The Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA in Spanish), a Mexico-based association of Latin American central banks; the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank Group; and the World Bank recently launched Envía Centro America, a free online tool that allows users to compare the cost and speed of sending remittances from the United States to seven Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, as well as from Costa Rica to Nicaragua.
Category: Latin America & Caribbean
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico, Indonesia, Haiti Use Tiered Savings Account Requirements to Promote Financial Inclusion
Mexico, Indonesia and Haiti are responding to the challenge of balancing financial access with security by creating tiered requirements for savings accounts.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Receives Grant from Credit Suisse to Expand Electronic Financial Services, Train Personnel in Africa and Latin America
Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit organization with a focus on microfinance, has received a three-year grant of unspecified size from Credit Suisse’s Microfinance Capacity Building Initiative, a Credit Suisse program that aims to contribute to the strengthening of microfinance institutions.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: “Mobile Money: Connected Americas” to be held in Mexico City, March 26 – March 29, 2012
Event Name: Mobile Money Americas 2012
Event Date: March 26 – March 29, 2012
Event Location: Mexico City, Mexico
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banorte, Rev Worldwide Announce Launch of Microfinance Program Offering Mobile Payments, MasterCard Services in Mexico
Mexican bank Banorte, with total assets at USD 47.6 billion as of 2010, has partnered with Rev Worldwide, a Texas-based payment solutions company, to launch a mobile-phone-based financial services program called MiFon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO of the Netherlands to Loan $10m to Microfinance Institution Vision Banco of Paraguay for On-Lending to Micro- and Small Enterprises
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO in Dutch), a public-private partnership, has signed an agreement to loan the equivalent of USD 10 million to Vision Banco, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Paraguay [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2010 Latin America & the Caribbean Regional Snapshot
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a US-based nonprofit organization that publishes financial and social performance information from microfinance stakeholders, recently released an analysis of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean based on 2010 data.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurer Mongeral Aegon, Microfinance Institution Finsol Team Up to Sell Microinsurance in Brazil
Brazilian insurance company Mongeral Aegon reportedly has partnered with microfinance institution Finsol to begin selling microinsurance policies in January 2012 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Omtrix Raises $35m for New Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF), Loans to be Distributed via Microfinance Institutions
Omtrix, a Costa Rica-based fund manager and financial consulting firm, has announced the launch of the Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF), a student loan financing fund to promote and finance higher education opportunities for low-income youth in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peruvian Microfinance Institutions Have Received $158m from Spain Since 1998
Since 1998, Peru has received a total of around EUR 121 million (USD 158 million) from the Spanish government’s Microcredit Fund (FCM in Spanish).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Approves $100m Loan to Facilitate Implementation of “Financial Consolidation and Inclusion Project” in Mexico
The World Bank’s (WB’s) Board of Directors recently approved a loan of USD 100 million to support the “Financial Consolidation and Inclusion Project” in Mexico.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico to Offer Insurance, Bank Accounts to 6m Families Via Oportunidades Public Benefit Program
President Felipe Calderon, the President of Mexico, recently announced that the 6 million families that are currently participating in Mexico’s public benefit program Oportunidades will be offered bank accounts with prepaid debit cards and the option to purchase life insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Lends $6m to Microfinance Institutions Vision Banco of Paraguay, Lazika Capital of Georgia, Credit Mongol of Mongolia, Forus Bank of Russia
Belgian company Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) has disbursed loans through microfinance investment funds it manages to four microfinance institutions (MFIs): USD 3 million to Vision Banco of Paraguay, USD 1 million to Lazika Capital of Georgia, USD 1 million to Credit Mongol LLC of Mongolia and USD 1 million to Forus Bank of Russia [1, 2, 3, 4].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Approves $50m Loan to Expand Access to Microcredit in Ecuador
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution, has approved a USD 50 million loan to expand access to microcredit in Ecuador, particularly among low-income women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) to Expand Financial Services in Colombia with $2.5m Program
The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based membership organization representing 41 country-level credit union trade groups, will expand financial services in remote areas of Colombia with a USD 2.5 million program that will employ mobile technology in an effort to bring financial services to 100,000 previously unbanked people in rural and low-income communities throughout the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Lends $6.2m to Mutual Alajuela of Costa Rica, Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras, Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) of Nigeria
Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility) recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made loans amounting to USD 6.2 million to financial institutions Mutual Alajuela of Costa Rica, Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras and Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) of Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Worldwide Grants $540k to Grameen Foundation to Launch Mobile Agricultural Data Service in Colombia
MasterCard Worldwide, a Canadian global payments and technology company, recently disbursed USD 540,000 grant to the US-based nonprofit Grameen Foundation to launch mobile services that will provide agricultural and financial information to farmers in the cities of Urabá and Santa Marta, Colombia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN) Loans $1.2m to Microfinance Operations of Pro Mujer in Nicaragua, Peru
Working Capital for Community Needs Incorporated (WCCN), a US-based nonprofit, has loaned the equivalent of USD 1.2 million in local currency to support the operations of microfinance institution (MFI) Pro Mujer in Nicaragua and Peru.