The German development finance institution Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) recently lent USD 750,000 to Husk Power Systems, an India-based supplier of small-scale electricity generation and distribution networks, to construct
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: China Mobile’s Zong Unveils PayMax Payment Service in Pakistan
China Mobile, a China-based telecommunications company, recently launched a digital payments product called PayMax via its subsidiary China Mobile Pakistan (CMPAK), which trades under the brand name Zong. Zong is targeting
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SentBe Launches Remittances from US to 50 Countries
The South Korean money-transfer service SentBe recently announced the official launch of its service allowing individuals to send remittances from the US to Australia, Canada, Nigeria, member nations of the EU and 24 additional countries in Eurasia. The firm also serves individuals sending payments from
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Livelihoods India Summit; January 19-20, 2023; New Delhi, India
The 13th edition of this event will address how to increase the resilience of low-income people’s livelihoods. The sessions are to cover topics such as: (1) inclusive value chains; (2) the impact of climate change on livelihoods; (3) methods for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investors Buy $173m in Equity in Fusion Microfinance of India; IPO Allows Exits by Early Shareholders, Promoters
In the run-up to the recent IPO by India’s Fusion Microfinance, 17 investors paid approximately INR 3.3 billion (USD 40 million) for equity stakes in the microlender. The actual IPO was oversubscribed by a factor of two, as Fusion raised INR 6 billion (USD 72 million) in fresh cash, and early investors and promotors sold shares for a total of INR 5 billion (USD 61 million). Among those selling their entire holdings in the company was
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Support Mastercard Community Pass Program to Expand Access to Digital Services in Africa, India
The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is backed by the US government, recently agreed to collaborate with the US-based financial technology firm Mastercard to strengthen Mastercard’s Community Pass program. Community Pass supports digital connectivity, smartphone penetration and identification systems in rural parts of India, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. DFC has agreed to invest up to USD 50 million in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agritech SuperZop Nets $2.7m in Equity from Incofin India Progress Fund to Connect More Farmers, Retailers
Incofin Investment Management of Belgium recently invested USD 2.7 million to purchase a stake of undisclosed size in SuperZop, a technology firm that helps farmers and mills sell their whole grain, flour and other staples to restaurants and shops in India. SuperZop also packages food under its Khetika brand and provides
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mintoak of India Rolls Out App for HDFC Bank, Allowing Customers to Accept Electronic Payments
Mintoak, an India-based provider of payment management services for small companies, recently partnered with India’s HDFC Bank to allow the bank’s customers to accept card- and app-based payments via Mintoak’s SmartHub Vyapar app. The service targets
SPECIAL REPORT: Saluting MFI Staff, Promoting Flexible Products, “Keeping the Client at the Heart” as European Microfinance Week Closes
A panel of microfinance luminaries shared their moments of pride and disappointment at the closing plenary of this year’s European Microfinance Week. Yannick Milev of the Cambodian microfinance institution Chamroeun expressed his admiration for the staff members of Chamroeun, who continued to work through the COVID-19 pandemic at significant risk to their and their families’ health because “stopping operations completely would have had a terrible effect on us and on our clients.” Mr Milev added that Chamroeun issued many loans during the early days of the pandemic to help clients diversify in response to the economic effects of COVID-19.
Marc Labie of Belgium’s University of Mons described the pandemic as “a chance for the industry to
SPECIAL REPORT: Chamroeun Microfinance Scaling Up to Fund SMEs Supplying Piped Water in Cambodia
Yannick Milev of Cambodia’s Chamroeun Microfinance presented today at European Microfinance Week on the lender’s expansion into providing loans as large as USD 250,000 to private companies that supply piped water to households in Cambodia. In rural parts of the country, the government issues monopolies to private water providers to serve given areas. Approximately 400 companies are licensed to receive these monopolies.
In designing the loan product, Chamroeun employed a technical assistance grant of
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
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Quona Capital Closes Fund III with $332m for Fintech in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Quona Capital, an investor in financial inclusion that has offices in 10 countries, recently announced the close of its Fund III, with this latest fundraising round engaging most of Fund III’s ongoing investors and 20 new ones. As a result, the fund has a total of USD 332 million in commitments, and the firm has USD
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 19th Inclusive Finance India Summit; January 17-18, 2023; New Delhi, India
This event is intended to advance dialogue on the challenges associated with financial inclusion. Although the agenda has not been released to date, last year’s iteration of the summit featured sessions including
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gojo Raises $48m in Equity for Microfinance, Eyeing Digitalization in Asia, Expansion to Africa
Gojo and Company, an investor in financial inclusion in Asia, recently raised USD 48 million in a Series E equity round led by three of its ongoing investors, which were joined by 18 new investment firms and several individual investors. The plan for the fresh cash includes “strengthening the
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: Zubaida Bai Is New CEO of Grameen Foundation
Zubaida Bai has been selected to lead the Grameen Foundation, a US-based NGO that works to reduce poverty in Africa and Asia via “community agents,” who support people – especially women – in learning how to use digital financial services and farm in a “climate-smart” manner. Ms Bai is the founder of Ayzh, a provider of maternal and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sa-Dhan Members, NextGen Telesolutions to Serve Microfinance Customers in India via Feature Phones
Sa-Dhan, a network of 150 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, recently partnered with India’s NextGen Telesolutions to deliver digital financial services to a group that is often excluded from financial services: people who have a mobile phone, but not a smartphone.
Jiji Mammen, the CEO of Sa-Dhan reportedly said, “Digitisation in collections
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Coop TLM Borrows $1.3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance in Indonesia
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has reported disbursing a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 1.3 million to Coop TLM, a nonprofit microfinance institution in Indonesia. Established in 2010 by the Tanaoba Lais Manekat (TLM) Foundation and headquartered in the city of Kota Kupang, Coop TLM seeks