MicroVest, an asset-management subsidiary of US-based Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently announced that Joshua Moraczewski will serve as its new CEO, succeeding Gil Crawford. Mr Moraczewski
Tag: Key Players
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Annual Uniglobal Central Asian and Caucasus Microfinance Forum; October 3 – 4, 2019; Tbilisi, Georgia
This conference will focus on “transparency, regulations, transformation of [the] microfinance industry, social reporting standards, investment, risk and asset management, and innovation” in the Central and Western Asia. Sessions will cover topics including
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investor Forum: “Responsible Finance for Digital Inclusion: Investing for Impact;” April 3 – 4, 2019; Washington DC, USA
This forum is intended to bring together a wide range of investors to share insights on “social performance and impact management,” particularly as related to digital financial services (DFS). This will include discussions of the Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services, which were established in 2018. These 10 guidelines cover
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Grameen IPO Raises $164m on Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of India
CreditAccess Grameen Limited, the Indian subsidiary of CreditAccess Asia, recently held its initial public offering (IPO) on India’s Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. CreditAccess Grameen raised
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Issues $2b in Bonds for Climate-focused, Infrastructure, Women-entrepreneurship Projects in Developing Countries
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently raised USD 2 billion via a bond issue to finance projects in developing countries that are focused on mitigating climate change, developing infrastructure, increasing opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and expanding financial resources
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Developpement International Desjardins (DID): “A Roadmap for Making Inclusive Finance a Driving Force for Rural Development and Food Security”
This is a summary of a paper published by Developpement international Desjardins (DID), February 2018, 24 pages, available at: https://www.did.qc.ca/media/documents/en/positionnements/agricultural-finance-roadmap.pdf.
This report outlines a set of indicators that correlate with how easily the actors in a country’s agricultural sector – ranging from smallholder farmers to commercial producers – can access affordable and reliable services from financial institutions:
1. Producers’ Stage of Development: Financial service providers have more incentive to engage with agricultural producers if the producers have greater operational capacity and productivity, including the ability to demonstrate their ability to yield return on investment. Other qualities that make producers
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Center for Financial Inclusion, Institute of International Finance: “Accelerating Financial Inclusion with New Data;” by Ethan Loufield, Dennis Ferenzy, Tess Johnson
This is a summary of a paper published by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), May 2018, 30 pages, available at: http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/storage/Accelerating_Financial_Inclusion_With_Data_2018.05_Final.pdf.
This report presents the following cases of financial service providers using emerging data analysis techniques to reach underserved markets:
1.WeBank, an online Chinese bank, uses social media data to evaluate loan applicants.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Disburses $148m for Energy-efficiency Projects for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay via UN’s Green Climate Fund
With funds drawn from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a UN-managed investment vehicle for mitigating the effects of climate change, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the US-based IDB Group, recently made three loans totaling USD 140 million to finance energy-efficiency projects undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CFI’s Africa Board Fellowship Accepting Applications from Microfinance Providers
The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of the US-based nonprofit Accion that promotes universal financial access, is seeking board members and CEOs of organizations that work toward financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa to enroll in its Africa Board Fellowship (ABF).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada Donating $29m for Youth, Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs in Palestine to be Run by CARE Canada, CowaterSogema International, Mercy Corps, Save the Children
The government of Canada recently announced it will fund four projects under its program titled Women and Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship and Employment in the West Bank & Gaza. More specifically, Global Affairs Canada, the government’s international development and diplomatic relations department,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GSG Studying Feasibility of $1b Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF)
The UK-based Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) recently announced the launch of the Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF) Task Force, a group of Latin American impact investors that will estimate the potential of LIFF, a fund of funds that would supply debt and equity capital to social impact funds in 20 Latin American countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CBN Doubts Nigeria will Meet 2020 Financial Inclusion Goal
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reported that the country is not on track to meet the goals it set in the 2012 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). According to a CBN statement, “Nigeria has failed to meet its financial inclusion targets due to a variety of factors;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Azerbaijan to Expand Digital Financial Services in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Funding from Switzerland’s SECO
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently began working with the government of Azerbaijan to implement a cashless payment system in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a self-governing territory in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Cameroon Launches Centrale des Risques de Etablissements de Microfinance (CREMF) in Collaboration with Microfinance Institution Networks CamCCUL, ANEM-CAM to Address Delinquency Rate of 23%
The Cameroonian government recently announced the launch of the Centrale des Risques de Etablissements de Microfinance (CREMF), an organization that assists microfinance institutions (MFIs) in assessing the credit worthiness of their customers. Since June 2018, CREMF has offered a database of microloan borrowers that any Cameroonian MFI can consult for data such as whether
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investor Forum; October 30-31, 2018; Paris, France
At this year’s forum, representatives of the impact investing industry will discuss the following themes: (1) Climate and the Environment, which includes ways capital markets can realize the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Risk Management in Microfinance (RIM) Merging with Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) to Expand Training Opportunities, Certifications for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
Risk Management in Microfinance (RIM), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organization that offers guidelines, consulting and training for microfinance professionals on risk, and the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investors Participate in Launch of Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services
Fifty fund managers, investment funds, development finance institutions and NGOs from four continents recently launched the Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services, a set of voluntary standards supported by the G20 group of large economies. CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), one of the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G7 Nations Triple OPIC Target, Pledge to Mobilize $3b for 2X Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs
Seven development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 group of seven large economies recently pledged to raise an additional USD 2 billion by 2020 for the “2X Challenge: Financing for Women” initiative, which was unveiled by the US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) with a target of USD 1 billion in March 2018.