MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “2023 Microfinance Index Report,” Published by 60 Decibels

This report provides insight into the experience of financial services provider (FSP) clients, including quantitative comparisons of FSPs across regions and snapshots of FSP performance in Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Uganda.

The authors constructed the dataset from

SPECIAL REPORT: Inclusivity in Capital Markets Demands Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability reporting entails assessing, dis­closing and managing an organization’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts. This prac­tice communi­cates to investors, custo­mers, employ­ees and regulators that the organization is com­mit­ted to sustainability. The dis­closure element, in particular, con­veys values, strategies, risks, oppor­tunities, account­ability and trans­par­ency.

The significance of sustain­ability re­port­ing within capital markets is increasing steadily, as more investors

MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII); October 23-27, 2023; Accra, Ghana

The International Conference on Inclusive Insurance 2023 will gather delegates from 50 countries to debate methods for boosting access to insurance for mass markets to support emerging economies’ growth and economic

SPECIAL REPORT: e-MFP Launches the Green Map, a Pioneering Resource to Address an Information Gap in Green Inclusive Finance

e-MFP logoAs the inclusive finance sector increasingly understands the crucial role it can have in supporting the most vulnerable populations – who are dis­pro­portionately affected by the consequences of climate change – the Euro­pean Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) is delighted to announce the launch of the Green Map, a project implemented by the e-MFP Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group (GICSF-AG) and supported by the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The Green Map was officially launched on Thursday, September 28 at an in-person and live-streamed event entitled “Addressing Climate Change via an Open Resource for Green Inclusive Finance Projects & Practices.”

What’s this all for? The Green Map project aims to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Issue Loans to MFIs in Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced that it disbursed loans totaling USD 10 million during August through its Dual Return Funds to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven countries. Although the names of the MFIs and the amounts invested in each have not been disclosed, I-AM does report having invested via the funds in two MFIs for the first time, one each in

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “State of the Art of Green Inclusive Finance 2011-2019: Worldwide Status and Progress Over 10 Years,” by e-MFP Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group

The authors of this paper assess the evolution of the green inclusive finance sector from 2011 to 2019. This encompasses products offered by a range of types of financial ser­vices pro­viders (FSPs), including climate insur­ance

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bababos of Indonesia to Expand Digital Platform for Manufacturing SMEs with $3m in Seed Funding

Bababos, an Indonesian raw material procurement startup, recently raised USD 3 million from Singapore-based East Ventures – the lead investor in the funding round – plus Indonesia-based Patamar Capital and US-based Accion Venture Lab. Bababos helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Child Labor, Rainfall Shocks and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Rural Households,” by Carolina Bernal and Razvan Vlaicu, Published by IDB

Ms Bernal and Dr Vlaicu combine rainfall data and household survey results to examine how rural Colombian families respond to in­come shocks produced by unexpected weather events. In particular, they investigate the “inter-temporal trade-off” that households face

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB, Ingenosya Create Mada Business Linkage Online Portal to Boost SME Success in Madagascar

The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently introduced an online service called Mada Business Linkage to facilitate partnerships among companies in Madagascar, including to match firms with suppliers and subcontractors. The Madagascar-based technology company Ingenosya built the platform, which businesses can use for no

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF23); October 11-12, 2023; Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The goal of this event is to champion the use of social enterprise as a catalyst for positive change worldwide. The topics to be discussed include: (1) The Role of Corporates in Social Enterprise Partnerships; and (2) Migration: Entrepreneurial Solutions for Better Lives and Livelihoods.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgian Investment Company for Developing Companies (BIO) Names Joris Totté as CEO

The government-owned Belgian Investment Company for Developing Companies, also known as BIO, has announced that Joris Totté will be its new CEO. Mr Totté will succeed Luuk Zonneveld, who has held the title for 11 years and has taken on the role of Chair of the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), a Brussels-based NGO

SPECIAL REPORT: Fortune Credit of Kenya, Fundación Génesis Empresarial of Guatemala, Yikri of Burkina Faso Are Finalists for European Microfinance Award 2023 on Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition

e-MFP logoFrom the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On September 19 and September 20, 2023, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award (EMA) 2023 on “Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition” selected the three finalists that will go on to compete for the prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 105,000): Fortune Credit Limited from Kenya, Fundación Génesis Empresarial from Guatemala and Yikri from Burkina Faso.

The choice of topic for the EMA2023 comes at a

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Sura Investments Channeling $25m in Loans to SMEs, Mid-market Firms in Colombia

Colombia’s Sura Investments recently raised COP 100 billion (USD 25 million) for its Sura Private Debt Fund from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The fund was launched in 2020 with an initial volume of COP 38 billion (USD 9.5 million). The goal is to provide local-currency funding on longer terms than are otherwise available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Transfer Firms Suspend Fees for Payments to Libya, Morocco in Response to Disasters

In order to support recovery from the earthquake that damaged many parts of Morocco on September 8 and the flooding that began in Libya on September 11, several money-transfer firms are offering free international transfers to people affected by the disasters.

UAE-based e& Money, the

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Development Conference on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development; October 31 – November 1, 2023; Quito, Ecuador

Sessions at this event will cover topics such as aligning government policies with environmental science; supporting female entrepreneurs; how biodiversity impacts economies; and understanding the connections among climate change, poverty, and gender inequality.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sa-Dhan National Conference on Inclusive Growth; November 8-9, 2023; New Delhi, India

Sa-Dhan’s 18th annual conference will focus on alleviating poverty through financial inclusion and associated services, including: (1) Microinsurance; (2) Micropensions; (3) Health; (4) Water and Sanitation; (5) Clean Energy and Climate Change; (6) Digitization;

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vanuatu Launches Vanklia System to Automate Large, Small Payments

The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu recently launched a digital payment platform called Vanklia that allows automated clearing house (ACH) transfers as well as real-time gross settlements. The ACH system is designed for lower-value batch payments such as salaries and retail payments, while the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Buys 28% Equity Stake in Unguka Bank, Provider of Microfinance in Rwanda, from Incofin

Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings, a Sri Lankan unit of the Japanese conglomerate Orix, recently paid an undisclosed sum to Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to acquire 28 percent of the shares of Rwanda’s Unguka Bank. Unguka provides deposit, lending and other services to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The bank has 15 service locations in the capital and three provinces. It serves 1,700 clients with total assets of USD 29 million. Unguka received its license from the National Bank of Rwanda in 2005.

Geert Peetermans, Co-CEO of Incofin commented: “From the time we