by Meredith Steih -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, ReGrow West Africa, Tata Communications Make Commitments at 11th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting

At the recent eleventh annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the US-based Clinton Foundation, 123 new commitments to “alleviate poverty, create a cleaner environment and increase access to health care and education” were announced, including [1]:

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: On “Microfinance in Crisis,” an Interview with Edvardas Bumsteinas of the European Investment Bank, Host of the European Microfinance Award Ceremony

MicroCapital: Please tell us a bit about how you to came to work in microfinance.

Edvardas Bumsteinas: My interest in microfinance began with a summer job some 20 years ago when I was a student at the London School of Economics. At the request of Lithuania’s Open Society Institute, I spent one of my summers helping to set up external financing facilities for the Lithuanian Credit Union’s network. During my meetings with staff members and clients, I was impressed with positive results that those member-owned financial institutions were having in their communities.

MC: In reading about the European Investment Bank (EIB)-funded Microfinance in Crisis project, I was struck by the language “The main thing is to make the system user-centric, not provider-centric, and to consider microfinance (and more broadly finance) as a common good.”

by Meredith Steih -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s FINCA Microfinance Bank, Bharti Airtel to Provide Mobile Banking Services

FINCA Microfinance Bank (formerly FINCA Tanzania), an affiliate of nonprofit microfinance network FINCA International, has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company, aiming to provide mobile banking microfinance services to FINCA’s clients in Tanzania.

by Arpita Sarkar -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Sells Bonds Worth $11m for South Africa’s SA Taxi

Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that focuses on emerging markets, recently announced that it has completed the second tranche of a bond transaction worth USD 11 million to benefit SA Taxi Development Finance (SA Taxi), a South African leasing company that finances “minibus taxi” operators in the country.

by Mathew Cerf -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Is Health Microinsurance Sustainable? An Analysis of Five South Asian Schemes,” by Michael E. Weilant, published by the International Labour Organization

“Is Health Microinsurance Sustainable? An analysis of Five South Asian Schemes,” by Michael Weilant, published by the International Labor Organization, May 2015, 45 pages, available at: http://www.impactinsurance.org/sites/default/files/mp41_final.pdf

This paper analyzes five health microinsurance (HMI) schemes operating in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in order to evaluate the sustainability of HMI. All five schemes were in operation for more than 3 years and serve more than 25,000 active customers.

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Good World Solutions Uses Mobile Surveys to Promote Microfinance Client Protection

Good World Solutions (GWS), a US-based nonprofit organization that develops anonymous tools for people to report on how companies treat them, has built a mobile-based interactive voice response survey service to gather information from microfinance borrowers in India to determine whether microfinance institutions (MFIs) are following the client protection principles of the US-based Smart Campaign. 

by Mathew Cerf -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Morocco’s Microfinance Market; Trends in Funding Financial Inclusion; Growth Projections in Islamic Microfinance

“Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco: Acting early, acting right;” published by the International Finance Corporation in partnership with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development; the Danish International Development Agency; Japan; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs; and UKaid; October 2014; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/5e1e5a0047850bdba0d4f5299ede9589/IFC+Morocco+MicroFinance+Crisis+report.English.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

by Mathew Cerf -

MICROCAPITAL PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Improving the Wellbeing of the Poorest of the Poor; Finance in Motion’s Impact Investment Report; Investing in Africa’s Small, Growing Businesses

“A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries;” published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2015-05, available at http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/97047

This study reports that a multifaceted “graduation” program generated improvements in the wellbeing of the “poorest of the poor.”

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market to Host Webinars on “Data Driven Social Performance Management,” May 26-27, 2015

Event Name: Webinar: Data Driven Social Performance Management

Event Dates: English-language webinars will be held on May 26, 2015, at 7:00 AM Eastern US Time and May 27, 2015, at noon Eastern US Time. A Spanish-language version of the webinar will be held on May 28, 2015 at noon Eastern US Time.

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Safaricom, Vodacom Partner to Support Cross-Border Mobile Money Transactions Between Kenya, Tanzania via M-Pesa

Safaricom, a Kenya-based telecommunications company, has partnered with South Africa-based telecommunications firm Vodacom to offer cross-border transactions via M-Pesa, a mobile money service developed by UK-based telecom company Vodafone, which is a majority shareholder in both Safaricom and Vodacom. 

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen, Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, Unilever Partner to Support Smallholder Farmers through Enhanced Livelihoods Investment Initiative (ELII) in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean

The US-based non-profit venture fund Acumen, along with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, an initiative of US-based Clinton Foundation, and the British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever recently partnered to launch a three-year, minimum USD 10 million Enhanced Livelihoods Investment Initiative (ELII) that aims to boost the economic development of approximately 300,000 smallholder farmers in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean [1].

by Jeffrey Pierce -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equitas Finance Borrows $16m in Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) from Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds

Equitas Finance Private Limited, subsidiary of Indian microlender Equitas Holdings Private Limited, has raised INR 1 billion (USD 16 million) from Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds, a US-based global investment firm.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Buys 33% Equity Stake in Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar (AMFIM)

For an undisclosed price, Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a Singapore-based equity investor in small microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Asia, recently purchased a 33-percent stake in the Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar (AMFIM), a deposit-taking MFI that was launched in Myanmar in 2014.

by Jeffrey Pierce -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Acquires 30% Stake in Microfinance Institution Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG)

Goodwell West Africa, one of four funds of the Netherlands’ Goodwell Investments, recently acquired a 30-percent share of Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG).

by Makai McClintock -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference, “Adapt and React,” March 28, 2015, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Event Name: 9th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference

Event Date: March 28, 2015

Event Location: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Summary of Event: This conference will focus on how the microfinance industry has adapted its product offerings and lending methods in the wake of increased government regulation and concern about over-indebtedness. The event will feature a keynote address by Dennis Ripley, the chief business development officer for Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance services in 22 countries.