KCB Bank Rwanda, a subsidiary of the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, recently announced the creation of Mobiloan, a platform that allows customers to access
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Platform for Economic Inclusion (PEI) to Carry on CGAP’s Work on Graduation Programs
CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a nonprofit research center seeking to expand financial services in poor regions, recently announced the establishment of the Platform for Economic Inclusion (PEI) to “accelerate innovation and scaling of graduation-style programming.” Initiated by Bangladeshi NGO BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee) in 2011, the graduation approach involves: targeting only
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nicaraguan MFI Among Those Borrowing $12m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds
A unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that a Nicaraguan microfinance institution (MFI) was among the beneficiaries of the equivalent of USD 12 million that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent during October. The other borrowers are located elsewhere in Central and South America as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Milliman Acquires MicroInsurance Centre in Effort to Boost Services Benefiting Poor People
Milliman Inc., an international consulting and actuarial firm headquartered in the US city of Seattle, recently acquired the MicroInsurance Centre (MIC), a for-profit consulting firm based in the US state of Wisconsin that provides “product development, research, and advocacy” services relating to insurance services to poor people. The terms of the agreement have
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Geva Group, Mahindra Comviva to Offer Wholesale Mobile Financial Solutions in Central America, Caribbean
Geva Group, a financial technology firm headquartered in Panama City, Panama, recently
SPECIAL REPORT: Public Solutions at SAM: Collateral Registries, Business Training, Higher Microinsurance Uptake Can Promote Entrepreneurship in Africa
At 
the SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) plenary on “Public Solutions to Promote Entrepreneurship in Africa,” Kennedy Komba of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) explained that his institution’s SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) Working Group comprises 53 regulatory and policy-making bodies. To facilitate the growth of entrepreneurship, these agencies have created collateral registries, adjusted lender liquidity ratios, updated know-your-customer frameworks and established rules for digital financial services. Trainers in Zambia used a financial education game to reach 5,000 people, of whom 80 percent were able to improve their businesses as a result. In Ghana, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Bank of Ghana collaborated to boost local value chains in an effort to reduce costly
SPECIAL REPORT: At SAM, a “Moral Obligation” to Include More People in the Financial System, Harvesting Wins $12k FMO Fintech for Microfinance Prize for Use of Satellite Data to Boost Agricultural Lending
At the gala dinner at the SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) conference, Olivier Massart, the General Manager of ADA, argued that the attendees of the event have incurred a “moral obligation” to increase financial inclusion. The 650+ attendees spent an estimated total of USD 1 million to USD 2 million on travel and registration fees. Because they elected not to spend this money directly on serving poor people, Mr Massart challenged each delegate to bring at least one additional person in to the financial system for each
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend $31m to MFIs in Asia, Latin America
C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 31 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in five Asian countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, as well as three Latin American countries, Ecuador, Mexico and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org’s WaterEquity Borrowing $20m from Overseas Private Investment Corporation for WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Finance Water, Sanitation Systems in Asia
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a self-sustaining agency of the US government, recently agreed to lend USD 20 million to the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3, which will invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations that facilitate the deployment of safe water and sanitation systems. The goal of the fund is to raise USD 50 million to reach 4.6 million people in South and Southeast Asia over
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Asia, Central America Borrow $10m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds
C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 10 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Guatemala, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Raises $5m in Equity from BOPA, IFU, Insitor, Asia Impact Investment Fund
The Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar, a Mandalay-based microfinance institution, recently received equity investments totaling USD 5 million from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indonesian Online Lender UangTeman Raises $12m in Equity Funding for Consumer Loans, Research and Development
UangTeman, an Indonesian firm offering online loans of up to USD 350, recently announced it has secured USD 12 million in Series A funding from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 13 Institutional, Social, Client-protection Credentials to Microfinance Institutions in Albania, Morocco, Namibia, Asia, Latin America
During July and August, Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) issued five microfinance institutional ratings. Morocco’s Attadamoune Micro-Finance was assigned the grade B+ with a stable outlook. Ecuador’s Fundación Espoir and Albania’s FED Invest both earned grades of BB with stable outlooks. Two institutions earned grades of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UBS Wealth Management Customers Investing $325m in The Rise Fund, Social Impact Private Equity Vehicle Managed by TPG
Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Wealth Management, a unit of Zurich-based UBS, recently announced that it has raised USD 325 million from its high-net-worth clientele to invest in The Rise Fund, a social impact private equity fund managed by the US-based Texas Pacific Group (TPG).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIMAS of Kenya, AMZ of Zambia, PAIDEK of DR Congo Borrow $2m from Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has committed to extending the following local-currency loans in phases over three years: the equivalent of USD 838,000 to Business Initiatives and Management Assistance Services (BIMAS) of Kenya, the equivalent of USD 582,000 to Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ), and the equivalent of USD 582,000 to Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives de Développement Economique du Kivu (PAIDEK) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend $10m During June
C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds extended loans totaling USD 10 million during June.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Planning Credit Bureau in Myanmar, Investing $13.5m in Fullerton Finance, Accion’s Early Dawn Microfinance, Maha Agriculture
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced it will loan a total of USD 13.5 million and provide related advisory services to three microfinance institutions in Myanmar.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Access Bank, FMO Launch Female Leadership Programme in Ghana
Access Bank Ghana, an affiliate of Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc, recently partnered with the Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, to launch a Female Leadership Programme for entrepreneurs in Ghana.