The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently mobilized a loan equivalent to USD 16.5 million to benefit Imon International, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Tajikistan.
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MICROFINANCE EVENT: Caribbean MicroFinance Alliance (CMFA) to Host “Sixth Caribbean Microfinance Forum (CMF VI): Solutions for Inclusive Growth;” July 6-9, 2015; Miami, Florida, USA
Event Name: The Sixth Caribbean Microfinance Forum: Solutions for Inclusive Growth
Event Date: July 6-9, 2015
Event Location: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Miami Airport & Convention Centre; Miami, Florida, United States of America
Cost: The fee to attend the forum is USD 600. A reduced rate of USD 475 is available for attendees who register by April 1, 2015, and a discounted rate of USD 200 is available for one-day registration.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Goldman Sachs Deliver Business Training, $80m in Loan Funds Via Alibaba’s Ant Credit to Support Women Entrepreneurs in China
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, will provide a senior loan of RMB 500 million (USD 80 million) to Ant Credit, the business-lending division of Ant Financial Services Group, which is an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba [1]. The funds will be used to provide credit lines to Chinese women who have online business. Ant Credit will on-lend these funds via the internet after assessing potential borrower’s “transactional and behavioral data” from their online business. The funds will be provided through the Goldman Sachs “10,000 Women” Program, which was launched in 2008 to teach business skills and facilitate access to capital for 10,000 women living in low- and moderate-income countries [2].
SPECIAL FEATURE: Are Microfinance Institutions and Investors Removed from Business Reality?
This opinion piece was contributed by David MacDougall, a consultant based in the US city of New York.
Microfinance inspires optimism. Investors – especially private equity investors – anticipate handsome returns; aid agencies see strong social impact; and microfinance institution (MFI) managers are certain they can grow themselves out of every tight situation. While microfinance can play an important role in development, most MFIs nevertheless are relatively simple financial institutions that need to be grounded in sound market and business principles rather than pie-in-the-sky expectations. These “Business 101” principles, which may sound like common sense truisms, in my experience, have not trickled down to many MFIs. In over 10 years of examining the viability of MFI business models as an analyst and risk manager, I have seen decision makers fail again and again to do reality checks. What’s still urgently needed is sound market analysis and professional risk management.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DEG, EBRD Loan $10m – Part in Local Currency – to Bai Tushum of Kyrgyz Republic for On-lending to Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
The Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution offering long-term project and company financing, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced that the two institutions will collectively loan the equivalent of USD 10 million to Bai Tushum Bank (BTB), a provider of microfinance services in the Kyrgyz Republic.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Financial Services for the Poor: Lessons and Implications of the Latest Research on Credit; February 27, 2015; Washington DC, USA
Event Name: Services for the Poor: Lessons and Implications of the Latest Research on Credit
Event Date: February 27, 2015
Event Location: Preston Auditorium, World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC
Cost: The event is free of charge, however advance registration is necessary.
Summary of Event: This conference will present the findings from randomized evaluations that evaluate the impacts of microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Mongolia and Morocco. Attendees also will explore tools intended to increase the outreach and impact of financial services for low-income people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Invest $8.5m in Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru
Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset management group C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that it disbursed credits totaling the approximate equivalent of USD 8.5 million from its two Vision Microfinance funds, the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance and the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance Local Currency, to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access Bank, Airtel Nigeria Collaborate to Launch “Access Money” Mobile Money Service
Access Bank Plc, a Nigerian commercial bank with branches in nine African countries and the UK, recently partnered with Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of India-based Airtel Limited, to launch a mobile money service named Access Money.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sells Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company of Japan $100m in “Inclusive Business Bonds”
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it has sold five-year “inclusive business bonds” valued at MXN 1.5 billion (USD 100 million) to Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (Dai-ichi Life), a firm that offers life, property and casualty insurance as well as investment trust and related services.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp Africa Summit 2015: Accelerating Innovation and Entrepreneurship Towards an Inclusive Africa; February 5 – February 6, 2015; Nairobi, Kenya
Event Name: Sankalp Africa Summit 2015
Event Date: February 5 – February 6, 2015
Event Location: Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, Kenya
Cost: The cost to register is USD 500 with a rate of USD 250 available for entrepreneurs. Additional information regarding costs and fees may be found at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sankalp-africa-summit-2015-nairobi-kenya-tickets-13381531521?aff=SFWeb
Summary of Event: This conference is the second edition of Sankalp Africa Summit. This year, the theme is “Accelerating Innovation and Entrepreneurship Towards an Inclusive Africa”. It will include dialog among African entrepreneurs, investors and corporate and government representatives. Ten African social businesses will win Sankalp Africa Awards.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Expanding M-Pesa Mobile Money to Europe, Vodafone Targets 35% of Romanians Without Bank Accounts
In Romania, UK-based telecommunications firm Vodafone has been expanding M-Pesa, its mobile money service that was first launched in 2007 in Kenya, from the pilot stage to a complete rollout.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Suisse to Fund Opportunity International’s “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Credit Suisse, a Swiss global financial services company with operations in 50 countries, has agreed to donate an undisclosed sum to Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance in 22 countries, to launch a three-year program entitled “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” that focuses on lending for education initiatives.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: New Ventures Mexico to Host 5th Annual “Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII),” February 24-26, 2015, Merida, Mexico
Event Name: Fifth Annual Latin American Impact Investment Forum (Foro Latinamericano de Inversion de Impacto)
Event Dates: February 24-26, 2015
Event Location: Hyatt Regency Merida, Merida, Mexico
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mahindra Comviva, Econet Wireless to Launch ConnectMoney Mobile Payment Service in Zimbabwe
Mahindra Comviva, an Indian service provider to mobile operators, reportedly has partnered with the Zimbabwean arm of South Africa’s Econet Wireless to execute the first deployment of the “connectMoney Service Manager”, which will allow users of the EcoCash service of EcoNet to withdraw cash at designated automated teller machines (ATMs) and perform other financial transactions online.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital of Mauritius Seeking $100m for Third Fund, First Round Scheduled to Close by April 2015
Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund that focuses on microfinance and other social businesses in India, reportedly is seeking to raise USD 100 million for a new fund that will focus on financial inclusion as its key priority, with agriculture and energy as secondary areas of interest [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mozido Raises $185m from MasterCard, Wellington Management, Individual Funders to Expand Operations
Mozido, a US-based mobile payment and marketing software company, recently raised USD 185 million in capital in the first round of its Series B financing to expand its mobile and payment services in Africa, China, Europe, India, Latin America and the Middle East.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA) Launches Code of Conduct for Mobile Money Providers
The Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA), a UK-based association of 1,000 mobile operators and associated companies, recently launched a “Code of Conduct for Mobile Money Providers” to provide guidance on best practices for its members.
SPECIAL REPORT: Kompanion of Kyrgyzstan Wins $125k European Microfinance Award on Microfinance and the Environment for Pasture Land Management Training
The Kompanion Financial Group, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Kyrgyzstan, was selected today from three finalists to receive the Fifth European Microfinance Award, which includes a cash prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 125,000). Pictured at the right are Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Olesya Paukova the development director of Kompanion upon her receipt of the award on behalf of the MFI.