The fifth iteration of this event will promote partnerships between investors and project developers to work toward universal energy access. The event will include sessions such as: (1) Integrated Energy Planning & Smart Subsidies to Achieve
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Araratbank of Armenia, FMO Ink $10m Risk-sharing Facility to Boost MSMEs
The Armenian bank Araratbank and Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently agreed to expand their risk-sharing facility by USD 10 million. FMO’s portion of the commitment is from its Nasira Fund, which guarantees
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AFI Invests $5m in Microfinance Institution AFK of Kosovo from Invest in Visions (IIV)
The Germany-based investing company Agents for Impact (AFI) recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued a loan of USD 5 million to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enabling Qapital Loans $10m to AccessBank for Microfinance, SME Lending in Azerbaijan
Enabling Qapital Limited, a Switzerland-based investment advisory company, recently issued a loan of AZN 17 million (USD 10 million) to AccessBank, which was founded in 2002 to provide credit and other financial services to smaller businesses and low-income families in Azerbaijan. The three-year loan is to be used
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Asia Pacific Microfinance Forum; October 17-18, 2023; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This event, in its fourth edition, aims to facilitate networking among investors and retail financial institutions. With a focus on market trends, the forum will address topics such as: (1) Recent Developments in Responsible Inclusive Finance; (2) Strategies to Overcome
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023 Offering $500k for Fintech Innovation
US-based payment technology firm Visa and TechCrunch, a media company owned by US-based technology firm Yahoo, recently opened the Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023, a contest offering USD 500,000 in prizes to financial technology firms (fintechs) that “deliver innovative payment and commerce solutions.” Applicants apply based
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Invests $25m in First Close of Green Earth Impact Fund, Managed by BlueOrchard, Schroders
The Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, the UK-based Schroders Group and its Switzerland-based unit BlueOrchard Finance recently announced the first closing of the Green Impact Earth Fund (GEIF) with a USD 25 million commitment from the Ministry of Finance. The fund
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Responsible Finance Forum; July 5-7, 3023; Bengaluru, India
Themed “Shaping a Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem,” the upcoming edition of this event – the first in-person since 2019 – will focus on client protection to help “low-income and vulnerable” people reduce risks as they use financial tools. Although the detailed agenda has not yet been finalized, it is expected to include topics such as: (1) Balancing Responsible Finance Between
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baab Mobile Money App Combines Cryptocurrency, Traditional Financial Accounts
UK-based Babb Group recently launched its eponymous mobile money app, which offers money transfers as well as the option to store funds as “decentralized crypto, backed stable-coins, and regulated fiat money” and convert among these options. Babb’s Currency X is one such “stable coin,” which is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity for Tanzania, New Holland to Lease Tractors to Small-scale Farmers
The Italy-based equipment manufacturer New Holland recently collaborated with leasing company Equity for Tanzania (EFTA) to deliver 200 tractors to Tanzania in an effort to enhance mechanization among small-scale farmers, improve agricultural productivity and strengthen food security. The effort includes
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Finance Magnates Africa Summit; May 8-10, 2023; Johannesburg, South Africa
This event offers sessions including: (1) The Global Economy, African View: Facing Financial Distress; (2) Fintech in Africa: Opportunities in
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Network (EMN) Annual Conference; June 14-16, 2023; Paris, France
Themed “Economy for the People,” the 20th annual iteration of this event will focus on financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship. The agenda will include topics such as: (1) crisis management for entrepreneurs; (2) the needs of
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Impacts of Microcredit Access on Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Adoption and Rice Yield in Kwara State, Nigeria,” by Adejoke Yewande Bakare et al
Because 70 percent of Nigeria’s population is active in agriculture as a primary occupation, climate change has a direct impact on the livelihoods of most people in the country. Access to microcredit can
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AMK of Cambodia Borrowing $7.5m for Green Microfinance via Bond Issue from BII, Symbiotics
Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle- income countries, recently disbursed USD 7.5 million to Cambodia’s AMK Microfinance Institution to fund its ongoing lending for electric two- and three-wheeled vehicles as well as new products, such as
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Impact Forum; October 4-5, 2023; Copenhagen, Denmark
This event will address sustainable development via impact investing. The agenda offers sessions including: (1) Impact Analytics, Predictive and Optimization tools: What Does “Good” Impact Look Like?; (2) Designing the Future of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loaning $5m to ING Finansal Kiralama for Leasing for Energy Efficiency, Renewables in Turkiye
The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to provide an unsecured loan approximately equivalent to USD 5.5 million to the Türkiye-based Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING) Finansal Kiralama, which is controlled by the Netherlands-based ING Group. Also known as ING Leasing, the company plans to use the proceeds to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIM Borrows $20m from IDB Invest for Locfund Next to Support Lenders to MSMEs in Latin America, Caribbean
Locfund Next, a debt fund managed by Bolivia-based BIM Asset Management, recently accepted a 6-year loan of USD 20 million from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The loan is intended to help funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to expand their outreach to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Activists Block Access to 3 Microfinance Institution Branches in Nepal, Accusing MFIs of Causing Over-indebtedness
Members of the Nepal Communist Party reportedly placed locks on the doors of two microfinance institution (MFI) branch offices in the western Nepali province of Sudurpaschim. Access to a third branch in the province also was blocked before police removed