by the MicroCapital Team -

OPINION: No Silver Bullet: While Microfinance Alone Won’t End Poverty, It Is Making an Impact – So Let’s Re-focus It to Serve the Poor

The debate about the contributions that microfinance is making to global poverty alleviation is an interesting one. But it’s also getting a little tedious.

We are all disappointed that microfinance has not, as the popular culture has promoted it, proven to be the “silver bullet” for poverty alleviation. If, however, we challenge ourselves to really understand (and be transparent about) the strengths and limitations of microfinance, and begin to think about it as just one part of a more comprehensive package of development services, the debate (and potential for impact) becomes much more interesting.

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MoneyGram, Vodafone Partner to Enable Global Mobile Money Transfers Via M-Pesa

Vodafone Group, a British multinational telecommunications company, has partnered with MoneyGram, a US-based money transfer company with outlets in 200 countries, to allow MoneyGram’s customers to transfer funds to account holders of M-Pesa, a mobile money service developed by Vodafone that operates in six countries in Asia and Africa.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Small Business Banking Network (SBBN), Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Finance Forum to Host 4th Annual CEO & Senior Leaders Roundtable, May 29 – 30, 2014, Istanbul, Turkey

Event Name: 4th Annual CEO & Senior Leaders Roundtable

Event Date: May 29 – 30, 2014

Event Location: Istanbul, Turkey

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management Loans $4m to Microfinance Institutions in Armenia, Honduras, Tajikistan

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, recently disbursed loans totaling USD 4 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Honduras and Tajikistan [1].

by Tejas Jain -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 8th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference, “Microfinance: Beyond Its Roots,” March 29, 2014, Philadelphia, USA

Event Name: 8th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference

Event Date: March 29, 2014

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

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Using Subsidies for Inclusive Insurance: Lessons from Agriculture and Health;” by Ruth Vargas Hill, Gissele Gajate-Garrido, Caroline Phily, and Aparna Dalal; Published by International Labour Organization

“Using Subsidies for Inclusive Insurance: Lessons from Agriculture and Health;” by Ruth Vargas Hill, Gissele Gajate-Garrido, Caroline Phily, and Aparna Dalal; published by International Labour Organization; January 2014; 55 pages; available at http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/publications/mp29

This report was published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a nonprofit research institution housed within the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) that promotes the development of insurance products and risk-mitigation markets in developing economies.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Literature Review on the Impact of Microinsurance,” Published by Microinsurance Innovation Facility

“Literature Review on the Impact of Microinsurance,” published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, October 2013, 15 pages, available at http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/publications/rp35

Microinsurance is a financial instrument that provides coverage to help low-income individuals hedge against various risks.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goldman Sachs, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Announce $600m Fund for Women-owned Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs Group (GS) recently announced the establishment of the “Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility,” a USD 600 million credit fund aimed at supporting women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Zambia to Include Life Insurance Coverage In Mobile Subscriber Plans

Airtel Zambia, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Airtel, in partnership with Zambian insurance company Focus General Insurance and UK-based microinsurer MicroEnsure, is now including free life insurance coverage to mobile subscribers who pay ZMW 10 (USD 1.77) or more per month for their phone service.

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), MobiPay to Launch “MTC Money” in Namibia

Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), a Namibia-based mobile network operator controlled by the government-owned Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings and privately-owned Portugal Telecom, reportedly has partnered with the Bank of Namibia’s mobile payment service MobiPay to launch MTC Money.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Safaricom, Britam, Changmka Microinsurance to Offer Mobile Health Insurance in Kenya

Safaricom, a telecommunications provider in Kenya, reportedly has announced that it will be partnering with Britam, a Kenya-based investment firm, and Changmka Microinsurance, a Kenyan health insurance provider to offer new health microinsurance services in Kenya.

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Credit and Finance of Sri Lanka Raises $12m by Selling 25% Equity Stake to Creation Investments

Commercial Credit and Finance (CCF), a Sri Lanka-based financial company, recently reached an agreement with Creation Investments Social Ventures Fund II, a private equity fund managed by US-based Creation Investments Capital Management, to raise LKR 1.68 billion (USD 12.4 million) in equity funding through an issue of 80 million new shares.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Provider Khushhali Bank, Smart and Renewable Energy Solutions Partner to Increase Solar Power in Rural Pakistan

Khushhali Bank, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan, has signed an agreement with Smart and Renewable Energy Solutions (SRE Solutions), a Pakistan-based firm that offers solar energy products, to provide financing for “Solar Magic Box,” a device manufactured and sold by SRE Solutions that generates electricity from the sun [1].

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Myanmar Mobile Money, Mobilemate Telecommunications Launch Mobile Money Services in Myanmar

Myanmar Mobile Money, a Myanmar-based subsidiary of France-based Oberthur Technologies, recently partnered with Mobilemate Telecommunications, a Singapore-based company, to launch mobile money services in Myanmar.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microcredit Interest Rate Determinants; Mobile Phones and Microinsurance; Health Financing Through Gifts and Remittances in Kenya

“Microcredit Interest Rates and Their Determinants 2004-2011;” by Richard Rosenberg, Scott Gaul, William Ford and Olga Tomilova; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); June 2013; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Microcredit-Interest-Rates-and-Their-Determinants-June-2013_1.pdf

This study explores the factors affecting the determination of interest rates that microfinance institutions (MFIs) charge their customers by analyzing financial data reported from 2004 to 2011 by MFIs to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit data provider.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship (APTE) to Host “2014 Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit,” March 22, 2014, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Event Name: 2014 Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship (APTE) Summit

Event Date: March 22, 2014

Event Location: Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroCred Holding Raises $11m in Equity from Danish Microfinance Partners

MicroCred Holding, a French microfinance investment company that was created by French NGO PlaNet Finance, has raised EUR 8.4 million (USD 11.4 million) in equity funding through an issue of new shares to Danish Microfinance Partners (DMP), a Danish investment fund that invests in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

by Tejas Jain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $20m to Attawfiq Micro-Finance for Microlending in Morocco

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a US-based development finance institution and a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 20 million to Attawfiq Micro-Finance, a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) based in Casablanca, Morocco, for onlending to microenterprises in an effort to further Morocco’s economic development.