Sa-Dhan’s 18th annual conference will focus on alleviating poverty through financial inclusion and associated services, including: (1) Microinsurance; (2) Micropensions; (3) Health; (4) Water and Sanitation; (5) Clean Energy and Climate Change; (6) Digitization;
Tag: microfinance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Buys 28% Equity Stake in Unguka Bank, Provider of Microfinance in Rwanda, from Incofin
Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings, a Sri Lankan unit of the Japanese conglomerate Orix, recently paid an undisclosed sum to Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to acquire 28 percent of the shares of Rwanda’s Unguka Bank. Unguka provides deposit, lending and other services to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The bank has 15 service locations in the capital and three provinces. It serves 1,700 clients with total assets of USD 29 million. Unguka received its license from the National Bank of Rwanda in 2005.
Geert Peetermans, Co-CEO of Incofin commented: “From the time we
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel’s 16th Annual Conference; November 21-22, 2023; Dead Sea, Jordan – POSTPONED
Please note that this event has been postponed; new dates have not yet been announced. This event is centered on the effects of global trends on microfinance in Arab countries. Participants will discuss and build strategies on topics such as making microfinance less harmful to the environment, improving risk management, and expanding services to farmers as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Okra Solar of Nigeria Raises Equity, Debt Totaling $12m to Expand Mesh Grids in Africa, Americas, Asia
Nigeria-based Okra Solar, whose products serve 14,000 people in Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria, and the Philippines, recently raised USD 8 million in equity from five investors. The investment package is led by US-based At One Ventures and includes USD 1.5 million from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Fellows of Egypt Borrowing $2.2m from Symbiotics to Support Digital ROSCAs
Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle-income countries, recently issued a loan of USD 2.25 million to Egypt-based Money Fellows. Money Fellows plans to use the fresh capital to expand its digitization of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), also known as money circles, as well as to broaden
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Climate Risk and Financial Inclusion: A Regulatory Perspective on Risks and Opportunities;” by Peter Knaack, Peter Zetterli
This paper analyzes how climate change may impact the stability of financial systems and – particularly – access to financial services for groups that often have difficulty with such access, including micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) as well as low-income households and those in rural areas. The authors emphasize three challenges:
SPECIAL REPORT: An Interview with Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week, Luxembourg & Online, November 2023
MicroCapital: What can we expect from EMW2023, happening in-person November 15-17 in Luxembourg and online?
Christoph Pausch: EMW2022, back in-person after two years, showed us that there is no substitute for getting the opinion leaders and decision-makers in the inclusive finance sector together in-person, ensuring they have the time and space to debate, make new connections, and of course give presentations and discuss the various challenges and innovations underway around the world.
After the success of the hybrid EMW2022, which gathered 570 attendees (including over 200 who joined us online) from 48 countries, we are delighted to return to the beautiful Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg for another hybrid event, which will once again offer an exceptional networking and knowledge-sharing experience with the top experts in the financial inclusion sector. And the programme is designed to be as conducive as possible to those joining us online from different time zones. Plus, sessions will be recorded for “catch-up” after.
MC: What choices of sessions can attendees expect?
CP: As always, EMW sessions have been put forward largely by our members – so they address the sector’s current “hot topics” – and we organise them across several thematic streams. We received an enormous response to our call for proposals that went out early in the summer, giving us great scope for a fascinating, diverse program across different streams. In addition to our usual annual topic areas – digitisation, social performance, funding/investment – this year there also will be streams on refugee finance, agri-finance, a particular emphasis on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Svatantra of India Paying Navi Group $179m for Microfinance Subsidiary Chaitanya
Svatantra Microfin Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company-microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI) recently agreed to pay INR 15 billion (USD 179 million) to India-based Navi Group in exchange for its fully-owned subsidiary Chaitanya. Navi was advised on the deal by
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Land Titling and Microcredit in Cambodia: Examining the Reality of Hernando de Soto’s ‘Three Steps to Heaven,’” by Milford Bateman
In this paper, Dr Bateman examines the Cambodian microcredit industry and argues against prior claims that increases in land titling lead to access to credit that enables poor landowners to increase their incomes. The results are based on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maquita Cushunchic Borrowing $2m from DID Aequitas Fund for Microfinance, Small-enterprise Lending in Ecuador
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Maquita Cushunchic, a financial institution founded by women in Ecuador, recently accepted a loan of USD 2 million from Aequitas, a fund managed by a holding of Desjardins International Development (DID), which in turn is a member of the Canada-based cooperative Desjardins Group. Maquita Cushunchic, which mainly serves micro- and small enterprises, was founded in 1997 and since has grown to serve
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Committing $30m to South Asia Growth Fund III to Support Equity Placements in Businesses Reducing Environmental Impacts, Mainly in India
US-based Global Environment Fund (GEF) Capital Partners recently secured USD 30 million for its South Asia Growth Fund (SAGF) III from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). The funding is to boost the fund’s “equity and equity-linked” investments in middle-market institutions engaged in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Annual CLIIQ Nexus Latam; September 26-28, 2023; Cuenca, Ecuador
This year’s Cumbre Latinoamericana de Inversión de Impacto (CLIIQ) will bring together impact investors in Latin America for discussions in arenas such as: (1) Diversity and Inclusion: Gender and Beyond; (2) Climate Solutions; (3)
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Minds: Standing Together; August 28-30, 2023; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This event will promote networking among impact ecosystem actors to facilitate the deployment of capital in Latin America and the Caribbean. On August 27, members of the Colombia-based network Latimpacto will meet for a pre-event dinner. The main event offers sessions titled: (1) The Role of the Multilaterals Acting as
SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date for SAM 2023 – African Microfinance Week – in Togo, October 16-20!
Registration is due to open within days for SAM 2023 – Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance – which will include a multi-day conference, a gala dinner, an Innovators’ Village and a two-day Investor Fair. The second day of the Investor Fair is new, reflecting the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Global Takaful and Re-takaful Forum; September 19-21, 2023; Dubai, UAE
This event includes a one-day forum on September 19 followed by a two-day workshop on the historical, “operational and practical aspects” of takaful, re-takaful and micro-takaful, types of insurance that comply with Islamic law. The goals of these events are to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Establishing a Financial Services Ombudsman in Mongolia: Experiences and Lessons from Armenia, Australia and Singapore,” by Massimiliano Gangi et al
This paper explores the potential of introducing an independent ombudsman system to address complaints by consumers against financial services providers (FSPs) in Mongolia by exploring existing dispute resolution systems in Armenia, Australia and Singapore.
Among the similarities of these three systems are:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics
Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of