Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, and Airtel Tanzania, which is controlled by Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, recently launched a remittance service allowing MTN Rwanda customers to use their mobile phones to send
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s IDA Loans $50m to Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) for Technical Support for Entrepreneurs; Seed Grants for SMEs
The International Development Association (IDA), a unit of the World Bank, recently issued a credit of USD 50 million to create the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), which is designed to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of existing small and medium-sized
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $143m to CrediQ for SME Vehicle Loans, Leases in Costa Rica, El Salvador
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that seeks to facilitate investment by US-based firms in developing countries, recently loaned USD 143 million to CrediQ Inversiones of Costa Rica and CrediQ El Salvador, two vehicle financing providers owned
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $100m to Grupo Lafise for Housing, Consumer, SME Lending in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that seeks to facilitate investment by US-based firms in developing countries, recently loaned USD 100 million to the Panama-based Grupo Lafise, whose holdings provide retail banking, investment banking, export
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Rwanda, Blockbonds to Roll Out Spenn, Mobile Banking App Based on Blockchain
I&M Bank Rwanda, a unit of Kenya’s I&M Holdings Limited, and Blockbonds, a Norwegian mobile banking technology firm, recently announced the debut of Spenn, an app offering person-to-person payments, retail point-of-sale transactions and electronic bank account deposits via mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 4Di Capital, Accion Venture Labs, Lireas Holdings Invest Equity in Insurance Technology (Insurtech) Firm Lumkani of South Africa
Lumkani, a South Africa-based technology firm specializing in fire insurance and detection equipment, recently received equity investments of undisclosed amounts from the South Africa-based venture capital
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G7 Nations Triple OPIC Target, Pledge to Mobilize $3b for 2X Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs
Seven development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 group of seven large economies recently pledged to raise an additional USD 2 billion by 2020 for the “2X Challenge: Financing for Women” initiative, which was unveiled by the US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) with a target of USD 1 billion in March 2018.
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;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Guarantee $20m in Local-currency Lending by Malaysia’s Maybank to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar
The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently agreed to guarantee USD 20 million in local-currency lending by Maybank, a Malaysia-based bank, to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar. The deal is part of ADB’s Microfinance Risk Participation and Guarantee Program, which has supported local-currency loans valued at a total of USD 670
SPECIAL REPORT: “Aadhaar: Lessons for the African Continent?”, by Edmund Higenbottam of Verdant Capital
In 2009, India launched the world’s largest IT project, i.e. the Aadhaar biometric identification program. The program is intended to drive social and financial inclusion, reform public-sector service delivery, improve fiscal management, increase convenience, etc. An Aadhaar number can be viewed as a permanent financial address. Considering that almost the entire Indian population is now enrolled in Aadhaar – the underprivileged as well as the rich – it also can be viewed as a tool for justice and equality.
The program consists of
MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Graduation Programming in Uganda, Financial Lives of Farmers in DRC, Funding Local-currency Microlending in Myanmar
“The Impact of Variations of Ultra-Poor Graduation Programming in Uganda;” by Richard Sedlmayr, Munshi Sulaiman and Anuj Shah; published by Innovations for Poverty Action; February 2018; 4 pages; available at https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/publications/VE%20Results%20Brief.pdf
Village Enterprise is a US-based NGO that offers microenterprise services in Africa such as cash transfers, mentorship, financial education and business education with the goal of helping participants achieve financial stability and increased income. This study includes a sample of approximately 6,000 Ugandan households in 138 villages that accessed Village Enterprise programs. The researchers studied a control group and groups engaged in four sets of interventions: (1) unconditional cash transfers equivalent to USD 300; (2) cash transfers coupled with training on how to manage the money; (3) cash transfers with training plus mentoring; and (4) all three of these services plus participation in business savings groups.
The fourth intervention – the full graduation program – had the largest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell Investments Buys Equity Stake in Microfinance Software Provider Musoni
Goodwell Investments, a firm with offices in the Netherlands and South Africa that invests in companies serving people with low incomes, recently placed its second equity investment in Musoni Services, a holding of Musoni Investments that offers software for managing microfinance institutions. The sizes of the investment and the stake being taken by Goodwell remain confidential. Musoni Services plans to use the liquidity to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Outsized Adding Office in South Africa as Matching Service for Financial Inclusion Projects Grows
Outsized, a UK-based firm that matches financial services providers and investors involved in financial inclusion with vetted consultants, recently opened an office in South Africa. Since its launch in 2015, Outsized has developed a database of 1,300 consultancies, supporting 80 projects in areas including due diligence; digital financial services; and product design for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Outsized Managing Director Niclas Thelander tells MicroCapital, “We’re
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Commits $350m to Female Entrepreneurship, Women-led Private Equity Funds in Emerging Markets via 2X Women’s Initiative
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that seeks to facilitate investment by US-based firms in developing countries, announced yesterday that it is committing USD 350 million to businesses and private equity funds led by women in developing countries. The includes applying a “gender lens to all the projects OPIC considers.”
OPIC CEO Ray Washburne said, “OPIC is proud to drive this effort through its 2X Women’s Initiative, which will mobilize USD 1 billion in investments to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Sankalp Africa Summit; March 1 – 2, 2018; Nairobi, Kenya
Event Name: 5th Sankalp Africa Summit 2018
Event Date: March 1 – 2, 2018
Event Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Summary of Event: This conference focuses on harnessing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create growth in Africa. Sample session topics include “Driving the Sustainable Development Agenda:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Greenlight Planet Nets Equity, Debt Totaling $60m for Sun King Solar Product Line from Apis, Eight Roads, Bamboo, Deutsche, Global Partnerships, Other Investors
Greenlight Planet, which has offices in Kenya, India and the US, recently raised a total of USD 60 million in equity and debt “to expand its solar-energy product lines, distribution networks, and financing capabilities in Africa and Asia.” Three entities purchased stakes of unspecified sizes in Greenlight, including Apis Growth Fund I, the lead investor in the funding round, which is managed by Nigeria- and UK-based Apis Partners. The other two entities increased existing stakes in Greenlight: Eight Roads Ventures, a private equity firm with offices in seven countries; and Bamboo Capital Partners, an investor seeking “economic, social and environmental
SPECIAL REPORT: Clients Come Clean on Sneaking Contraception, Practitioners Move from Serving Women to Empowering Households as European Microfinance Week Closes
During the closing day of European Microfinance Week
, Imran Matin of the US-based nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) stressed the importance of not just whether women will use financial services, but “what account ownership will translate into in terms of achievement.” Foreshadowing a theme of the session, he added that “intra-household dynamics is very important and also particularly difficult to measure.”
Bdour Al-Hyari of Jordan’s Microfund for Women (MFW) described a long-running insurance product offered by her microfinance institution (MFI). The coverage provides cash to clients who are hospitalized or have a family member who is. While health issues were a major cause of default in the past, women who got “hospital cash” from MFW reportedly repaid their loans at a rate of
SPECIAL REPORT: Registering Property, Charging Up to 3% Monthly Interest, Promoting Local Currency for Housing Loans at European Microfinance Week
At the session titled “Building an Enabling Environment for Low-Income Housing Finance,” R V Verma, former Chairman of the National Housing Bank (NHB) (India) and consultant to the World Bank Group, said that “pushing the formal financial system to reach out to the informal sector [presents] a lot of challenges, but also huge opportunities. As part of financial inclusion, housing microfinance has a very important role.” Mr Verma went on to describe the market in India, which has an outstanding mortgage balance of INR 13 trillion (USD 200 billion) but a shortage of 24 million housing units. He also explained efforts to mitigate risk for housing lenders – both credit risk and issues with land title. Among the tools in use is a central registry of outstanding property loans. Mortgage insurance is also available even to informal workers – when lenders are willing to issue them loans.
Adedeji Adesemoye of the Central Bank of Nigeria described his institution’s efforts to address Nigeria’s shortage of 17 million housing units via resources including a loan package of USD 300 million awarded by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) in 2012. While much of this package was for refinancing mortgages, USD 15 million of it was earmarked for housing microfinance. That portion was disbursed to nine microfinance institutions to test lending to existing (non-housing) clients for land acquisition, incremental construction and