by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Announces $6m Loan for Microfinance Institution Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia to Support Climate Resilience, Growth of Small-scale Farmers

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently announced a loan of USD 6 million to support Bolivia-based microfinance institution (MFI) Institución Financiera de Desarollo Sembrar Sartawi. The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), a private entity managed by FMO, will fund the facility, aiming to boost the “climate-resilient economic growth [of] vulnerable smallholder farmers” through

by Bradley Shulman -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Savings and Climate Resilience;” by Elisa Sandri, Leonie Beckmann, James Robinson; Published by Itad

This paper explores how inclusive finance increases the ability of vulnerable populations to “anticipate, cope and adapt to climate shocks and stresses.” Savings groups, for example, can “enhance social capital by building group solidarity and networks,” and they have been successful outside of the financial arena, such as

by Shuyang Sun -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 15th Consultative Forum on Inclusive Insurance; May 7, 2019; Panama City, Panama

This event will address causes and potential solutions to the exposure that poor and other vulnerable people face to climate change and natural disasters. This includes the potential roles of insurers and policymakers in eliminating the protection gap as well as improving individuals’ resilience in general. The forum will take place

by Tiannah Steele -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin; Microfinance Institutions Fundenuse, Fundeser, MiCrédito Operate Satellite-based Weather-index Microinsurance for Coffee, Grain Farmers in Nicaragua

Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management recently launched an insurance plan with Nicaraguan microfinance institutions (MFIs) Fundacion para el Desarrollo de Nueva Segovia (Fundenuse), Financiera Fundeser and MiCrédito to help 6,000 coffee and grain farmers be better prepared for climate change. The program utilizes “satellite imagery to

by Tiannah Steele -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Foro Latinoamericano de Inversión de Impacto (Latin American Impact Investing Forum); February 19-21, 2019; Merida, Mexico

This forum will host conversations among representatives of organizations that partake in and advocate for entrepreneurship in Latin America in general, and especially those focused on impact investing, a term that refers to investing with the dual aims of

by Michelle Fleming -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Reserve Bank of Fiji’s Experience With Financial Inclusion and Climate Change;” by Klaus Prochaska, Vereimi Levula, Andrew Levula; published by Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)

This is a summary of a case study written by Klaus Prochaska, Vereimi Levula and Andrew Levula; published by the Alliance For Financial Inclusion; 2018; 16 pages; available at: https://www.afi-global.org/publications/2899/Reserve-Bank-of-Fiji-s-Experience-with-Financial-Inclusion-and-Climate-Change

Following Tropical Cyclone Winston, which resulted in a nearly one-third reduction in Fiji’s GDP for 2016, government actors including the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) resolved to work to “make the country more resilient to extreme climate events, rising sea levels and changing weather patterns.” RBF had already decreed a