The Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the US-based IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) Group, has donated USD 1.2 million to fund a collaborative project with the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies, an association of Latin American and Caribbean central banks (also known by its Spanish acronym CEMLA).
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Messrs United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) Partner on $5m Loan to Nigerian MFI Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO)
Messrs United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), an indirect subsidiary of the French construction materials company Lafarge, and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the international development department of the French government, reportedly have collaborated to loan NGN 1 billion (USD 5 million) to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI), for funding the construction of 5,000 new housing units in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion’s Smart Campaign Streamlines Microfinance Client Protection Certification Program
The Smart Campaign, a consumer-protection initiative launched in 2010 by US-based nonprofit organization Accion, recently announced changes to its Client Protection Certification Program that are intended to improve the certification process by reducing the time it takes for financial institutions to become certified, extending certification validity from two years to four years, and launching an appeals and complaints system [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Parinaam Foundation of India Launches Financial Literacy Program in Tribal Communities of Garo, Jaintia, Khasi
The Parinaam Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides social services to women in India, has partnered with the World Bank Group, a group of five multilateral organizations that invest in developing countries, and the government of the Indian state of Meghalaya to offer a financial literacy training program to individuals in three tribal communities: Garo, Jaintia, and Khasi.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: 5th Pacific Microfinance Week: Next Mile Financial Services in the Pacific, September 21-25, 2015, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Event Name: 5th Pacific Microfinance Week 2015: Next Mile Financial Services in the Pacific
Event Date: September 21-25, 2015
Event Location: Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Event Summary: Pacific Microfinance Week (PMW) 2015 is a series of workshops, field visits and formal conference sessions focusing on providers of financial services for poor people in the Pacific region. The topics that will be discussed include digital finance and delivery channels, women’s empowerment through access to finance, enhancing the potential of non-bank financial institutions, policy and regulation, innovations in products and services, developing measures of financial inclusion, how corporate governance structures can improve organizational performance, and a special session on financial inclusion in the Solomon Islands. The most recent PMW was held in 2013.
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Award Application Period Open Through June 3: $110k for Services in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict, Fragile States
MicroCapital: Please tell us about the theme of this year’s EUR 100,000 (USD 110,000) European Microfinance Award: serving people in post-disaster, post-conflict and fragile states.
Davide Forcella: This is a very timely issue because of the increasing frequency of microfinance institutions (MFIs) being forced to operate under very difficult conditions, due to both natural disasters and human conflict. The aim of the prize is to reward MFIs that
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Triple Bottom Line Investing Presents “TBLI Conference Latin America 2015;” May 28-29, 2015; Buenos Aires, Argentina
Event Name: TBLI Conference Latin America 2015
Event Date: May 28-29, 2015
Event Location: Centro Cívico Parque Patricios, Uspallata 3160, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Summary of Event: This conference will include panels on topics such as green real estate and sustainable urban development; renewable energy and energy infrastructure; sustainable agriculture; and the role of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions.
SPECIAL REPORT: June 3 is Deadline to Apply for $106k Sixth European Microfinance Award: “Microfinance in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas and Fragile States”
Through June 3, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network of approximately 130 microfinance organizations and individuals, is accepting applications for the Sixth European Microfinance Award, which will include a cash prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 106,000). This year’s award aims to recognize providers of financial services in post-disaster, post-conflict and fragile states. Successful applicants will illustrate their strategy for increasing “both their own resilience and that of their clients,” while highlighting how these services will respond to the immediate, medium- and long-term needs of clients in afflicted areas. To qualify, an institution must be based in a developing country and obtain a letter of support from a member of e-MFP.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Driving Scale, Agent Network Density in Peru; Youth Banking in the Dominican Republic; Aging, Financial Inclusion in Colombia
“Aging and Financial Inclusion: An Opportunity;” published by HelpAge International and Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion; 2015; 40 pages; available at https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/aging_and_financial_inclusion_an_opportunity.pdf
This report highlights various barriers and opportunities in providing financial services to older people and helping younger people plan for old age, focusing on middle-income countries, in particular Colombia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Transfer Startups Bitpesa, Igot Leverage Bitcoin to Reduce Price of Remittances
Currency exchange companies such as Kenya’s BitPesa and Australia’s Igot are tapping into remittance markets such as Kenya’s, which reached a volume of USD 1.43 billion in 2014, by using Bitcoin transfers to undercut the fees charged by firms such as US-based Western Union to deliver money across national borders.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Pakistan Approves $49m Credit Guarantee Scheme For Small Farmers
The Pakistani government has approved a Ministry of Finance Credit Guarantee Scheme that encourages banks to finance smallholder farmers by sharing 50 percent of the loan default risk.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Money and Digital Payments Africa Conference and Workshop, May 19-21, 2015, Johannesburg, South Africa
Event Name: Mobile Money and Digital Payments Africa
Event Date: May 19-21, 2015
Event Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa
Summary of Event: The aim of the event is to bring together sector stakeholders in an effort to strengthen mobile money payment systems and businesses in Africa. The two conference days will feature panel discussions and debates focused on developing financial services and other mobile products for un- and underbanked people, recent trends in mobile money, challenges in developing cashless payment systems in Africa and methods for leveraging social payments to improve financial service offerings for people left out of the traditional banking system. The workshop will focus on discussing strategies for retailers to gain authorization to sell mobile money and digital payment services in Europe.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microsoft, MasterCard to Provide Payment, Technology Support for Micro-Business Owners in Mexico
Microsoft Corporation, a US-based technology firm, and MasterCard, a US-based financial services corporation with operations in 210 countries, have announced a partnership through which they will seek to enhance information technology, communication and payments for small-scale merchants in Mexico.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 12th “University Meets Microfinance” Workshop, Enhancing Food Security and Resilience to Climate Change: What Role for Microfinance, June 11-12, 2015, Bergamo, Italy
Event Name: 12th “University Meets Microfinance” Workshop, Enhancing Food Security and Resilience to Climate Change: What Role for Microfinance
Event Date: June 11-12, 2015
Event Location: University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
Summary of Event: This conference will bring together academics, practitioners and students working on a variety of topics related to financial inclusion. Discussions will center around climate change, food security and microfinance, including case studies of financial services being used to mitigate the impact of climate change on smallholder farmers and ensure food security for these individuals and their families.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) to Host “Sustainable Investing: Risk, Value, Impact!” Conference, May 4-6, 2015, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Event Name: Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) 2015 Conference, “Sustainable Investing: Risk, Value, Impact!”
Event Date: May 4-6, 2015
Event Location: The Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Summary of Event: This conference will focus on trends and emerging issues in sustainable and responsible investing. Topics of discussion will include shareholder advocacy, serving Latino and immigrant communities, addressing the need for low carbon energy sources, “place-based” investing, water investment risks and opportunities, and corporate governance structures.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Maize Insurance in Burkina Faso, Risks to Microfinance in Pakistan, Claims Analysis in Health Microinsurance
“Loan Protection for Maize Farmers in Burkina Faso;” by Barbara Magnoni and Danielle Sobol; published by The MicroInsurance Centre; 2014; 13 pages; available at http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/resources/documents/milk-brief-35-doing-the-math-loan-protection-for-maize-farmers-in-burkina-faso/download.html
This paper presents the findings of a study focusing on the impact of droughts, specifically the costs to maize farmers in Burkina Faso.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference, “Adapt and React,” March 28, 2015, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Event Name: 9th Annual Penn Microfinance Conference
Event Date: March 28, 2015
Event Location: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Summary of Event: This conference will focus on how the microfinance industry has adapted its product offerings and lending methods in the wake of increased government regulation and concern about over-indebtedness. The event will feature a keynote address by Dennis Ripley, the chief business development officer for Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance services in 22 countries.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Bank to Host Global Forum on Remittances, June 16-19, 2015, Milan, Italy
Event Name: Global Forum on Remittances 2015
Event Date: June 16-19, 2015
Event Location: Centro Congressi Stella Polare Conference Centre, Milan, Italy
Summary of Event: This event is intended to promote awareness of remittances sent by migrants to their home countries. Session topics will include trends in remittances sent from Europe, best practices in regulation, opportunities for financial inclusion, competition and transaction costs, new technologies, opportunities for public-private partnerships and strategies for developing public-private partnerships to further financial inclusion.