MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Sectoral Migration Among Microenterprises in Madagascar, Tanzania Postal Bank’s Popote Digital Financial Services, Insurance Regulation in the Philippines

“Financial Constraint, Entrepreneurship and Sectoral Migrations: Evidence from Madagascar,” by Pierrick Baraton and Florian Léon, published by Making Finance Work for Africa, July 2016, 50 pages, available at https://www.mfw4a.org/nc/knowledge-center/resources/documents/documents-details/file/financial-constraint-entrepreneurship-and-sectoral-migrations-evidence-from-madagascar.html

The authors of this paper analysed data from 3,017 micro- and small enterprises that were clients of a microfinance institution (MFI) in Madagascar between 2008 and 2014.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Consultative Forum on Microinsurance Regulation; March 14, 2017; Singapore

Event Name: Ninth Consultative Forum on Microinsurance Regulation

Event Date: March 14, 2017

Event Location: Theatrette, MAS Building, 10 Shenton Way, Singapore

Summary of Event: The theme of this year’s event is “Exploring challenges in scaling up insurance as a disaster resilience strategy for smallholder

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Impact of M-Pesa Mobile Money; Microinsurance in Sri Lanka; Women’s Financial Diaries in India, Kenya, Mexico

“The Long-run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money”; by Tavneet Suri and William Jack; published in Science; December 8, 2016, 4 pages; available at http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6317/1288.full/

This article reviews a study that assessed the impact of the M-Pesa mobile payment service in Kenya.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AYo Offers Free Mobile Health, Life Insurance to MTN Phone Subscribers in Uganda: “Recharge with Care” & “Send with Care”

AYo, which is a joint venture between two South African firms, insurer MMI Holdings and the MTN (Mobile Telecommunications Network) Group, recently launched its first two products, both in Uganda: (1) Recharge with Care, which provides life and/or hospitalization insurance when an MTN phone subscriber buys airtime; and (2) Send with Care, which

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Solar Financier PEG Africa Offers Customers in Ghana Free Hospitalization Insurance via Bima

PEG Africa, which offers “rent-to-own” financing for solar products in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, recently arranged to offer select customers no-cost insurance cover via Bima, a microinsurance service of Sweden’s Milvik. The rollout across Ghana follows a pilot project that served 2,000 families. PEG will enroll customers that meet certain criteria relating to loyalty and timeliness of repayment. The insurnace will pay out for

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Insurance Conference; February 23 – 24, 2017; Douala, Cameroon; Organized by IAIS, A2ii and CIMA

Event Name: Mobile Insurance Conference, presented by the Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA)

Event Date: February 23 – 24, 2017

Event Location: Douala, Cameroon

Summary of Event: This event will address trends in mobile insurance and related technologies, as well as risks and regulations associated with the sector. It is targeted

SPECIAL REPORT: The Place of MFIs in the Financial Inclusion Ecosystem of the Mekong Region

TheBanking With the Poor Network roles of MFIs in financial systems vary significantly from country to country, even within the Mekong region. Somphone Sisenglath, Managing Director of Ekphatthana Microfinance Institution, described the Lao industry as “very young,” with the median MFI just three years old. Most MFIs operate in the capital, Vientiane, while 80 percent of the population is rural. Since it often takes an hour to travel between villages, it is very expensive

SPECIAL REPORT: Overcoming Fears at European Microfinance Week: Farmers Eschew Microinsurance to Prevent Drought, MFIs Wary of Group Technology Purchases

At yesterday’s meeting of the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) Digital Innovations for Financial Empowerment Action Group, a wide range of presenters described their challenges and successes in implementing financial technologies.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microinsurance Network: How to Optimise Distribution in the Low-Cost Insurance Environment, September 27-28, 2016, Johannesburg, South Africa

Event Name: Regional Workshop and Field Trip in Johannesburg: How to optimise distribution in the low-cost insurance environment?

Event Date: September 27 – September 28, 2016

Event Location: The Country Club, Napier Road, Auckland Park, Johannesburg

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippines Implementing Microfinance NGOs Act

Philippine officials recently finalized the implementing rules and regulations of the Microfinance NGOs Act, a measure signed into law on November 3, 2015, by then-President Beigno Aquino III that: (1) calls for the establishment of a microenterprise development strategy; (2) creates a microfinance NGO regulatory council that will accredit NGOs that offer financial services to microentrepreneurs and small-business owners.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), MicroSave Launch Financial Education Pilot Program for Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

The Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), a program of the local government’s Rural Development Department, and MicroSave, a financial inclusion consulting firm headquartered in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, recently launched a financial education pilot program in the Bero, Khuntipani and Manoharpur blocks of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Household Responses to Village Bank Access in Laos; Mobile Banking in Kenya; The Role of Banks in Driving Financial Inclusion

“Household Responses to Access to Finance Through GIZ-AFP Village Banks;” published by the Laos-Australia Development Learning Facility; February 2016; 50 pages; available at: http://ladlf.org/images/publications/030516_LADLF_GIZ_HH_Response_to_A2F_Final.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: VisionFund International Buying Majority Equity Stake in Opportunity’s Microfinance Institution in Democratic Republic of Congo

Pending regulatory approval, VisionFund International, a US-based affiliate of the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision International, recently agreed to purchase a majority stake in Opportunity International’s (OI’s) microfinance institution (MFI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 4th Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC); May 4-6, 2016; London, United Kingdom

Event Name: 4th Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC)

Event Dates: May 4-6, 2016

Event Location: The Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel; London, United Kingdom