Subtitled “Financial Inclusion and the Future of Work,” the 19th annual conference of the Belgium-based European Microfinance Network (EMN) will focus on changes in the labour market brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic along with rapid technological advances. The agenda will focus on how the microfinance industry can respond to
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Executes IIF Equity Buy into Forte Insurance to Boost Agricultural Microinsurance in Cambodia
Switzerland’s BlueOrchard Finance recently disbursed an equity placement of undisclosed size from the InsuResilience Investment Fund (IIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled public-private partnership, for IIF to buy a minority stake in Cambodia’s Forte Insurance Group. BlueOrchard’s investment director for the continent, Thibaud Ponchon, expressed confidence that the placement will “drive the penetration of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Solaris Offgrid Adds NuovoPay to PaygOps Platform, Boosting Retailers’ Ability to Lease Smartphones to Unbanked
Two providers of business-to-business services, UK-registered Solaris Offgrid and India’s NuovoPay, recently agreed to make NuovoPay’s smartphone leasing service available to distributors via Solaris’s PaygOps platform with the goal of increasing “access to digital technology for millions of unbanked people in emerging countries.” PaygOps is a system for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar India Fund VI Nets $130m for MSMEs Addressing Climate Change, Agtech, Fintech – Anchored by Public Funding from Domestic, European Sources
Aavishkaar Capital, a subsidiary of India’s Aavishkaar Group, recently completed the first close of its Aavishkaar India Fund VI with commitments totaling INR 10 billion (USD 130 million) to invest mainly in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, Sushma Kaushik, a partner at Aavishkaar Capital, said that the fund aims to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A New Tool in the Financial Inclusion Toolkit?”; by Raphael Auer et al; Published by Bank for International Settlements, World Bank Group
The authors of this study interviewed representatives of nine central banks that are at various stages of exploring the possible creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with the goal of increasing financial inclusion. Among the barriers to financial inclusion CBDCs might address are:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aliada Digital Card from NanoPay Offers Financial, Medical, Legal Services to Women in Mexico
Mexico’s NanoPay is targeting its new Aliada Digital Card at women in Mexico. The card, which leverages the network of US-based Mastercard, offers lines of credit as well as a range of free legal and medical services. The medical services include online access to physical and mental health professionals as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Louis Dreyfus Company Borrowing $100m from ADB to On-lend to Small-scale Farmers to Boost Climate Resilience, COVID-19 Recovery
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution based in the Philippines, recently agreed to lend USD 100 million to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a Netherlands-based firm active in agriculture, food processing and shipping. LDC plans to use the funds to finance “coffee, cotton and rice inventories” for 50,000 smallholder farmers who supply the firm’s operations in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. Among the goals of the project are to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Outcomes Management for Financial Service Providers: A Proposed Standard Framework Aligned With the Sustainable Development Goals,” Published by European Microfinance Platform, Cerise, Social Performance Task Force
This paper builds on the publishers’ past work to create an updated “methodology for outcomes management and a set of standard outcomes indicators” that are mapped to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets that make up each SDG. The aim is for the indicators to be “actionable” and the methodology to be “simple” to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADA to Promote Financial Inclusion in Niger via Improved Product Design, Supervision, Funding Framework
Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), an NGO based in Luxembourg that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in low- and middle-income countries, recently entered into a contract with Luxembourg’s Directorate of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs with the goal of creating jobs and otherwise reducing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bix, FMO Lending $10m to C-Quest Capital to Expand Usage of Clean Cookstoves in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, is lending USD 6.4 million to C-Quest Capital, a US-based investor in projects that reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and usage in low- and middle-income countries. At the same time, Bix Capital, a Dutch provider of debt financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SOCAP22; October 17-20, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA
This event has been held each year since 2008. Although the 2022 agenda has not been announced yet, SOCAP21 included panels on topics such as: “The New Tech-touch Balance: How to Deliver Inclusive Fintech (Financial Technology) Solutions for Underserved Populations,” “Driving Social Impact by
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 24th MFC Annual Conference: Microfinance Investing Through Uncertainty; June 29-30, 2022; Istanbul, Turkey
The conference is slated to cover investment opportunities and other strategies for addressing “gender, green finance and technological challenges” related to inclusive finance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event features seminars with titles such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Visa Everywhere Initiative Accepting Applications for $500k Fintech Innovation Competition
US-based payment technology firm Visa and TechCrunch, a media company owned by US-based technology firm Yahoo, recently opened the Visa Everywhere Initiative 2022, a contest awarding USD 500,000 in prizes to firms that “deliver innovative payment and commerce solutions.” Applicants apply based on their
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PayPal Expanding Money Transfer Options, Waiving Fees in Ukraine; Cutting Service in Russia
The US-based money transfer firm PayPal recently announced that Ukrainians in their home country and elsewhere will be able to receive British pounds, Canadian dollars, euros and US dollars into PayPal accounts to make purchases or transfer funds to bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards. Previously Ukrainians could
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: “Changing People’s Lives Through Microfinance”
This inaugural podcast from Switzerland’s Enabling Capital features host Carolina Ordóñez interviewing the firm’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner Roger R Müller.
This post is part of an occasional series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: FinovateFall; September 12-14, 2022; New York, NY, USA
The goal of the Finovate series is to spotlight innovations in financial technology (fintech) from startups and established leaders alike. Two days of the event will showcase 75 product demonstrations. A separate conference day will focus on selecting technologies to maximize competitiveness. While this year’s agenda has not yet been released, session titles from the 2021 conference include “Harnessing Partnerships to Drive Financial Inclusion & Improve Financial Health,” “The Future of Digital Identity Is Now,” “Harnessing AI [Artificial Intelligence] to Democratise Home Buying,” “Decentralised
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investing World Forum; April 28-29, 2022; London, UK
This conference will cover topics such as investing in gender equality and mitigating and adjusting to climate change. The speakers are to include representatives from organizations such as Big Issue, the EU, Goldman Sachs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland), and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. Among the session topics are “The Anatomy of a Deal During COVID-19 and Beyond,” “Investing in Housing as Part of Criminal Justice Reform,” “Impact Investing in
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Vineet Rai of Aavishkaar on Impact Investing in India
In this 23-minute video, Fintech.tv’s Kavita Gupta interviews Vineet Rai, the Chair of Aavishkaar Group, an impact investor with offices in India and Kenya that manages assets valued at USD 1 billion.
This post is part of an occasional series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.