D.light, a US-based provider of solar energy products, recently partnered with Musoni Kenya, a provider of mobile financial services, to finance solar electric systems for low-income Kenyans who live in communities with no electricity service.
Category: Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: VisionFund Appoints Michael Mithika as CEO
As of October 2017, Michael Mithika will become the new President and CEO of VisionFund International (VFI), a UK-based affiliate of US-based NGO World Vision.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Lagos State Creates IBILE Microfinance Bank to Boost Lending to MSMEs
The government of the Nigerian state of Lagos recently established Ikeja Badagry Ikorodu Lagos Island Epe (IBILE) Microfinance Bank with the aim of boosting economic growth and reducing poverty.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zimbabwe’s IPEC Creates Enabling Framework for Microinsurance
The Insurance and Pension Committee (IPEC) of Zimbabwe recently announced it has issued a regulatory framework for microinsurance products to be distributed through “microfinance institutions, mobile network operators, church organisations and burial societies.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Microfinance Bank to Borrow $1.6m from Citibank Nigeria to Support 5k MSEs
Accion Microfinance Bank (Accion Nigeria), the Nigerian partner of US-based nonprofit Accion, recently announced it will borrow NGN 500 million (USD 1.58 million) from Citibank Nigeria, an arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, for on-lending to “support the development of approximately 5,000 micro and small enterprises in the country.”
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Free-riding vs Group Insurance; “Responsible” Microfinance Pricing; State of Microinsurance
“The Social Dilemma of Microinsurance: Free-riding in a Framed Field Experiment;” by Wendy Janssens and Berber Kramer; published by Elsevier; March 2016; 15 pages; available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268116300166
This paper analyzes the incentives for individuals to buy health microinsurance while active in borrowing groups. Health issues are consistently among the top reasons people become unable to repay loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rwanda Cooperative Agency to Establish Cooperative Bank by 2018
The Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA), a regulatory institution of the Rwandan government, is establishing a cooperative bank to provide “long-term” loans to farmers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: COMUBA of Benin, COOPEC SIFA of Togo Borrow $1m from Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GGAMF)
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has committed to extending the following loans in phases over three years: the equivalent of USD 615,000 to La Coopérative Des Membres Unis Bethel Actions (COMUBA) in Benin and the equivalent of USD 350,000 to Coopérative d’Epargne et de Crédit des Soutien aux Initiatives de Femmes pour l’Autopromotion (COOPEC SIFA) in Togo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator’s Shore Capital Fund III Raises $15m from AfDB to Invest in Financial Inclusion in Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently agreed to invest USD 15 million in Shore Capital Fund III, which is managed by Equator Capital Partners LLC, a US-based “impact” fund manager, with the goal of “expand[ing] access to affordable and responsible financial products and services for the underserved market.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Merchant Bank Acquiring Opportunity International Bank of Malawi to Boost Microfinance Services
First Merchant Bank, a Malawi-based financial institution, recently announced it will pay an undisclosed price to acquire Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM), a microbank affiliated with US-based NGO Opportunity International.
SPECIAL REPORT: ADA’s Laura Foschi on Creating Value for SMEs at SAM in Ethiopia, October 2017
MicroCapital: How has SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) evolved since its launch four years ago?
Laura Foschi: We held the first edition of SAM in 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. Our goal was to align the annual meetings of three networks of African microfinance institutions: the Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN), African Microfinance Transparency (AMT) and the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN). We had conference sessions on the first day, the networks’ general assemblies on the second day and an Investor’s Fair on the third day. During the week, we realized the potential of SAM to become a major African inclusive finance event.
We decided to move the location each time with the aim of engaging both French-speaking and English-speaking regions and organizations. In 2015, we held the conference in Senegal, expanding it to include two days of conference sessions and a broader range of parallel events. We were pleasantly surprised to have our registrations double to over 500 people! Perhaps for the fourth edition we will move to North Africa or Southern Africa.
MC: How did you select Ethiopia for the 2017 SAM?
LF: In order to maintain Ethiopia’s strong economic growth, its large young population will need to achieve what we call “economic inclusion.” In order to address this challenge, the government of Ethiopia has prioritized both microfinance and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Issues $344k Convertible Loan to Umati Capital Kenya, Fintech Funding Agricultural Value Chain Actors
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will finance Umati Capital Kenya, a financial technology (fintech) firm, with a convertible facility in local currency equivalent to USD 344,000.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Egypt Sets Credit Standards for Banks Lending to Microfinance Institutions
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) recently embarked on an effort strengthen the microfinance industry in the country. Banks have been given a uniform set of standards to use in evaluating requests for funding by microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda Rolls Out “Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program”
In partnership with the US-based, nonprofit Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network and The MasterCard Foundation of Canada, the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (AMIR) recently rolled out the Responsible Finance Through Local Leadership and Learning Program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Lending $4m to Babban Gona to Provide Business Services on Credit to Farmers in Nigeria
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden, a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, recently offered a loan of USD 4 million to Babban Gona, a Nigerian for-profit company that provides business services to small-scale farmers such as assistance with crop insurance; soil analysis; marketing; distribution; and access to seeds, fertilizer and storage facilities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Invests $4.5m in Medical Credit Fund to Support SME Providers of Healthcare in Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced it will invest USD 4.5 million in the Medical Credit Fund (MCF), a unit of the Dutch nonprofit PharmAccess Group, to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that provide healthcare services in Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) Rolls Out Electronic Data Warehouse to Automate Reporting by Microfinance, Traditional Financial Institutions
The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the central bank of the country, recently implemented an electronic data warehouse (EDW) system to automate the reporting processes of 14 financial services providers, three of which are microfinance institutions.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel’s Annual Conference: Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries; November 7-8, 2017; Beirut, Lebanon
Event Name: Sanabel’s 2017 Conference: Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries; A Journey of Collaboration and Achievements
Event Date: November 7 – November 8, 2017
Event Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Summary of Event: This conference is intended to contribute to a more “inclusive and progressive” microfinance environment in the Arab region. The topics are to include the evolution of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and clients; supporting existing and new partnerships; MFIs’ role in advancing the UN’s sustainable development goals; strategic leadership and risk management; and advancing youth financial inclusion.