US-based asset manager MicroVest recently reported disbursing a loan of USD 4.5 million to Financiera FAMA, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was founded as Fundación para el Apoyo a la Microempresa. Established in 1991 and headquartered in the city of Managua, FAMA provides
Category: Microinsurance
SPECIAL REPORT: Banco FIE of Bolivia Takes $100k “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” European Microfinance Award 2022
From the European Microfinance Platform: After a selection process that reviewed applications from 88 organisations, Banco FIE SA has been chosen by the Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs to receive the €100,000 European Microfinance Award 2022.
The Bolivian bank captured the High Jury’s attention by incorporating a gender-related dimension into its products and services, in an effort to make them more accessible to women. To do this, it conducted a large number of customer surveys. Banco FIE provides a wide range of products, including micro-insurance (family life insurance and cancer policies), digital financial literacy and technical support to enhance agricultural productivity among women. Within its own organisation, Banco FIE has introduced an innovative business management model called “Marca Magenta” to promote inclusive leadership, the empowerment of women, the prevention of violence and
SPECIAL REPORT: Solar-powered Onions in Senegal, Meso-insurance Against Storms in Nicaragua, Performance-based Interest Rate Reductions for Climate-smart Lending in India
In a session on strengthening agricultural value chains today at European Microfinance Week, Daphne van Dam of Cordaid described her organization’s work to support onion farmers in Senegal. The farmers were struggling with the cost of fuel for irrigation. Cordaid was able to partner with local microfinance and solar providers to supply farmers with solar-powered irrigation systems that they could pay for on a schedule attuned to the harvest time of their crop.
Magdalena Arbelaez of Incofin described her firm’s work enabling insurance for farmers in Nicaragua. Rather than microinsurance, which would have been unworkable for many of the smallholder farmers in the region, the project extended
SPECIAL REPORT: Enabling Microinsurance via Technology: RFID Tags Slash Fraud, Costs of Livestock Cover in Rwanda
At a well-attended workshop today at European Microfinance Week, Ovia Tuhairwe, the CEO of Radiant Yacu Microinsurance, described her firm’s journey to develop a viable product to insure livestock in Rwanda. On its own, a subsidy of 40 percent from the Rwandan government did not make it easy to insure cattle, pigs and chickens in the country. Before Radiant Yacu moved to its current model in 2019, fraud was rampant, and costs were high at 10 percent of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sa-Dhan Conference on Financial Inclusion; November 14-15, 2022; New Delhi, India
This event, in its 17th edition, addresses the challenges of the financial inclusion sector, including how to enable universal access to financial services. The event will cover topics such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Themed “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” Financial Inclusion Week 2022 Offers 180 Virtual Sessions, October 17-20
For the eighth year, the Center for Financial Inclusion, a program of the US-based NGO Accion, is organizing Financial Inclusion Week, an opportunity for all stakeholders to attend virtual sessions – both live and on-demand – at no charge. The theme for 2022 is “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” with sessions covering 14 topics such as Climate Change, Client Protection,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sonata Borrows $6m from MicroVest for Group Microlending to Women in Rural India
Sonata Finance, a provider of loans and insurance to women in India, recently borrowed USD 6 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global. Founded in 2006, Sonata serves 700,000 borrowers on a cash-free basis via 460 branches. While most of the microfinance institution’s loans are to groups of women conducting rural enterprise, the institution also offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Refugee Investment Fund Lending $1.5m to FINCA Guatemala to Support Returning Migrants
FINCA Guatemala, whose name derives from that of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently agreed to borrow USD 1.5 million over two years from the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund, which is managed by Kiva Capital, a unit of the US-based NGO Kiva. The goal is to expand lending to “Guatemalan migrants returning
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), Sowit Deliver Agritech to Farmers in Morocco
Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) recently signed an agreement with Sowit, a provider of agricultural technology (agritech) services, to support farmers in Morocco in increasing their profitability with better data and access to finance. In particular, Sowit will provide farmers in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Via InsuResilience Investment Fund II, KfW Seeks to Grow Climate Microinsurance in Africa, Asia, Latin America
German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) recently funded the InsuResilience Investment Fund Private Equity II (IIF PE II) to invest in firms helping people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to manage climate risks. In particular, the fund targets
MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII); October 24-28, 2022; Kingston, Jamaica
The upcoming iteration of this event – the first in-person since 2019 – will include 26 sessions on the increasing role of insurance in developing markets. The first day features pre-conference workshops such as:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy,” Published by UNCDF
The authors of this paper note that the accessibility of climate- and disaster-risk financing and insurance instruments is growing globally and especially in the Pacific Island region. This region is particularly susceptible to climate risk because of factors such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SAFCO Transforming into For-profit Entity with Microfinance License from Securities and Exchange Commision of Pakistan
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recently issued a license to Sustainable Actions to Access Financial Capital Opportunities (SAFCO) Microfinance Company, a unit of the SAFCO Support Foundation, allowing it to offer microfinance services. The announcement comes as SECP is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Oko Secures $500k in Equity from Katapult, Individual Investors to Expand Agricultural Insurance to Cote d’Ivoire
Oko Finance, an agricultural insurance company active in Mali and Uganda, recently raised USD 500,000 in equity to expand its operations to Cote d’Ivoire. Founded in 2017 and based in Mali, Oko insures 15,000 farmers growing cotton, grains and coffee in partnership with local insurers, using
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Loans $5m to Banco Delta to Boost Post-COVID Economy in Panama via Financial Access for MSMEs
MicroVest, an asset-management subsidiary of US-based Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently invested USD 5 million to Panama-based Banco Delta. The loan is meant to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA) Launches Campaign to Boost Personal, Business Financial Literacy Among Spanish-speaking Women
US-based Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA) recently released a set of free resources to deliver financial education to women in Latin America, including 22 audio lessons spanning 1 to 4 minutes in length. The lessons mainly cover topics relating to digital financial services, including using
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Executes IIF Equity Buy into Forte Insurance to Boost Agricultural Microinsurance in Cambodia
Switzerland’s BlueOrchard Finance recently disbursed an equity placement of undisclosed size from the InsuResilience Investment Fund (IIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled public-private partnership, for IIF to buy a minority stake in Cambodia’s Forte Insurance Group. BlueOrchard’s investment director for the continent, Thibaud Ponchon, expressed confidence that the placement will “drive the penetration of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: InsuResilience Investment Fund Acquires 40% Equity Stake in Ghana-based Insurance Company Vanguard
Switzerland’s BlueOrchard Impact Investment Advisors recently disbursed an undisclosed sum from the InsuResilience Invest Fund (IIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled public-private partnership, for IIF to buy 40 percent of the shares of Vanguard Assurance, an insurer in Ghana that provides microinsurance as well as traditional coverage. The deal, under which IIF controls multiple seats on Vanguard’s Board of Directors, is intended to grow