The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently agreed to loan the equivalent of USD 20 million to MicroCred China, a unit of the France-based Baobab Group, to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The money is intended to
Search Results for: india
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) Local-currency Equivalent of $687k
The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCA) has told MicroCapital that it lent Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ), an affiliate of UK-based Agora Microfinance Partners, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 687,000. AMZ offers loans and insurance services – including
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fusion Microfinance Raises $72m in Equity from Warburg Pincus, Creation Investments; Provides Exits to Incofin, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, SIDBI, BIO
US-based investors Warburg Pincus and Creation Investments recently placed INR 520 crore (USD 72 million) in equity in Fusion Microfinance, a provider of group loans and financial literacy training to women in rural areas of northern and central India. As part of the funding round, the following investors sold their stakes in the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Voyager Innovations of the Philippines Raises $215m in Equity from Tencent, KKR, IFC to Bring Digital Financial Services to Rural Areas
Voyager Innovations, which is controlled by the Philippines Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT), recently raised a total of USD 215 million in equity from China’s Tencent Holdings; KKR, a US-based investment fund formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC pledged
SPECIAL REPORT: Despite a “Solid” Willingness to Invest in Microinsurance, a “Terrifying” Lack of Coverage
On 
the last day of European Microfinance Week, Katharine Pulvermacher of the Luxembourg-based Microinsurance Network led a discussion on insuring people with daily incomes of USD 2 to USD 20. Those with lower incomes, she argued, will have to be covered by government safety nets.
Anup Singh of India-based consultancy MicroSave described the path to success in microinsurance as
SPECIAL REPORT: 15k Refugees in Uganda Receive Assistance via AirTel Mobile Money, Cutting Delivery Costs by 47%, Boosting Speed by 42%, Reducing “Money Truck” Problems: UNCDF Reports at European Microfinance Week
At this month’s European Microfinance Week in Luxembourg, Pamela Eser of the UN Capital Development Fund described her team’s rollout of mobile money to 15,000 refugees in Uganda and 1,800 in Zambia. Most refugees in these countries lack mobile phones, and very few of the participants had
SPECIAL REPORT: Verdant Capital: Hybrid Capital Solutions to Support the Next Phase of Inclusive Growth
This sponsored content was written by Edmund Higenbottam, Managing Director of Verdant Capital, and Raj Domun, Director and Fund Manager of the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. Verdant Capital is a leading specialist financial advisory firm that operates on a pan-African basis.
In recent years, the Inclusive Financial Institution sector has grown significantly in Africa and elsewhere, driven in part by growth in the global specialist investor base supporting the sector, and in part due to the growth of local debt markets. In Africa, this growth has stretched the equity capital bases of many institutions – and of the sector as a whole – due to the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s MFS Africa Lands $14m in Equity from Equator Capital’s ShoreCap III Fund, FSD Africa, Goodwell Investments, Lun Partners to Boost Mobile Financial Services in Rural Areas
South Africa-based financial technology (fintech) company MFS Africa recently raised equity totaling USD 14 million to expand its mobile financial services (MFS) into additional rural areas in Africa. The investors, which are participating in undisclosed portions, are US-based impact fund manager Equator
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: CGAP: “Building Inclusive Payment Ecosystems in Tanzania and Ghana;” by Max Mattern, Claudia McKay
This is a summary of a paper by Max Mattern and Claudia McKay, published by CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), June 2018, 35 pages, available at:
http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Focus-Note-Building-Inclusive-Payment-Ecosystems-June-2018.pdf
This report addresses how advances in technology over the past
SPECIAL REPORT: Advans Cote d’Ivoire, ESAF Small Finance Bank, KMF Are Finalists for European Microfinance Award on Financial Inclusion Through Technology
On the 20th of September, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2018 on “Financial Inclusion through Technology” chose the three finalists that will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 118,000) prize: Advans CI of Ivory Coast, ESAF Small Finance Bank of India and KMF of Kazakhstan.
This year, the Award has highlighted the role of technology in advancing financial inclusion, showing how technology-enabled services and solutions can help financial services providers such as microfinance institutions increase outreach to low-income and vulnerable segments, offering products and services capable of responding to clients’ needs for trust, speed, low cost, security, usability and
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Rise and Fall of Global Microcredit – Development, Debt and Disillusion;” Edited by Milford Bateman, Stephanie Blankenburg, Richard Kozul-Wright
This is a summary of a book edited by Milford Bateman, Stephanie Blankenburg and Richard Kozul-Wright; published by Routledge; September 2018; 290 pages; available for purchase at https://www.routledge.com/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Global-Microcredit-Development-debt-and-disillusion/Bateman-Blankenburg-Kozul-Wright/p/book/9781138714120
The authors of this book discuss the history, concepts and adverse impacts of microfinance as it has been deployed in the Global South since the 1980s. Contrary to the intent of microcredit and associated economic policies to enable low-income people to benefit from entrepreneurship,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Point-of-sale Service Provider Yoco of South Africa Raises $16m in Equity from Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, FMO, Paratech
Yoco, a South African point-of-sale payment enabler, recently raised USD 16 million through its Series B funding round, which was led by US-based venture capital firm Paratech.
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
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank (SCSB) Buys 80% of AMK of Cambodia from Agora Microfinance, Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II, Norfund’s Cambodia-Laos Development Fund, Proparco
Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based impact investor, recently announced that its Rural Impulse Fund (RIF) II is among several entities selling a total of 80.01 percent of the shares of Cambodian microfinance institution Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK) to Taiwan-based Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank (SCSB). The other sellers are Agora Microfinance NV, a Dutch holding company; the Cambodia-Laos Development Fund of the Norwegian government’s Norfund; and the French government’s Societe de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (Proparco). While the sizes of the former shareholdings have not been released, each of the investors is exiting AMK completely, except for Agora Microfinance NV. AMK Staff Association,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) Hosting “Getting Inclusion Right;” November 1, 2018; Washington, DC, USA
In recognition of its tenth anniversary, the US-based Center for Financial Inclusion will hold this event to consider how it and its partners will move forward in their work to promote the availability and usage of appropriate financial services. The agenda will include discussion of how increased access to financial services can lead to improved quality of life for customers and what sorts of risks customers need protection against
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CFI’s Africa Board Fellowship Accepting Applications from Microfinance Providers
The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of the US-based nonprofit Accion that promotes universal financial access, is seeking board members and CEOs of organizations that work toward financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa to enroll in its Africa Board Fellowship (ABF).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GSG Studying Feasibility of $1b Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF)
The UK-based Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) recently announced the launch of the Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF) Task Force, a group of Latin American impact investors that will estimate the potential of LIFF, a fund of funds that would supply debt and equity capital to social impact funds in 20 Latin American countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Azerbaijan to Expand Digital Financial Services in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Funding from Switzerland’s SECO
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently began working with the government of Azerbaijan to implement a cashless payment system in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a self-governing territory in Azerbaijan.