Angala Financial Technology, a Nigerian firm, recently announced the release of its Payrail Agency mobile app, which allows entrepreneurs to offer branchless banking services to their customers. The app targets farmers as well as
Tag: Nigeria
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $700k to LAPO SL for Microlending to Women in Sierra Leone
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has announced it lent approximately USD 700,000 to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) Microfinance Company SL, which is located in Sierra Leone, mainly serving women in rural areas. Its product lineup includes savings accounts as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFS Africa Acquiring Baxi to Expand Digital Payment Network for SMEs into Nigeria
Mobile Financial Solutions (MFS) Africa, a digital payments network based in South Africa, recently announced it will acquire Baxi, a platform facilitating online payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in underserved communities in Nigeria. Verdant Capital, a corporate finance firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trafficking Survivors to Access Microfinance from NAPTIP of Nigeria
Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) recently announced it is planning to offer microfinance to survivors of human trafficking as part of a set of “sustainable and evidence-based rehabilitation, reintegration and empowerment programs.” These programs also will include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SoftBank Leads $400m Equity Funding Round for Fintech OPay of Nigeria as it Eyes International Expansion
The SoftBank Vision Fund 2, a vehicle of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, recently led an investment package totaling USD 400 million in the Nigeria-based financial technology (fintech) firm OPay, a mobile platform for sending payments. The funding round values
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Forest Capital Acquires Kayvee Microfinance Bank of Nigeria as Part of Farmforte Plan to Boost Agricultural Value Chains via Technology, Financial Access
Forest Capital, a unit of Nigeria-based Farmforte Limited, recently acquired Nigeria’s Kayvee Microfinance Bank for an undisclosed price. Based in Nigeria, Farmforte’s goal is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFAD Private Sector Financing Programme to Support Rural Businesses, Launching with $5m Loan to Babban Gona, Facilitator of Agriculture in Nigeria
The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently launched the Private Sector Financing Programme (PSFP) to support rural businesses; combat hunger, poverty and climate change; and promote the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable groups in poor countries. The program will issue
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Loans $2.5m to Grace and Mercy Microfinance Institution to Support MSMEs, Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria
Oikocredit, a Netherlands-based cooperative, recently offered a loan of USD 2.5 million to Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative, a nonprofit microfinance institution in Nigeria. The loan is intended to support the expansion of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Lends $10m to FCMB to Boost Lending to SMEs, Agricultural Enterprises in Nigeria
Netherlands-based cooperative Oikocredit recently invested USD 10 million in debt in First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, which has operations in Nigeria and the UK. The investment will finance loans for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Appzone of Nigeria Raises $10m in Funding Round Led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers
Appzone, a Nigeria-based financial technology firm, recently raised USD 10 million (NGN 3.8 billion) in its Series A round of funding, which was led by Nigeria-based private equity investor CardinalStone. The other participating investors were US-based Lateral Investment Partners and three Nigeria-based firms:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Evidence Review of Women’s Groups and COVID-19: Impacts, Challenges, and Policy Implications for Savings Groups in Africa;” by Eva Namisango et al
This brief offers evidence on how COVID-19 has affected women’s savings groups in sub-Saharan Africa – with a specific focus on Nigeria and Uganda – including how these groups have helped to “mitigate the pandemic’s negative consequences.” In a savings group, members pool their savings, lend out these funds and share the resulting profits. In addition to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CBN Adds $120m to COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund for Loans to MSMEs, Households in Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced the addition of NGN 50 billion (USD 120 million) to its Targeted Credit Facility, a stimulus program for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as households affected by the pandemic. The funding will be disbursed through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, which is minority-owned by CBN’s Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sha
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria-based Microbank Citygate Global Introduces Fintech App Monéé
Citygate Global, a Nigeria-based microfinance institution, recently introduced Monéé, a digital application allowing customers to access financial services such as loans, savings, investments and bill payments via mobile phones. The app also offers fund transfers to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Stanbic IBTC of Nigeria to Borrow $75m from CDC Group for On-lending in Sectors with Significant SME Supply Chains
The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government’s Department for International Development, recently agreed to lend
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pan-Atlantic University’s EDC, Mastercard Foundation Launch “Transforming Nigeria Youths Program” to Create 40k Jobs for Young People, Women
The Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of Nigeria’s Pan-Atlantic University along with the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched the Transforming Nigerian Youths Program to “create a network of entrepreneurial and managerial changemakers particularly…across the micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises sector in Nigeria.” The goal is to provide 40,000 youth and women with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cybercrime Up During Pandemic As FSP Clients, Staff Increase Usage of Digital Payments, Remote Technologies
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital payment services has risen, leading to an increase in fraud and thus a renewed urgency to educate and otherwise protect consumers of these services. Financial services providers also are boosting their vigilance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Access Bank Buying Diamond Bank to Reach Total of 12m Customers
Nigeria-based Access Bank recently agreed to purchase Nigeria’s Diamond Bank for cash totaling NGN 72.5 billion (USD 199 million) plus stock in Access Bank. Diamond Bank shareholders will receive the equivalent of NGN 3.13 per share
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State of Ondo, Nigeria, to Provide $1.5m in Subsidized Loans to Individuals, Groups, Cooperatives Under Apalara Micro-Credit Loan Scheme, Mostly to Benefit Women
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Nigeria, recently announced the launch of the Apalara Micro-Credit Scheme, which is intended to reduce poverty among people with low incomes. The scheme involves the distribution of NGN