by James Stevenson -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peruvian Fintech Lender Prestamype Concludes $5m Equity Funding Round Led by Acumen Subsidiary ALIVE Ventures, Oikocredit

The Peruvian lender Prestamype recently raised USD 5 million in equity in a pre-Series A funding round. The investment package was led by

by Rohit Dayanand -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Driving Digital Financial Services in Africa Through Merchant Acceptance of Digital Payments,” published by Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)

This paper examines the growth and challenges of digital payment adoption by retailers in Africa, including “contactless payment (QR codes, tap to pay) [and] buy-now-pay-later” services. The authors note four main prerequisites for merchant adoption:

by Rohit Dayanand -

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:

by Rohit Dayanand -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Axis Launches axisPay Mobile Money App for Small Businesses in Egypt

The Egypt-based firm axis recently launched its mobile banking app axisPay, after raising USD 8.25 million in seed funding in 2021. The app targets small enterprises and their employees, though a version for individual users is being tested. Among the app’s functions are to

by Vighnesh Avadhanam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACEP Cameroon Borrows $2.2m in Local Currency from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation to Support Micro-, Small Enterprises

The microfinance institution Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) Cameroon has borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.2 million from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Created in 1999, ACEP Cameroon focuses on the development of micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) via deposit, loan, transfer, insurance and mobile banking services. Its loan offerings include products for farming, enterprise and other purposes. The institution’s microinsurance services range from health and life cover to vehicle insurance. ACEP Cameroon

by Teo Lin-Bianco -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans $2m to Bina Artha for Microfinance, Small Business Loans for Rural Women in Indonesia

Recently, Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) lent USD 2 million from its Incofin CVSO fund to Bina Artha, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Indonesia. Incofin IM acknowledges that

by Sai Bommineni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $6m to Agroprosperis Bank to Support Farmers in Ukraine

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently loaned EUR 5 million (USD 6.1 million) to Agroprosperis Bank to support agricultural micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ukraine. In particular,

by Sai Bommineni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aye Finance Borrows $10m from Catalyst Trusteeship for On-lending to MSEs in India

Aye Finance, an online lender in India, recently received USD 10 million in debt financing from India-based Catalyst Trusteeship via Catalyst’s investment vehicles Masala Investment Sarl and Asian Access Vehicle (AAV) Sarl. Through a mobile-phone application,

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lending $94m to Mitigate Effects of COVID-19 on 29k Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Ecuador

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 93.8 million to Ecuador to on-lend as working capital to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country in an effort to sustain employment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to reach approximately 29,000 MSEs, some via savings and credit cooperatives that will enjoy guarantees from

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $2.6m in Local Currency to VisionFund Microfinance Institution SEF International to Support Rural MSEs in Armenia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently announced that it has lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.58 million to SEF International, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Armenia, to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas. Commenting on the transaction, SEF CEO Garegin Gevorgyan said