SPECIAL REPORT: Savings Groups Notch Higher Returns When Not Supported by NGOs; Bank Linkages Correlate with Lower Repayment, More Dropouts

At European Microfinance PlatformThursday’s session on savings groups at European Microfinance Week, Roy Mersland of the Norway-based Center for Research on Social Enterprises and Microfinance (CERSEM) discussed the preliminary analysis his team made on the SAVIX database when it held information from 200,000 savings groups, drawing on data from 1,200 support projects.

The database has since grown to cover 424,000 savings groups – also known as village savings and loan (VSL) associations – with 9 million members in 75 countries, according to Hugh Allen of VSL Associates, the Germany-based coordinator of SAVIX. He estimates that a total 786,000 savings groups owned by 17 million members have been initiated by NGOs in 76 countries. An unknown number of additional

SPECIAL REPORT: Advans Cote d’Ivoire Wins $113k European Microfinance Award for Inclusive Finance Through Technology

Last European Microfinance Platformnight, Advans Cote d’Ivoire (CI), a microfinance institution in Cote d’Ivoire, won the European Microfinance Award 2018, which was themed “Financial Inclusion through Technology” and includes a cash prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 113,000). Advans CI, a member of the Advans Group, offers payment, saving and credit services that can be linked to MTN mobile money accounts. The cocoa farmers who are customers of Advans CI were having trouble with traceability and safety issues related to being paid by cooperatives in cash. They were also having trouble saving money from harvest time until the school year begins, resulting in low school enrollment. Advans CI responded by creating a

SPECIAL REPORT: Randomized Controlled Trial Shows Significant Impact from Financial Education in Uganda

On European Microfinance Platformthe first day of conference sessions at European Microfinance Week (EMW), Esther Nanjovu of German development agency GIZ demonstrated a portion of a two-hour financial training program that has been shown to benefit attendees in several ways. The program is participatory, with stations addressing personal financial management, savings, investment, debt management and the usage of financial services providers. The personal financial management component is taught using a display board on which learners can place and move cards representing various expenses and income sources. As a team, approximately 25 learners work together to create a prioritized list of expenses to help them appreciate the significance of their choices. In some cases, they even argue over whether certain cards – such as sports betting – are expenses or

SPECIAL REPORT: Verdant Capital: Hybrid Capital Solutions to Support the Next Phase of Inclusive Growth

This sponsored content was written by Edmund Higenbottam, Managing Director of Verdant Capital, and Raj Domun, Director and Fund Manager of the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. Verdant Capital is a leading specialist financial advisory firm that operates on a pan-African basis.

In recent years, the Inclusive Financial Institution sector has grown significantly in Africa and elsewhere, driven in part by growth in the global specialist investor base supporting the sector, and in part due to the growth of local debt markets. In Africa, this growth has stretched the equity capital bases of many institutions – and of the sector as a whole – due to the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa’s MFS Africa Lands $14m in Equity from Equator Capital’s ShoreCap III Fund, FSD Africa, Goodwell Investments, Lun Partners to Boost Mobile Financial Services in Rural Areas

South Africa-based financial technology (fintech) company MFS Africa recently raised equity totaling USD 14 million to expand its mobile financial services (MFS) into additional rural areas in Africa. The investors, which are participating in undisclosed portions, are US-based impact fund manager Equator

SPECIAL REPORT: How Paidek Has Leveraged the SAM Conference to Diversify Its Funding Sources and Microfinance Product Line-up

Remy Remy Mitima, PaidekMitima, who serves as Board Chair of the Congolese micro­finance institution Paidek, has attended all three SAMs. He explains, “In Arusha, I met partners who ended up loaning us a total of USD 500,000 in two phases. This helped us strengthen our credit portfolio and serve more people. Today, we have an additional loan from the same partners.”

At the second SAM in Dakar, Remy and his team strengthened their relationship with other organizations that may help with the evolution of the MFI’s technology. Musoni is one group with which they

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Informal Finance in Sierra Leone: Why and How it Fits into the Financial System,” by Ilara Mahdi

This is a summary of a paper written by IIara Mahdi, 2018, 32 pages, available at http://www.findevgateway.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/informal_finance_in_sierra_leone-working_paper_i.m_final_160718_1.pdf

This paper outlines possible reasons for the continued prominence of the informal financial sector in Sierra

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Disburses 4-year Loan of $873k to CAURIE-MF for Microfinance in Senegal

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently issued a four-year loan approximately equivalent to USD 873,000 in favor of Coopérative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Économiques par la Micro Finance (CAURIE-MF) to support its microlending in Senegal. CAURIE-MF is a savings and credit cooperative supporting the “economic and social promotion

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Zambia: “State of the Digital Financial Services Market 2017,” by Nandini Harihareswara et al, Published by UNCDF-MM4P

This is a summary of a paper written by Nandini Harihareswara, Zerubabel Junior Kwebiiha, Uloma Ogba, Anne Duijnhouwer and

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 8-9, 2018; Lagos, Nigeria

The Africa Fintech Summit Lagos will include sessions such as: (1) Regulatory Frameworks to Facilitate Innovation; (2) Banks and Fintechs – Models for Partnership; (3) The Outlook for Open Banking in Nigeria; and (4) Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, there is a half-day workshop on blockchain and the

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Digital Financial Services for Agriculture,” by Wisdom Alorwuse et al, Published by IFC

This is a summary of a paper written by Wisdom Alorwuse, Natalie Baatjies, Margarete O Biallas, Dean Caire, Soren Heitmann, Andrew Kasujja, Ruth Dueck-Mbeba, Joseck Mudiri, Riadh Naouar, Charlotte Ndaw, Rita Oulai, Minakshi Ramji, Beniamino Savonitto and Mark Wensley;

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Disburses 3-year Loan of $1.1m to Sinapi Aba for Microfinance in Ghana

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently issued a three-year loan in local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.15 million in favor of Sinapi Aba Trust to support microlending in Ghana. The institution provides financial services through Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans (SASL) with the aim of creating development and income-generation opportunities for people with low incomes. Of SASL’s lending, 80 percent

MICROFINANCE EVENT: SME & Financing Africa Forum; November 6-7, 2018; Johannesburg, South Africa

Organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, a multilateral institution based in Côte d’Ivoire, this event is focused on the transformation and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa via facilitating access to finance, improving access to larger contracts, providing corporate connections and building leadership skills. Presentation titles include the following: (1) Innovative Instruments to Improve SMEs’ Access to Finance in Africa; (2) The Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on SME Growth in Africa; and (3) Using Social Media to Increase Your Sales and Build Your Brand.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF, ITC Unveil $18m “Jobs, Skills and Finance for Women and Youth in The Gambia Programme”

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Switzerland-based International Trade Center (ITC) recently launched the “Jobs, Skills and Finance (JSF) for Women and Youth in The Gambia Programme” with the aim of creating approximately 3,000

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya’s BIMAS Borrowing $580k from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Rural Microfinance

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is lending the local-currency equivalent of EUR 500,000 (USD 580,000) to Business Initiatives and Management Assistance Services (BIMAS), a microfinance institution in Kenya. BIMAS, which is based in the city of Embu, was founded in 1997. The institution offers microinsurance as well as group and individual loans specific to youth, farming, dairy production, education, solar power and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva, UNCDF, UNDP Using Blockchain to Build Digital ID System in Sierra Leone to Boost Financial Inclusion

President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone recently signed a memorandum of understanding under which US-based nonprofit Kiva, the UN Capital Development