Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion, recently purchased an unspecified amount of equity in Colombian financial technology (fintech) firm R5, an online insurance and lending platform. Most of R5’s borrowers pledge vehicles as collateral and use the loan proceeds for
Category: Microinsurance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 40 Funders Commit $75m via World Economic Forum COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs
The World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based nonprofit, recently convened the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, through which 40 organizations are aligning their efforts to reduce the economic and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These 40 organizations support 15,000 entrepreneurs who have served a total of 1.5 billion customers in 190 countries by “protecting livelihoods; mitigating millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide; improving access to health, sanitation, education and energy; [and having] driven social inclusion movements for the disabled, homeless or those with refugee status.”
The alliance members have committed a total of USD 75 million in response to the pandemic. In addition, they are working together to assess needs; increase recovery funding; coordinate legal, technological and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Offers Covidcap.com Database of $1t in Cash Relief for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
The US-based Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) recently created a database of funding sources for small businesses needing assistance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These listings include 550 funding sources in 62 countries offering a total of approximately USD 1 trillion. This funding takes the form of loans and grants and is available to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fintech and Insurtech Innovator Summit (FINNOSUMMIT) for Innovation on Financial Services in Latin America; September 28-30, 2021; Virtual; NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to take place in Mexico City in September 2020, this virtual event offers speakers, panels and workshops related to financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech). The scheduled speakers include Sean Ringstead, the Chief Digital Officer at US-based publicly traded insurer Chubb, and Shuy Nyatta the Managing Partner at
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, India, Panama, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Refinance $38m in Microloans via Sales to IIV Mikrofinanzfonds
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in six countries recently sold non-securitized loan claims for USD 7.8 million-plus EUR 28 million (USD 30.4 million) to IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV). While the MFIs have not been named, they are located in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank to Loan $300m to Indonesia for Financial Sector Reform, Including Promoting Long-term Savings, Disaster Microinsurance
The World Bank recently agreed to loan USD 300 million to the government of Indonesia for “financial sector reforms that will help sustain economic growth and achieve the country’s shared prosperity goals.” Planned strategies include increasing the range of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Taking $13m Equity Stake in Yeelen Financial Fund to Boost Inclusion in West Africa
The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, recently approved an equity investment of EUR 12 million (USD 13 million) in Yeelen Financial Fund, an investment vehicle that aims to strengthen financial institutions in the eight nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which also is known by its French acronym UEMOA.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.65m to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK) for Microfinance in Kosovo
Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microlender in Kosovo, recently borrowed EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.65 million)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas Loans $9.4m to CreditAccess Grameen of India for Microfinance
BNP Paribas, a bank based in France, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a two-year loan of INR 700 million (USD 9.4 million) to CreditAccess Grameen, the Indian member of CreditAccess Asia, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. CreditAccess Grameen, formerly known as Grameen Koota, offers group microenterprise loans of USD 1,150; individual small business loans of up to
SPECIAL REPORT: Highlights of European Microfinance Week 2019
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): European Microfinance Week 2019 gathered 450 leading experts from 62 countries to showcase the most exciting innovations advancing sustainable and responsible financial
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 16th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; March 12-13, 2020; Lisbon, Portugal
This forum will cover a variety of microfinance topics in the context of shifting economic and regulatory environments. Sessions will focus on managing foreign exchange risk, corporate governance, client protection, agro-insurance and agro-finance. In advance of the event,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: El Salvador to Borrow $20m from IDB to Benefit 2k Micro-, Small Businesses; Including 20% Owned by Women
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral institution whose membership comprises 26 countries, recently approved a loan of USD 20 million to El Salvador to provide 2,000 micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) with “access to credit under better term[s].” Banco de Fomento Agropecuario de El Salvador (BFA),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN’s PFIP, Catalpa Launching 6-month Pilot of Olgeta, Financial Education App for Young Women in Rural Solomon Islands
Catalpa, a development organization based in Timor-Leste, is partnering with the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program (PFIP), a UN effort based in Fiji, to pilot-test an app called Olgeta, which will provide education via mobile phones to young women in rural parts of the Solomon Islands. The service will cover topics “such as leadership, financial literacy and digital marketing,” including “how to budget, bank, and save…”. The six-month pilot will target the 120 people served by two
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fusion Microfinance of India Borrows $4.9m from BNP Paribas
France-based BNP Paribas informed MicroCapital that today it disbursed a loan of INR 350 million (USD 4.9 million) to Fusion Microfinance, which offers microloans in amounts from INR 3,000 (USD 42) to INR 60,000 (USD 840) with terms of five months to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa 2018,” published by Microinsurance Network
By Alice Merry, published by the Microinsurance Network, November 2019, 27 pages, available at https://microinsurancenetwork.org/sites/default/files/Landscape%20of%20Microinsurance%20in%20Africa%202018_LR.pdf
This iteration of the Landscape series provides insights into the microinsurance industry based on data from 2017 supplied by 100 insurers in 16 countries in Africa, focusing on changes since a similar study published in 2015. Overall, as of December 2017,
SPECIAL REPORT: Are MFIs Making Child Labor Worse? Willing to Test a Risk-assessment Prototype? How Can Schools Boost Child Protection? Why Buy Disposable Sanitary Pads When You Can Sew Reusable Ones?
During Thursday’s “Risky Business” session at European Microfinance Week, Patricia Richter of the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) led the audience through a poll of audience members’ personal work histories and how they think microfinance institutions (MFIs) can help reduce child labor. The audience voted that MFIs should do more to “raise awareness among clients and households” about the issue. The ILO’s Minimum Age Convention of 1973, which has been ratified by 172 countries, specifies the youngest acceptable ages for various types of work, ranging from 12 years old for fewer hours of light work in developing countries to 18 years old for hazardous work in any country.
The motivations for adults to engage children in age-inappropriate work include: (1) the family’s need for more income; (2) social norms that encourage child labor or the passing down of skills from parents to young children; (3) insufficient educational opportunities; (4) market demand for
SPECIAL REPORT: “Trend Toward Rigor,” Microfinance Barometer, Financial Inclusion Compass Offer Views of the Past, Future at European Microfinance Week
At this week’s session titled “Looking Back / Looking Ahead” at European Microfinance Week, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) officially launched the second Financial Inclusion Compass, a survey indicating the top trends in financial inclusion are: (1) digital transformation (institutional-side); (2) client protection; (3) digital innovation (client-side); (4) regulatory environments; and (5) social performance / impact measurement. Meanwhile, the document identifies the following as top “areas of focus:” (1) agri-finance; (2) climate change; (3) finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); (4) finance for displaced populations; and (5) finance for youth.
Sam Mendelson of e-MFP notes that financial services providers (FSPs) responding to the Compass are more interested in
SPECIAL REPORT: APA Insurance of Kenya Wins $110k European Microfinance Award for Index-based Livestock, Crop Products
From the European Microfinance Platform:
APA Insurance Ltd receives the 10th European Microfinance Award in recognition of its response to “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change”
Photo © European Microfinance Award Studio
At a ceremony held at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, Paulette Lenert, Luxembourg Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, presented the 10th European Microfinance Award to APA Insurance Ltd of Kenya.
Since 2006, Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg have been awarding a EUR 100,000 (USD 110,000) prize to the winner and, starting two years ago, EUR 10,000 (USD 11,000) to the two finalists.
This year’s winner, APA Insurance Ltd, is a Kenyan insurance company that provides