The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently joined the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in its efforts to expand climate risk insurance in the Pacific region. The Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP), which was launched in 2020 by UNCDF and two other UN agencies, has supported insurers in deploying parametric coverage in Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. Parametric insurance pays
Tag: UNCDF
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Launch Mobile Money Program in Ethiopia
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced a two-year cash-in/cash-out (CICO) program intended to increase financial inclusion in Ethiopia via mobile money agents and other means. The program is to include: (1) training for 15 service providers in “digital money distribution aspects such as gender-intentional design and technology provider selection;” (2) a Digital
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jeevan Bikas, Pula, UNCDF Partner on Index Insurance for Farmers in Nepal
The Nepali microfinance institution Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha, Swiss insurance technology (insurtech) firm Pula and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced the completion of a pilot program combining technical assistance, subsidies and financial education to design and deploy an index-based insurance product for Nepali smallholder farmers. The program provided 15,000 smallholder farmers with insurance covering
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPEC Fund Donating $1m to UNCDF to Boost Energy Access, Reduce Emissions, Starting in Madagascar, Tanzania
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development recently granted USD 1 million to the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to co-finance clean cooking, energy access and renewable energy through the Climate Finance and Energy Innovation Hub (CFEIH). CFEIH was created in 2022 by the OPEC Fund, UNCDF and the Austria-based
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF Announces Funding, Guarantees, Technical Assistance for Enterprises Reducing Environmental Impacts of Agriculture, Energy, Forestry in DRC
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently launched two new funding instruments to provide financial and technical assistance for enterprises that help address deforestation in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 95 percent of households rely on wood for cooking. One instrument, Investments Aimed at Quantifiably Reducing the Consumption of Wood Energy in DRC, offers technical assistance and grants valued at
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF, Quizrr, Ulula, Wagely Supporting Financial, Digital Literacy for Garment Workers in Bangladesh
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently committed approximately USD 556,000 to support pilot training programs for workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The funding will pay for technical assistance and performance-based grants for three firms seeking to promote financial and digital literacy skills and hence financial and digital inclusion for 135,000 individuals working in the sector, mostly women. UNCDF’s implementing partners for the project are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Public Sector Commits $61m to SMEs via Bamboo-UNCDF Initiative for the Least Developed (BUILD) Fund
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced that it and the Luxembourg-based fund manager Bamboo Capital Partners have raised the equivalent of USD 55 million for the Bamboo-UNCDF Initiative for the Least Developed (BUILD), a fund investing equity and debt in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in low- and middle-income countries. The partners also have raised USD 6.5 million for the BUILD Enterprise Resource Technical Assistance (BUILDER TA) facility to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, Khalti Broadens E-commerce Platform to Offer Deliveries from MSMEs to Customers in Nepal
Khalti, a Nepal-based provider of digital financial services, has modified its digital platform to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nepal, including small shops known as kirana stores, with the support of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Khalti offered a service through which enterprises could open digital storefronts to sell their services and collect payments. In adjusting to the pandemic, Khalti started
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Empire, Mosabi, Orange, UNCDF Seek to Boost Financial Inclusion in Sierra Leone with Focus on Financial Literacy, Recruiting Women as Mobile Money Agents
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently embarked on a partnership with France-based Orange Mobile Finance (Orange Money); Mosabi, a US-based digital education and finance platform; and Empire Solutions, a digital microfinance institution in Sierra Leone, in an effort to boost access to finance for low-income people – including women and youth – in Sierra Leone by increasing:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A Digital Bookkeeping App to Improve Access to Finance,” Published by UN Capital Development Fund
Ghana-based financial technology firm Ozé and Ecobank, a Togo-based commercial bank that operates in 35 countries, partnered beginning in 2020 to expand usage of the Ozé Business App among young entrepreneurs in rural Ghana. The Ozé mobile phone app is designed to help users track
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Opportunity for Digital and E-commerce Payments in the Pacific Region,” by Chris Statham et al, Published by UNCDF
This paper explores the challenges and opportunities associated with leveraging digital payment structures, including how such structures might promote financial inclusion and improve economic conditions in the Pacific Island region. The study focuses on six of the 14 archipelagic countries in the region that are in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malawi Among Hosts of European Commission, OACPS, UNCDF Digital Finance Program for Women, Youth
The EU’s European Commission (EC); the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS); and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced the first two implementations of a program with a budget of EUR 15 million (USD 17.7 million) intended to utilize digital finance to improve financial inclusion and access to e-commerce for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Zeepay of Ghana, Dutch Government, SNV, UNCDF Partner on Financial Education, Remittances via EU-funded GrEEn Program
Zeepay, a financial technology (fintech) company with offices in Ghana and the UK, recently partnered with the embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana, the Dutch NGO Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV) and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as part of the EU-funded Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) program. The goal is to serve “youth, women and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mwezi Nets Inaugural $500k Debt Investment from Build Fund of Bamboo Capital, UNCDF to Expand Access to Pay-as-you-go Solar Products in East Africa
Luxembourg-based Bamboo Capital Partners and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently partnered to create the Build Fund, whose first investment is a loan of USD 500,000 for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Securities Commission Malaysia, UNCDF Accepting Applications Through June 30 for Fikra Islamic Fintech Accelerator
Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia, the regulator of capital markets in the country, in collaboration with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which promotes access to finance in countries with the lowest incomes, recently began taking applications for the Fikra Islamic Fintech Accelerator Programme, which is intended to develop Islamic capital markets in Malaysia by supporting the development of financial technology (fintech) firms. The accelerator will take participants “through the entire value chain from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IGAD, UNCDF to Research, Harmonize Remittance Policies in East Africa
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a trade bloc of eight African nations, and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently entered a two-year partnership intended to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Solomon Islands Launches 3rd National Financial Inclusion Strategy
Prime Minister Manasseb Sogavare of the Solomon Islands recently announced the launch of the nation’s third National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which covers the years 2021 to 2025. The strategy was developed by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands and is partially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ECCAS, UNCDF Pursue Better Digital Remittances To, Within Central Africa
The 11-member Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently entered a two-year agreement through which they aim to expand “affordable and convenient access to digital remittances” for migrants transferring money to family members in their home countries. Priti Sinha, the Executive Secretary of UNCDF said,