By Sophie Theis, published by Women’s World Banking, November 2019, 18 pages, available at https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights-and-impact/women-social-commerce-entrepreneurs-in-india-and-indonesia/
Female entrepreneurs in India and Indonesia historically have faced a multitude of challenges such as “low access to capital, restricted mobility, limitations on property rights, time poverty and gender norms.” In both countries, women own less than
Fintex Africa will cover financial technology (fintech) innovations in Africa, with representatives from over 300 companies and more than 20 countries. Vendors will exhibit developments in
“Handbook on Consumer Protection for Inclusive Finance,” by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) at Accion and New Perimeter, October 2019, 91 pages, available at https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/handbook-on-consumer-protection-for-inclusive-finance
This handbook highlights the importance of having a robust legal and regulatory framework in place to ensure the protection of low-income consumers of financial services via new delivery channels. It is intended to supplement the seven Consumer Protection Principles developed by CFI’s Smart Campaign by highlighting legal
Published by the Journal of Banking and Finance; October 2019; 38 pages; available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336539379_Geographic_diversification_and_credit_risk_in_microfinance
In this paper, the authors use 18 years of data on 657 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 88 countries to investigate whether there is a correlation between MFIs’ credit risk and their geographic diversification. The authors measure credit risk using indicators including 30-day portfolio-at-risk ratios
Members 
of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Investors Action Group met at last week’s European Microfinance Week to review their progress on developing methods for reporting client outcomes in terms of meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Cécile Lapenu from Cerise explained that the action group is working to: (1) identify investors’ expectations regarding reporting on outcomes; (2) review existing impact reports and websites to identify the metrics now in use; (3) conduct field tests of selected indicators; and (4) document the results to serve as guidance for moving forward.
The group is now soliciting data from investors on their current data collection practices. This includes if and how they collect data from: (1) the financial services providers (FSPs) they invest in; and (2) directly from those FSPs’ clients.
Ms Lapenu argued that factors such as client satisfaction do not
At this week’s session titled “Looking Back / Looking Ahead” at European Microfinance Week, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) officially launched the second Financial Inclusion Compass, a survey indicating the top trends in financial inclusion are: (1) digital transformation (institutional-side); (2) client protection; (3) digital innovation (client-side); (4) regulatory environments; and (5) social performance / impact measurement. Meanwhile, the document identifies the following as top “areas of focus:” (1) agri-finance; (2) climate change; (3) finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); (4) finance for displaced populations; and (5) finance for youth.
Sam Mendelson of e-MFP notes that financial services providers (FSPs) responding to the Compass are more interested in
From the European Microfinance Platform:
APA Insurance Ltd receives the 10th European Microfinance Award in recognition of its response to “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change”
Photo © European Microfinance Award Studio
At a ceremony held at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, Paulette Lenert, Luxembourg Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, presented the 10th European Microfinance Award to APA Insurance Ltd of Kenya.
Since 2006, Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg have been awarding a EUR 100,000 (USD 110,000) prize to the winner and, starting two years ago, EUR 10,000 (USD 11,000) to the two finalists.
This year’s winner, APA Insurance Ltd, is a Kenyan insurance company that provides
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently launched a campaign promoting local-currency funding in Eastern Europe, with the financial support of the EU’s “EU4Business” initiative. Among the first borrowers under this “Power of Local Currency” campaign was
The Center for Financial Inclusion, an initiative of the US-based NGO Accion, will hold the fifth iteration of its Financial Inclusion Week (FIW) beginning on October 21. Last year’s FIW connected 160 partners with
The government of Azerbaijan, with technical assistance from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), has instituted a series of regulatory reforms to improve financial infrastructure in the country. The Azerbaijan Financial Advisory Services program, which was
At least 170 people in Sri Lanka reportedly took their own lives during 2018 after being unable to repay their microloan debt. Interest rates in the country have ranged up to
Alter Modus, a microlender in Montenegro, recently agreed to borrow EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.67 million) from the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a public-private partnership based in Luxembourg, in order to boost Montenegro’s energy efficiency (EE) finance market. GGF also aims to boost Alter Modus’ expertise in EE lending by providing the microfinance institution with
The 12th edition of this event is themed “inequalities – transitions – solutions.” The program will focus on six of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): quality education; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequalities; climate action; peace, justice and quality institutions; and
The Ghanaian government’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), a provider of retail and wholesale microcredit, recently received approval to cut its annual interest rate from 24 percent to 12 percent. Meanwhile, the institution has received GHC 75 million (USD 14 million) from the government to expand its operations. This expansion includes a plan to have offices in 70 percent of the nation’s districts by the end of 2019 and
The fourth biennial SAM (from the French translation of African Microfinance Week, Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) will address themes including agricultural finance, financial technology (fintech), youth employment, and small and medium-sized enterprise development. In addition to providing practitioners and investors with a venue for exchanging ideas, the event includes conference presentations, an Investors’ fair, an Innovators’ fair and
MicroCapital: Why did you choose “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change” as the theme of the 2019 European Microfinance Award?
Christoph 
Pausch: Climate change is the biggest issue we face as a society today. At the mitigation level, action is slowly (too slowly) being taken to reduce global emissions. However, a sensible response must include adaptation too. How do we live – and more importantly, help the most vulnerable to survive – in a world with a very different climate than we’ve been used to?
We have chosen “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change” as the theme of the Award this year because resilience to the consequences of climate change is critical for the groups who will be most affected by these consequences. These groups are largely financially excluded, and they overwhelmingly live in places that will be most affected by worsening flooding, drought, storms, erosion or pests. Climate change also disproportionately affects those who make their livelihoods from agriculture, forestry, livestock husbandry and fishing.
While this is an immense challenge, we recognize the
This is a summary of a paper by Roy Mersland, Samuel Anokye Nyarko and Ariane Szafarz; published by CERSEM; February 2019; 11 pages; available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673418301574
Most microfinance organizations (MFOs) provide access to financial services with the goal of catalyzing development in impoverished communities. However, MFOs, like other social enterprises
The World Bank recently approved loan funding of EUR 611 million (USD 700 million) for the nation of Morocco with the objective of promoting a “digital transformation.” The project will be implemented through 2024 by the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, focusing on three pillars: (1) “enhancing financial inclusion for individuals, and micro, small and medium enterprises,” including access to insurance, agricultural finance and various Islamic financial services; (2) improving digital infrastructure, including measures intended to reduce the cost of mobile payments; and (3) supporting angel investors. One of the program strategies is to fund lenders to expand micro-enterprise lending.