Many financial institutions are transitioning to platform-based business models, which leverage “big data and automation to offer third-party services, such as digital payments, credit insurance and wealth management….” Dr Croxson and her colleagues argue that although these platforms can lower costs and support financial inclusion,
Category: Technology
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific; March 29 – April 1, 2022; Sydney, Australia
Themed “Collective Wisdom, Courage, and Urgent Action,” the goal of this event is to encourage greater use of “capital as a force for good.” Its speakers represent investors seeking to promote
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GCS International, Mastercard Target Unbanked in Jamaica with Mobile Wallets, Payment Cards
GCS International, a financial technology (fintech) firm based in the Dominican Republic, and Mastercard, a US-based payment technology firm, recently announced the implementation in Jamaica of their partnership “to develop and deliver digital payments solutions to underserved consumers across the Caribbean.” Using their work in the Dominican Republic as a model, the partners will
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Africa; May 17-18, 2022; Maputo, Mozambique
Themed “Beyond Access: Generating Value Through Digital Inclusion,” this event will cover methods for promoting financial inclusion in Africa, including
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance & NBFCs Exhibition (MINE) cum Conference; March 11, 2022; Chennai, India
This conference will include speakers from the government and the private sector on topics such as the effects of COVID-19 on microlending and the ways new forms of technology can boost the field’s “overall reach and profitability.” Sample topics include the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Finclusion Assembles $20m in Equity, Debt Investment Round for Transformation into Bank, Expansion to Mozambique, Uganda
Eight individual investors reportedly are among the equity participants in a recent funding package assembled by Finclusion Group, a Mauritius-based financial technology (fintech) firm serving five countries in Africa. A majority of the package, which totaled the equivalent of USD 20 million, was in the form of debt from unspecified “local-currency funds in Eswatini and South Africa.” Finclusion plans to use the fresh cash to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Tech Summit; February 23-24, 2022; Nairobi, Kenya
This event is organized as three sub-events on decentralized finance (DeFi), startup companies and mobile technology. The Africa Money & DeFi Summit will cover technologies such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AXA, Acumen’s KawiSafi Lead $16m Equity, Debt Investment Round in Sistema.bio, Provider of Biogas Digesters
KawiSafi Ventures, a Kenya-based fund managed by US-based Acumen Capital Partners, and AXA IM Alts, which is controlled by France’s AXA Group, recently led an investment totaling USD 15.6 million in Sistema.bio, a Mexico-based biogas company that is active on four continents. The funding package includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Lends $18m to Fintech U Gro Capital for MSME Funding in India
ResponsAbility Investments, a Swiss firm in the process of being acquired by UK-based M&G, recently facilitated INR 1.4 billion (USD 18 million) in borrowing by U Gro Capital, an Indian financial technology (fintech) platform, to increase its funding of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The debt package comprises INR 1.1 billion (USD 14 million) in nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) with the remainder in the form of an external commercial borrowing transaction. The latter is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banco Santander, DEG, IDB Invest, Itaú BBA Loan $150m to Banco Pan to Boost Digital Financing of Vehicles, Microenterprise, Consumption in Brazil
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is leading a loan package totaling USD 150 million for Banco Pan SA, a Brazilian commercial bank, with the aim of increasing access to digital financial services for people with low incomes. The loan funding includes USD 50 million from IDB Invest, USD 25 million from Germany’s Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), and USD 75 million as a B loan funded in unspecified portions by Spain’s Banco Santander and Brazil’s Itaú BBA. Banco Pan plans to use the funding,
SPECIAL REPORT: How the Bitcoin Lightning Network Can Boost Your Business
A proper business owner will always look for ways to level up his or her business, whether that be thinking of new products, clever services, or even accepting new and innovative ways of payment like Bitcoin (BTC).
A few years ago, accepting BTC as payment for your goods and services was a great way for you to put your business on the map. However, with more and more people accepting Bitcoin, you’ll need to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foodics Buys Equity Stake in POSRocket from Sanad Fund for MSME, Linking Providers of Financial, Business Technology to Restaurants in MENA
Foodics, a technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, recently bought an equity stake of unspecified size in POSRocket, a point-of-sale (POS) platform supporting businesses in the food, beverage and other industries. Foodics purchased the holding from the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which Sanad had held it through its second equity sub-fund (ESF II). Subsequent to the deal, POSRocket’s customers
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Resilient and Inclusive Financial Services Delivery During COVID-19,” Published by Toronto Centre
This paper examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial services by focusing specifically on financial inclusion in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zambia. The study explores changes in the “face-to-face (F2F) delivery of financial services” to groups traditionally underserved by the financial system, including “women, youths, small and medium enterprises, smallholder farmers and rural households.” The authors collected data via
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Te Creemos Subsidiary CAME Launches Techreo App to Expand Digital Financial Services in Mexico
Consejo de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAME), a unit of Mexico-based Te Creemos, recently launched an app called Techreo to expand the ways it provides financial services such as savings, loans, insurance and financial education. The institution has raised USD 7 million for the app from angel investors, of which USD 1.5 million is a loan from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Toronto Centre Releases Gender Toolkit for Financial Regulators
The Canada-based NGO Toronto Centre, with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), recently released a toolkit titled First Step: Integrating Gender into Technology-enabled Financial Sector Supervision, “to assist financial supervisors from emerging markets with integrating gender dimensions into their supervisory practices.” The toolkit, which emphasizes the relevance of gender awareness and inclusion, offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CIMB Bank Philippines, Zoloz Partner on e-KYC in Effort to Boost Digital Financial Services, Inclusion
CIMB Bank Philippines, a digital banking unit of Malaysia-based CIMB Group Holdings, recently announced a partnership with China-based Zoloz to leverage its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) technology to simplify the bank’s verification of customers’ identities and otherwise create an “enhanced payment experience.” Zoloz, which is owned by China’s Ant Group, offers products that
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Payments Latam; May 12-13, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA – NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to begin on May 9, this conference focuses on the evolution of digital payments in Latin America, including as innovations in technology conflict with unstable markets and regulatory lag. A key theme is how the massification of digital payments is creating an increase in demand on which both new and traditional players are capitalizing. While this year’s agenda has not yet been released, session titles from the 2021 conference included “Nuevo Impulso a la Inclusión Financiera desde los Pagos Móviles” (Mobile Payments Bring New Momentum to Financial Inclusion), “Una Plataforma de Pagos Pionera, Impulsada por la
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: One World Connect, Philippine National Bank (PNB) Partner on Online Remittances
One World Connect, a UK-based company that facilitates remittances from the UK and Australia to the Philippines, recently announced a partnership with Philippine National Bank (PNB) to expand the options the firms offer recipients in the Philippines. Users can now receive money transfers in cash at 700 PNB branches or directly into their PNB accounts, whether denominated in pesos or US dollars. For example,