by Jolene Khor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MetLife Foundation, MicroSave, UNCDF Expand i3 Program to Improve Financial Health Through Digital Services in China

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a US-based agency of the UN that focuses on financial inclusion and other forms of “sustainable development,” recently expanded the i3 program to China. The program, which already was operating in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam,

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $9m to Microfinance Institution Letshego Kenya

Letshego Kenya, a microlending unit of Botswana-based Letshego Holdings Limited, recently borrowed USD 9 million from Germany-based Invest in Visions’ (IIV’s) IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries. IIV Mikrofinanzfonds loaned additional amounts – denominated in a mix of euros and US dollars – totaling the equivalent of

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Advans Cote d’Ivoire Wins $113k European Microfinance Award for Inclusive Finance Through Technology

Last European Microfinance Platformnight, Advans Cote d’Ivoire (CI), a microfinance institution in Cote d’Ivoire, won the European Microfinance Award 2018, which was themed “Financial Inclusion through Technology” and includes a cash prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 113,000). Advans CI, a member of the Advans Group, offers payment, saving and credit services that can be linked to MTN mobile money accounts. The cocoa farmers who are customers of Advans CI were having trouble with traceability and safety issues related to being paid by cooperatives in cash. They were also having trouble saving money from harvest time until the school year begins, resulting in low school enrollment. Advans CI responded by creating a

by Anuhya Tadepalli -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Asia 2018: The Next Wave of Digital Services; December 12, 2018; Jakarta, Indonesia

The 2018 Mondato Summit Asia will explore how companies in Southeast and South Asia are repositioning themselves to take advantage of the rise in usage of mobile devices, which has lead to the proliferation of social media and electronic commerce in the region. The theme includes how digital finance and commerce (DFC) is being applied beyond basic financial services and how this translates into investment opportunities. Sample session topics are a Case Study of Digital Transformation & Re-Invention, Carrier Billing at the Heart of Digital Finance & Commerce, Expanding Market for Financial Services, Disruptive Innovation: the Case for Remittances, and Enabling New Business Models – Pushing the Bounds of Commercial Viability. The event also includes

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nonghyup (NH) Bank Acquires Microfinance Institution Samic of Cambodia, Plans More Lending for Agricultural Equipment, Housing, SMEs

NongHyup (NH) Bank, which is controlled by South Korea’s NongHyup Group, recently obtained regulatory approval to acquire Samic, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Cambodia, for an undisclosed price. NH Bank reportedly plans to change the name of the MFI to NongHyup Finance Cambodia.

Samic’s 18 branches are mainly located in smaller cities, and NH Bank plans to expand the organization’s presence in

by Erik McDonald -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: UNCDF: “Youth Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion: Outlook for ASEAN and SAARC;” by Mayank Jain, Dr Robin Gravesteijn, Zamid Aligishiev, Richard Last

This is a summary of a paper by Mayank Jain, Dr Robin Gravesteijn, Zamid Aligishiev and Richard Last; published by the UN Capital Development Fund; August 2018; 23 pages; available at http://www.uncdf.org/article/3890/.

This working paper identifies factors restricting the level of financial inclusion of youth in South and Southeast Asia, with a focus on Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. The authors assert that these barriers to financial access hinder

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Invests $2.5m in Equity in Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Sambandh Finserve

Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Private Limited, a microfinance investment firm in Singapore, recently invested USD 2.5 million to buy a stake of undisclosed size in Sambandh Finserve Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution that is organized as a non-banking financial company.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woori Bank of South Korea Acquires VisionFund Cambodia from Microfinance Subsidiary of US-based World Vision

VisionFund International, a UK-based NGO that offers microfinance services for World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization, recently sold VisionFund Cambodia, a microfinance institution (MFI) serving rural

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Raises $105m from DNB, Ferd, IFU, KLP, Norfund for Fund IV for MFIs in Africa, Asia

The Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, recently debuted its fourth fund with a total of USD 105 million in commitments from the following organizations: Norway’s Den Norske Bank;

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Considering $10m Loan to Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) of Bangladesh for Trade Finance

The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it is considering lending USD 10 million to Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) Limited, a privately owned commercial bank in Bangladesh. The funding would be for financing imports and exports

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions LOLC Cambodia, VisionFund Lanka Each Borrow $2.4m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued three-year loans totaling the equivalent of USD 4.7 million to two microfinance institutions with ties to Sri Lanka.

LOLC Cambodia, which is owned by Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group, borrowed half of the total, denominated in US dollars. LOLC Cambodia was founded in 1994 as Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) by US-based NGO Catholic Relief Services. The MFI has since been acquired by Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group, which is a member of Orix, a Japanese conglomerate. LOLC Group, whose name derives from

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Africa; April 17 – 18, 2018; Johannesburg, South Africa

Summary of Event: The goal of the fifth iteration of this event is to help executives in the digital finance and commerce sectors share information and solve problems. Provisional agenda items include data analytics, case studies, reaching young people, measuring financial inclusion, cryptocurrencies, investment

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Parametrics, 6 VisionFund Microfinance Institutions Prepare for Climate Disasters Under African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS)

Global Parametrics, a for-profit risk manager funded by UK-based and German development institutions, and the UK-based NGO VisionFund International recently established the African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS), to protect six VisionFund microfinance institutions (MFIs). In case of drought or extreme storm, the MFIs can access up to USD 10 million to manage delays in client repayments and

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USAID to Guarantee $15m in Agricultural Lending by Cambodia’s AMK Microfinance Institution, LOLC, RMA Financial Services

Through its Development Credit Authority (DCA), the US Agency for International Development (AID) has agreed to guarantee a portion of agricultural loans totaling USD 15 million to be disbursed

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Rural Outreach and Innovation Action Group Highlights Apps, Soil Test Kits, Funding Agricultural Cooperatives

On European Microfinance Week 2017the first afternoon of European Microfinance Week, the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) Rural Outreach & Innovation Action Group presented a range of services that are reaching rural areas today.

Amsalu Alemayehu of Ethiopia’s Wasasa Microfinance explained that his organization has been financing agricultural cooperatives for about five years and how this can be an efficient method for serving a large number of people. However, the number of cooperatives Wasasa serves remains small. Mr Alemayehu explained that many of the 78,000 cooperatives in Ethiopia are member-managed and need significant capacity building to become creditworthy.

Marina Kortenbusch of Switzerland’s Business & Finance Consulting (BFC), who is also the chair of the Action Group, spoke passionately about

by Aleksandr Marceau -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Everex Raises $17m in “Initial Coin Offering,” Anticipates Offering Mobile Remittances, Microcredit Using Blockchain Technology in 2018

Everex, a Singapore-based startup with plans to offer microfinance services using its own virtual currency, recently closed its first