the nation has seen the rapid growth of unregistered and unregulated MFIs. A depositors base three times that held by the commercial banks has been built. A statement from the Rwanda Microfinance Forum, a consortium of local MFI’s striving to set industry standards, lays the blame on the lack of a microfinance sector policy.
BNR’s Governor Francios Kanimba said that many MFIs opened without proper authorization or adequate capital: “We have a situation where for some institutions, 85% of the capital was contributed by people coming in [the customers].” Mr. Kanimba said the decision to close the 8 MFIs was a result of their mismanagement of funds and losses from poor credit management practices.
It should come as no surprise that the MFIs blame the government and that the government blames the MFIs. No one would ever point a finger at the irresponsible international donors who have spawned the glut of 200 tiny MFIs in Rwanda, and over 10,000 tiny MFIs around the world.
Continue reading “The Microcredit Investment Legacy of Plundering Poor People’s Savings: National Bank of Rwanda Shuts Down 8 Local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lipa Later Acquires Fellow E-commerce, DFS, Merchant Services Platform Sky.Garden of Kenya for $1.6m
Lipa Later, a Kenyan financial technology (fintech) firm integrating e-commerce, digital financial services and merchant services in four African countries, recently paid KES 250 million (USD 1.6 million) to acquire Sky.Garden, a Kenyan service that was launched in 2017 but had announced it would close during 2023.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity EduFinance Partners with 7 FSPs to Invest in Education in Africa, India
Opportunity EduFinance, an affiliate of the US-based NGO Opportunity International, recently brought on seven new financial services provider (FSP) partners, with whom it plans to invest in affordable private education in India, Nigeria and Rwanda. Although the FSPs have not been identified publicly, they are expected to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lipa Later, Mastercard Partner on Buy Now / Pay Later Services in Africa
Lipa Later, a Kenyan financial technology (fintech) firm active in four countries, has partnered with US-based Mastercard to expand its merchant network and technological infrastructure in support of the “buy now-pay later” options that it offers online and in-store consumers. According to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance); October 16-20, 2023; Lomé, Togo
Themed “Inclusive and Sustainable Finance: How to Reconcile the Challenges of Socio-economic Inclusion and the Transition to a Resilient and Ecological Economy,” this sixth edition of SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance, French for African Microfinance Week) includes two days each of conference sessions, an Investor Fair and an “Innovator’s Village,” along with a gala dinner and about 20 associated events on topics such as “agricultural finance, digital finance, microinsurance and social performance.”
The conference portion of the week includes sessions titled: (1) Carbon Markets and Environmental Service Payments: New Opportunities for Local Communities; (2) Beyond Taxonomies: the Role of
SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date for SAM 2023 – African Microfinance Week – in Togo, October 16-20!
Registration is due to open within days for SAM 2023 – Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance – which will include a multi-day conference, a gala dinner, an Innovators’ Village and a two-day Investor Fair. The second day of the Investor Fair is new, reflecting the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSD Africa Issues Convertible Loan of $1.2m to Africa Climate Ventures (ACV) Fund to Reduce Human Impacts on Environment
Africa Climate Ventures (ACV), a Rwanda-based venture fund that invests in “green” companies across Africa, recently borrowed EUR 1 million (USD 1.1 million) in the form of a convertible loan from Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa Investments, an affiliate of the Kenya-based NGO FSD Africa. FSD Africa Investments is supporting the loan with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Consult, Mastercard Foundation, Seek to Create 400k Jobs in Ethiopia via Access to Finance, Wraparound Support for MSMEs, Entrepreneurs
Ethiopia’s First Consult and the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched a programme intended to increase financial inclusion and support 72,000 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ethiopia to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Enlit Africa Forum on Energy, Power and Water; May 16-18, 2023; Cape Town, South Africa
The 2023 edition of this annual event will cover topics relating to energy and water in Africa, including how to invest in support of climate resilience and energy security while aligning short-term successes with host nations’ long-term visions. The opening-day keynote is titled
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Loans Yellow of Uganda $5m for Off-grid Solar Energy in Africa
Oikocredit, a Netherlands-based cooperative, recently lent USD 5 million to Yellow, a Uganda-based supplier of pay-as-you-go solar electricity products and systems, to expand its operations in sub-Saharan Africa. Pay-as-you-go services are those
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Fintech Nala Expands Remittance Service to EU, Launches Business Platform
Nala, a payments company launched in Tanzania in 2018, recently added 19 EU nations to the range of markets from which its users may send money transfers. The app targets
SPECIAL REPORT: Inclusive Finance in Africa Amid the Current Food and Climate Crises, in Anticipation of SAM 2023 in West Africa
In anticipation of SAM 2023 (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance 2023), its organisers convened a panel discussion on October 19 as part of Accion’s Financial Inclusion Week. The panel illustrates the commitment of SAM’s organisers to nurture ongoing dialogue on the issues faced by the inclusive finance sector. The objective was to share and question the strategies being used to address issues faced by the agricultural sector, which remains one of the least financed due to investors’ perception of it as high-risk.
Climate change coupled with social and political turmoil is negatively impacting agricultural value chains in particular and global food security in general. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is lowering food security and agricultural production in many developing countries, as the warring nations are two of the largest exporters of key agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, sunflower oil and fertiliser. The Horn of Africa could suffer the worst effects of the war because of its ongoing food crisis following three years of severe drought, the COVID-19 pandemic and protracted local conflicts. Market volatility and rises in energy costs, input costs, interest rates and perceived risk are expected to lead to higher costs of borrowing, credit crunches, and unmet working capital and liquidity needs.
Addressing these issues at the Financial Inclusion Week panel were:
– Jacques Afetor, Executive Director of Assilassimé Solidarité, a Togolese MFI supporting
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nala Expands to Kenya, Offers Direct Bill Payment from UK, US
Nala, a financial technology firm launched in Tanzania in 2018, expanded into Kenya earlier in 2022, allowing money transfers from the US and UK in partnership with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In 1st Disbursement, Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund Loans $7m to Watu Credit Uganda to Expand Vehicle Financing
Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently issued subordinated debt in the amount of USD 7 million to Watu Credit Uganda, an affiliate of Kenya’s Watu Credit, which funds vehicles and mobile phones in six African countries. While Watu also funds smartphones, tuk tuks (three-wheelers) and cars,
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Leveraging Digital ID and e-KYC for the Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons: Risks and Opportunities;” Published by Alliance for Financial Inclusion
The authors of this paper discuss the use of electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) procedures and digital forms of identification (ID) to support financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) in Eswatini, Mauritania and Rwanda.
In Eswatini, refugees and asylum-seekers may apply for refugee ID cards and non-Swazi ID cards, respectively. After acquiring IDs, individuals may access
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank of Kenya Secures $15m Guarantee from FMO to Support MSME Growth
Investment and Mortgages (I&M) Bank, a subsidiary of Kenya-based I&M Group, recently signed an agreement with Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, whereby FMO will deploy a guarantee from its Nasira risk sharing facility to encourage USD 15 million in lending by I&M Bank to