by Vaughn Rajah -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Financial Inclusion in Niger: Challenges and Opportunities,” by Yoro Diallo et al, Published by IMF

This paper examines the inclusivity of financial services in Niger. The data examined indicate that Niger is behind other countries in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) in terms of access to financial services. Only 14 percent of the adult population of Niger accesses and uses formal financial services, such as those offered by commercial banks, e-money service providers and microfinance institutions (MFIs). The WAEMU country closest to Niger in terms of this metric is Mali, in which 55

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Is Almost Here!

e-MFP logoEuropean Microfinance Week (EMW) 2022 is fast approaching, and we’re delighted that it will be in-person again, with a hybrid component for remote speakers and participants. EMW2022 offers more than 30 sessions organised across several thematic streams, including “Finan­cial Inclusion that Works for Women” – the topic of the European Micro­finance Award 2022 – as well as green and climate-smart finance, digital­isation, funding, financial health, and social performance and impact. Other subject areas include agri-insurance, women’s leadership, fund regu­la­tion, mobile money, biodiversity, refugee finance, WASH, food security and more. To give MicroCapital readers a sense of what they can look forward to, here are some details of just three of the EMW2022 thematic streams:

Climate and Green Finance
Climate change represents one of the greatest issues the world faces today. While the changing climate impacts all countries, sectors and people, they are not all affected in the same ways. Climate change is par­ticularly threatening to poor and marginalised communities. Tackling the issue requires battling on many fronts – not just on the mitigation side (mini­mising the actual climate change that takes place), but on the adap­ta­­tion side too. The financial inclusion sector has an important role in increas­ing the resilience of communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and EMW2022 will feature a variety of related sessions, including:

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cambodia Microfinance Association, Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), Partner on Consumer Protection

Two NGOs, the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and the US-based Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), recently agreed to create a plan to foster “responsible growth, financial stability and customer protection in Cambodia’s microfinance and broader financial sector.” Elements of the plan include

by Bradley Shulman -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Disaster Resilience Through Financial Inclusion;” by Jeanette Moling, Johanna Nyman, Laura Ramos; Published by AFI

This paper addresses the links between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and financial inclusion, focusing on how policymakers and regulators can contribute to community resilience. Between 1999 and 2018, extreme weather events resulted in estimated direct losses of 495,000 lives and USD 3.5 trillion in damages. Disastrous weather events impact economies

by Michelle Fleming -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agri-Wallet, Apollo Agriculture, VanderSat Win $430k in NpM Geodata Innovator’s Challenge for Financial Solutions for Farmers

Netherlands-based “NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance,” which was previously known as the Netherlands Platform for Microfinance, recently announced the winners of its Geodata Innovator’s Challenge, the goal of which was to encourage “technology companies to transform their geodata-based solutions for smallholder