Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Finance Limited, a subsidiary of India-based L&T Finance Holdings that lends to women, recently debuted an app that is intended to “enable seamless customer on-boarding by providing instant loan sanctioning.”
Category: Technology
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investor Forum; October 30-31, 2018; Paris, France
At this year’s forum, representatives of the impact investing industry will discuss the following themes: (1) Climate and the Environment, which includes ways capital markets can realize the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Climate Investment Funds Disburse $15m to “Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience” Project for Technical, Financial Support for Smallholder Farmers
The World Bank recently disbursed a total of USD 15 million in grant and debt funding via the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), a group of four funding vehicles addressing issues related to climate change, for the second phase of the Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience project. The project was launched
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Centre-European Microfinance Network (MFC-EMN) Annual Conference; October 3-5, 2018; Bilbao, Spain
Co-hosted by the Poland-based Microfinance Centre (MFC) and the Belgium-based European Microfinance Network (EMN), this event’s theme for 2018 is “People and the Digital Revolution: Advancing Our Social Mission through Technology.” Although the agenda of conference is still in development, it will include
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Agri-Finance Forum (AAFF) 2018; September 25, 2018; Nairobi, Kenya
Themed “Inclusive Finance for the Agricultural Value Chain,” this event will include discussions about new financial product offerings for small-scale farmers and the obstacles impeding capital investment in the agricultural sector
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investors Participate in Launch of Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services
Fifty fund managers, investment funds, development finance institutions and NGOs from four continents recently launched the Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services, a set of voluntary standards supported by the G20 group of large economies. CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), one of the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s IDA Loans $50m to Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) for Technical Support for Entrepreneurs; Seed Grants for SMEs
The International Development Association (IDA), a unit of the World Bank, recently issued a credit of USD 50 million to create the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), which is designed to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of existing small and medium-sized
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 11th Convergences World Forum; September 3 – 4, 2018; Paris, France
Sessions at this event will address topics such as social entrepreneurship, clean energy, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainable tourism and consumerism. While some sessions will be offered in English, the primary
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) Mobile 360 Series; July 17 – 19, 2018; Kigali, Rwanda
The theme of this event, “Who will lead the digital revolution: the people or the technology?”, will drive discussions about the mobile industry in Africa, exploring topics such as big data, youth entrepreneurship,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Rwanda, Blockbonds to Roll Out Spenn, Mobile Banking App Based on Blockchain
I&M Bank Rwanda, a unit of Kenya’s I&M Holdings Limited, and Blockbonds, a Norwegian mobile banking technology firm, recently announced the debut of Spenn, an app offering person-to-person payments, retail point-of-sale transactions and electronic bank account deposits via mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 4Di Capital, Accion Venture Labs, Lireas Holdings Invest Equity in Insurance Technology (Insurtech) Firm Lumkani of South Africa
Lumkani, a South Africa-based technology firm specializing in fire insurance and detection equipment, recently received equity investments of undisclosed amounts from the South Africa-based venture capital
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nucleus Software of India Debuts “FinnOne Neo mFin” Digital Microlending Tool for MFIs
Nucleus Software, an India-based provider of technology to financial services firms, recently announced the launch of FinnOne Neo mFin, a system that microfinance institution (MFI) staff can access via smartphones to perform tasks such as managing loan applications and checking credit reports.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global SME Finance Forum and Awards; November 5 – 7, 2018; Madrid, Spain
At this year’s gathering, approximately 500 people will discuss the theme “Reaching the Informal: the Role of Finance in Improving the Growth and Productivity of SMEs,” including how access to digital banking services allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to address
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, YourNest Invest $1.3m for Equity Stakes in Digital Lender CredRight of India
CredRight, an online lender to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India, recently received equity investments totaling INR 90 million (USD 1.3 million) from Accion Venture Labs, a fund of US-based NGO Accion, and YourNest, a venture capital firm
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ (ANDE’s) Metrics from the Ground Up; June 12 – 13, 2018; Washington, DC, USA
Summary of Event: The tenth iteration of this event will address how to quantify impact in the “small and growing businesses” (SGBs) sector. Participants will take stock of the progress made over the last decade as well as discussing ways to overcome challenges in the industry. Draft agenda items include; Collecting Data Across the Five Dimensions of Impact, Using Outcome Data to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Donating $13m to Support Angel Investors, Networking for Startups in Gaza, West Bank
The US-based World Bank recently announced it will disburse grant funds totaling USD 13 million over seven years to launch the “Innovative Private Sector Development Project,” which is designed to improve networking and financing opportunities for firms operating in the Palestinian Territories.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI): “Financial Inclusion Hype vs Reality: Deconstructing the 2017 Findex Results”; by Elisabeth Rhyne, Sonja E Kelly
Following is a summary of a paper by Elisabeth Rhyne, Sonja E Kelly, published by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), May 2018, 31 pages, available at: http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/storage/documents/FI_Hype_vs_Reality_Deconstructing_2017_Findex_Results.pdf.
The authors of this paper reviewed data from the World Bank’s annual Global Findex survey, which includes data from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indonesia’s PT Veritra Sentosa Internasional (Treni) Launches Mobile Money App Paytren eMoney
PT Veritra Sentosa Internasional (Treni), an Indonesia-based digital financial service provider, recently debuted Paytren eMoney, a mobile application that allows users to pay bills, purchase travel, transfer money, and access the deposit and microinsurance services of multiple banks. Rudiantara,