by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Sharing Tractors Like Uber, Selling Agricultural Inputs Like Mobile Phone Credit, Motivating Savers Like Clockwork

At SAM 2019a session on agricultural and financial technology during the recent SAM conference, Emmanuel Ansah-Amprofi of Ghana’s Trotro Tractor described how his company’s service helps small-scale farmers mechanize their operations. Farmers call a toll-free number to request a tractor for a short period of time, such as for harvest. Within 72 hours, the farmer is connected with one of the 320 tractor owners that partners with Trotro. Trotro takes a commission of 10 percent on the payment from the farmer to the tractor owner, which totals USD 20 to USD 25 per acre. Mr Ansah-Amprofi said the mechanization helps the farmers increase their yields by 50 percent to 66 percent.

With more demand for tractors than its tractor owners can supply, Trotro has developed several methods for supporting tractor buyers. For example, Trotro’s data can help a bank

by Jolene Khor -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Charting the Customer Journey in the Digital Age,” Published by CFI

By Pablo Anton-Diaz and Amin Khairy, published by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) at Accion, May 2019, 15 pages, available at https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/charting-the-customer-journey-in-the-digital-age

This report focuses on how financial institutions can “create effective digital customer journeys for underserved clients.” The authors identify the following stages of such journeys: 1) “the pre-purchase stage,” in which customers select the financial product

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Issues $9.9m in Local-currency Bonds to Invest in Coopenae for Housing Finance in Costa Rica

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, recently issued CRC 5.7 billion (USD 9.9 million) in local-currency bonds to undisclosed buyers in Costa Rica to raise funds to loan to Cooperativa Nacional de Educatores (Coopenae),

by Aleksandr Marceau -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Digital Wallets for Illiterate Customers in India, Agency Banking in Africa, Gender Equality in Financial Services

“Digital Wallet Adoption for the Oral Segment in India: Concept Development for MoWo (Mobile Wallet for Oral);” by Brett Hudson Matthews, Richa Valechha, Vivek Anand, Avantika Kushwaha, Saborni Poddar and Rachit Ohri; published by MicroSave; May 2017; 50 pages, available at:

http://www.microsave.net/files/pdf/DWA_Research_Concept_Development_for_MoWO.pdf

The authors describe a project conducted during 2016 in India on the Mobile Wallet for Oral (MoWo), a mobile-money service designed for the “oral” market segment, which includes 264 million people in the country who have low reading-skill levels. A group of 310 participants from various communities were subjected to “signing, reading and numeracy” tests. Thereafter, 138 people of varying literacy levels participated in focus groups on the user interface of the mobile wallet. Finally, 29 participants performed usability testing.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 11 Women Offered MFI Jobs After Completing Afghanistan Microfinance Association Apprenticeships

A group of 75 women recently completed nine-month microfinance apprenticeships in the Afghan provinces of Balkh, Herat and Kabul. Eleven of these have been offered paid positions within the microfinance institutions (MFIs) at which they trained, Afghan Rural Finance Company, the First Microfinance Bank of Afghanistan, the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Afghanistan and Oxus Afghanistan. Three additional MFIs, Mutahid, Exchangerzone and Hand in Hand, have agreed to host women apprentices in the future.

The program was funded by

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Lends $840k to Mali’s Réseau de Micro-institutions de Croissance de Revenus (RMCR), Part for Microinsurance

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions and social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has committed to extending two loans denominated in CFA francs to Réseau de Micro-institutions de Croissance de Revenus (RMCR), a savings and credit union in Mali.

by the MicroCapital Team -

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

by Sascha Strobl -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 8 Institutional, Social, Client-protection Credentials to Microfinance Institutions in Asia, Latin America

During June, Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) issued four microfinance institutional ratings. Ecuador’s Insotec earned a rating of BBB with a stable outlook.

by Christian Chartier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Apply by June 5 for The MasterCard Foundation’s $150k “Clients at the Centre” Prize

The MasterCard Foundation, which is based in Canada, is accepting applications through June 5 for its 2017 “Clients at the Centre” Prize, which includes a cash award of USD 150,000.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Announces Client Protection Certifications, Ratings in Asia, LAC

During May 2017, Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating (MFR), under license from the US-based Smart Campaign, determined that Kyrgyzstan’s Kompanion Bank and FINCA Pakistan have complied with the certification standards derived from the Smart Campaign’s seven client protection

by Kevin van den Brink -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: MFI Client Satisfaction and Consumer Protection in Peru; Mobile Microfinance Users Predicted to Triple by 2020; Mobilizing Savings Through Agency Banking

“Voice of the Client: An analysis of client satisfaction and consumer protection across four microfinance institutions in Peru,” by J. Foelster, A. Pierantozzi, M. Pistelli; published by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) in collaboration with Hivos People Unlimited; February 2016; 31 pages; available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/Voice%20of%20the%20Client%20Peru_0.pdf

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Good News, “Painful” News About Digital Finance at the Final Day of European Microfinance Week

European Microfinance WeekIn moderating Friday’s panel on “Integrating digital financial services” at European Microfinance Week, Philippe Breul of PHB Development opened with several examples of success: (1) Microfinance institution (MFI) Musoni Kenya reducing loan turnaround time from 72 to 6 hours; (2) Indian MFI Ujjivan boosting loan officers’ caseloads by 134 percent; and (3) Opportunity Bank Serbia, which operates in an area of better mobile connectivity than the other two MFIs, providing immediate credit decisions in response to 80 percent of loan applications. Mr Breul stated that the time period required to save enough on costs to offset the expense of the tablets and other elements of digital systems can be as low as

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Finance Implementation; Alternative Delivery Channels and Technology; “Market Insights for Innovations and Design” (MI4ID) Behavioral Research

“Expanding Access to Finance Through Mobile Payments;” published by the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International and The MasterCard Foundation; June 2015; 12 pages; available at http://www.finca.org/files/2015/06/FINCA-MasterCard-Case-study-2015.pdf

This case study offers suggestions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) implementing mobile technology.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $10m to BasisBank of Georgia for On-lending to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); Energy Efficiency Projects

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, has announced that it is “deepening its partnership”[1] with Georgia’s BasisBank by disbursing it a credit package of USD 31.5 million.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to Loan $20m to India-based Caspian Impact Investment (CII)

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a government-backed development finance institution based in the US capital of Washington, DC, recently agreed to loan USD 20 million to Caspian Impact Investments (CII), a fund launched in 2013 by Indian investment management and advisory services company Caspian Advisors Private Ltd.

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TBC Bank to Acquire ProCredit Bank Georgia’s Microcredit Portfolio

TBC Bank, a commercial bank that was founded in 1992 in Georgia as the Tblisi Business Centre, reportedly will acquire the microcredit portfolio of ProCredit Bank Georgia (PCBG), a financial institution that is majority-owned by Germany-based ProCredit Holding. As of January 2015, PCBG’s gross microloan portfolio amounted to GEL 39.3 million (USD 19.2 million). These loans, defined as those smaller than EUR 10,000 (USD 11,300), represent 5 percent of PCBG’s total loan portfolio. The purpose of the move is to allow PCBG to concentrate on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [1].

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.2m to Oxus DRC, DRC’s Hekima, Burkina Faso’s ACFIME

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued the following three loans: (1) EUR 630,000 (USD 732,000) over a two-year period to Oxus DRC, a for-profit MFI based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was launched in 2013 by the France-based Oxus Group; (2) EUR 271,000 (USD 314,000) over a three-year period to Hekima, a nonprofit specialising in providing group loans to “economically active” poor people in eastern DRC; and (3) EUR 198,000 (USD 230,000) over a three-year period to Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME), a microfinance institution serving low-income populations in Burkina Faso [1].

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.2m to Kenya’s Juhudi Kilimo, Uganda Microcredit Foundation (UMF), Uganda’s Encot

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued the following three loans in local currency equivalent to: (1) EUR 482,000 (USD 555,000) over a two-year period to Juhudi Kilimo, a for-profit provider of microloans and microinsurance in Kenya; (2) EUR 293,000 (USD 339,000) over a three-year period to Uganda Microcredit Foundation (UMF), a microfinance institution offering financial services to “economically active” Ugandans; and (3) EUR 257,000 (USD 297,000) over a three-year period to Encot, a provider of microloans to rural enterprises in Uganda [1].