MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana Issues Crowdfunding Policy

Bank of Ghana (BOG), the central bank of the country, recently launched a policy aiming to promote and guide the use of crowdfunding, whereby people fundraise in small amounts from many individuals. Since long before it could be performed electronically, people have used the concept to raise funds from friends and family for purposes such as business, medical, education and funeral expenses. The new policy encourages users to crowdfund via financial institutions, with the goal of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Switzerland Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) to Support Hapa Cash of Kuunda, Expanding Liquidity for FINCA, M-Pesa Agents in Tanzania

The government-funded Switzerland Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) recently agreed to disburse an unspecified amount of grant funds to Kuunda Digital, a financial services provider based in Mauritius, to help expand its Hapa Cash product, which supplies

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASA Mourns Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, Pioneer in Microfinance

Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, who founded the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), an NGO in Bangladesh, and co-founded the Netherlands-based ASA International, recently died. He launched ASA in 1978 to promote civil rights and social development in rural Bangladesh. In 1992, ASA transformed into

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $1.8m to Entrepreneur Financial Center (EFC) in Zambia

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has granted its first loan to Entrepreneur Financial Center (EFC), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Zambia. The three-year loan is in local currency equivalent to approximately USD 1.8 million. EFC Zambia serves micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and has eight branches. The MFI holds 20,000 savings and term deposit accounts and as of February 2021 has disbursed 51,000 MSME loans totaling ZMW 155 million (USD 7.2 million). It has 3,000 borrowers, nearly half of whom are women or organizations owned by women. In addition to business loans, the MFI offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Lending $1m to EFC Uganda to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises; to Advise on Social Performance

Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently disbursed the initial USD 1 million of a “multi-million dollar” loan package for Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Uganda. EFC Uganda’s target market is micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Incofin made the investment through its agriculture-focused fund, agRIF. I&M Burbidge Capital, a Nairobi based company was the lead advisor to EFC Uganda for this transaction.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Energy Catalyst Community Seeks to Boost Commercialization of Solar, Wind, Battery, Payment, Other Innovations in Africa, Asia

Energy Catalyst, “a UK government-funded programme designed to accelerate access to sustainable energy” in Africa and Asia, recently launched its Energy Catalyst Community, offering a set of documents on commercializing energy innovations. The next phase of the project will allow companies funded by Energy Catalyst to collab

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gaia Impact Fund Invests Equity in Innovex, Solar Technology Distributor in East Africa, DRC

Gaia Impact Fund, which is based in France and focuses on renewable energy, recently agreed to place a seed equity investment in Innovex, a Uganda-based technology firm that is active in solar power in five African countries. The terms of the investment have not been released. 

Innovex was founded in 2015 by Douglas Baguma and David Tusubira. Its business is

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Agri-Trade & Finance Forum; May 26, 2021; Nairobi, Kenya

Adiem Business Solutions is hosting this event for the fourth year, with a focus on “building [a] sustainable agribusiness economy.” It will address topics such as “smart agriculture in Africa,” “farmer management,” technology for agriculture, and the marketing and regulation of produce. Although the detailed agenda for this year’s edition has not been released, previous iterations included

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Debt Relief in the Pandemic: Lessons from India, Peru and Uganda;” by Elisabeth Rhyne, Eric Duflos; Published by CGAP

In response to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulators in approximately 115 countries directed financial service providers (FSPs) to grant debt moratoria and restructuring to their borrowers. The authors of this paper reviewed surveys, interviews and other materials regarding

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico, Morocco Report Increases in Remittances Despite Dire Predictions Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Residents of Mexico and Morocco received more in remittances from family members living abroad during most of 2020 versus 2019. This despite predictions from sources including the World Bank that the COVID-19 pandemic would cause global remittances to decrease 20 percent “due to a fall in the wages and emplo

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Bank Kenya Secures $50m Nasira Loan Guarantee from FMO for COVID-19 Support to Agricultural MSMEs Led by Youth, Women

Equity Bank Kenya, a Kenya-based bank focused on micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME), recently signed an agreement with Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, whereby FMO’s Nasira Risk Sharing Facility will guarantee USD 50 million in lending by Equity Bank Kenya. This lending is meant to help agricultural MSMEs run by female and young entrepreneurs

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: Oikocredit Lending up to $8.6m Along Cocoa Value Chain in Côte d’Ivoire

Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently opened credit lines for entities involved in the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire with ceilings of: EUR 3.5 million (USD 4.3 million) for Entreprise Coopérative Kimbe (Ecookim), a union of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rent-to-Own Car Financier Planet42 of South Africa Secures Final Tranche of $13m Debt, Equity Package

Planet42, a car financier in South Africa, recently secured the closing portion of a funding package arranged by Verdant Capital, an African financial advisory firm, totaling USD 13 million in debt and equity. The names of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oolu Solar of Senegal Raises $8.5m in Equity with Participation from All On, DPI Energy, Gaia Impact, Persistent, RP Global

Oolu Solar, a Senegal-based startup aiming to provide affordable solar energy in West Africa, recently closed its Series B round of funding at USD 8.5 million, with Austria-based RP Global acting as the lead investor. Other participants included

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Singapore, Rwanda Implementing 1st Rollout of E-commerce Platform Proxtera; Promising SMEs International, Domestic Connections to Customers, Vendors, Logistics, Financial Services

Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently signed a deal to implement the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) platform Proxtera in Rwanda. As the successor to Business sans Borders, Proxtera