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Mobile payments in Kenya reportedly are out-pacing debit and credit cards, as 83.9 percent of customers who signed up for mobile phone services between July and September 2011 also signed up for money transfer services. Continue Reading »
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 84% of New Cellphone Users in Kenya Signing Up for Mobile Money Transfer
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), Triodos Bank Launch Online “Responsible Finance” Magazine
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development bank, has partnered with UK-based Triodos Bank to start an online magazine Upsides (www.upsides.com) focusing on responsible finance and sustainable development in emerging markets. Continue Reading »
Monday, February 6, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Banks Exempt from Nigeria’s Cash-Lite Cashless Banking System and Tax
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has exempted microfinance banks from participating in the Cash-Lite banking system in recognition of the challenges of training and persuading microfinance customers to use electronic and cashless banking services, such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and checks. Continue Reading »
Thursday, February 2, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Crowdfunding Platforms Including Peer-to-Peer Model Lead to Increased Reach, Reduced Transaction Costs in Microfinance
Crowdfunding platforms, intermediary services that act as an interface between “the public” and the “crowdfunded” project, can offer increased audience size, reduced transaction costs and decreased “legislative complexities,” reportedly says Daniela Castrataro, co-founder of UK-based social media consulting agency “twintangibles” [1]. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Development Seed, Key2Flex Offer Geospatial Technology Services to Analyze Availability of Financial Services in Developing Countries
Geospatial mapping is being used to show the geographic distribution of banks, automated teller machines (ATMs) and banking agents in relation to low-income and other population groups, thus giving an indication of the accessibility of financial services to those groups. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 27, 2012
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. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 27, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation’s Bankers Without Borders Alliance Partners With Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions On Financial Forecasting Tools, Management Information Systems
The Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI), a nonprofit trade group, has become the sixth partner in the Bankers Without Borders (BwB) Alliance, a volunteer program started by the US-based Grameen Foundation. Continue Reading »
Thursday, January 26, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Piloting Peer-to-Peer Microfinance Lending Platform Kiva Zip in Kenya, San Francisco
Kiva, a US-based microfinance intermediary, is launching a new platform, Kiva Zip, enabling users to lend directly to microentrepreneurs around the world. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: K-Rep Bank of Kenya Spends $600k on Temenos IT System to Integrate Branch Data
K-Rep Bank, a Kenyan commercial bank focused on providing services to poor people, has spent an estimated KES 50 million (USD 582,000) to upgrade to a software system from Switzerland’s Temenos called “T24 for Microfinance and Community Banking” [1]. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Obopay, Warid Telecom Partner to Launch Warid Pesa Mobile Banking and Payment Service in Uganda
Obopay, a mobile payments company headquartered in the US state of California, has partnered with Warid Telecom, a Pakistan-based postpaid cellular phone service provider, to launch a mobile banking and payment service in Uganda called Warid Pesa. Continue Reading »
Sunday, January 22, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: To Promote Electronic Payments, Central Bank of Nigeria Taxing Cash Transactions
The Central Bank of Nigeria has begun taxing cash withdrawals and deposits that exceed NGN 150,000 (USD 931) per day for individuals and NGN 1,000,000 (USD 6,205) per day for corporations [1]. Continue Reading »
Saturday, January 21, 2012
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. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 20, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Michael and Susan Dell Foundation Takes Equity Stake in India’s BASIX Sub-K Mobile Payments Platform
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, has taken an equity stake in BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Limited, the mobile payments unit of BASIX Group, an Indian entity providing services to poor people including microfinance, health insurance and agricultural and business development services [1]. Continue Reading »
Monday, January 16, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pesinet Brings Microinsurance, Health Monitoring to Children in Mali
MobileActive, a global network of people using mobile technology for social impact, recently reported on Pesinet, a French nonprofit that uses mobile technology to provide regular health checkups and insurance to young children in Mali. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 13, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroRate, LuxFlag Launch Luminis Looking to Increase Transparency of Microfinance Funds
MicroRate, a US-based microfinance rating agency, with the financial support of the Luxembourg government and the nonprofit Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), has launched the “beta” version of Luminis, a web-based platform focused on increasing the transparency of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs). Continue Reading »
Friday, January 13, 2012
MICROFINANCE EVENT: LDJ Capital, NowStreet Media to Host “The SoHo Loft Capital Creation and Crowdfunding Conference (TSLCCAC),” January 23, 2012, New York, United States
Event Name: The SoHo Loft Capital Creation and Crowdfunding Conference (TSLCCAC)
Event Date: January 23, 2012, 1 pm to 8:30 pm
Event Location: Reed Smith NY Conference Center, New York, USA Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Approves $10m Loan to MicroEnergy Credits (MEC) to Promote Clean Energy Microfinance
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the US government, has approved a loan of USD 10 million to MicroEnergy Credits (MEC), a US-based, for-profit firm, to assist microfinance institutions (MFIs) in launching clean-energy lending programs. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Nokia Money” Electronic Wallet Service Launched in India in Effort to Promote Financial Inclusion
Nokia Corporation, a Finnish telecommunications company, has launched Nokia Money, an electronic-wallet service, in an effort to promote financial inclusion of previously “underbanked” people across India [1]. Continue Reading »