SPECIAL REPORT: Leveraging Carbon Credits to Insure MSMEs in Climate-vulnerable Nations #SAM2023

What a pleasure it was to interview Diana Chepng’eno (pictured below) at SAM 2023 in Togo last month! She is such a warm and energetic person – and deeply engaged in the critical work of climate adaptation and miti­gation across Africa and the Middle East.

During SAM 2023, Ms Chepng’eno spoke at the opening plenary ses­sion “Making Africa’s Future Sustainable – Climate, Socio-economic Develop­ment and Inclusive Finance” as well as a breakout session titled “Helping Financial Institutions Deal with Cli­mate Change – Assessing Risks and Strengthening Institutional Resili­ence.”

Bob Summers: What are you working on with the V20 group of climate-vulnerable nations (which now comprises 68 low- and middle-income countries)?
Diana Chepng’eno: Sitting within the UN Environment Programme Finance Initia­tive, under the Princi­ples for Sustainable Insurance, we are ramping up a Sustain­able Insurance Facility. We launched the facility in 2022 to advocate for the import­ance of insurance for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in V20 countries as a significant driver for miti­gating climate change risks. MSMEs, for example, comprise about 75 percent of the total GDP of the V20. Therefore, if we can support these MSMEs by fa­cili­tating access to much-needed insurance, so that they may become more climate resilient, then these entire countries can be climate-resilient.

BS: What mechanisms does the facility use?
DC: The work is all based on partnerships. Insurers are critical, of course. We also need firms that

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPEC Fund Lending $22m to Raiffeisen Bank for SMEs in Albania

As its first loan to a financial institution in Albania, the Austria-based OPEC Fund for International Development recently channeled EUR 20 million (USD 21.7 million) to the Albanian unit of Raiffeisen Bank to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The scheme especially targets

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DAI’s MicroVest Loans $4m to Bayport Colombia, Payroll Lender to Public Sector Workers

US-based MicroVest, a unit of Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently lent USD 4 million to Bayport Colombia, a financial services provider seeking to “expand credit accessibility and financial empowerment” among public sector employees. This transaction marks MicroVest’s third investment in Bayport since 2016.

Established in 2007, Bayport Colombia lends to employees

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Michael Apel Named CEO of DAI’s MicroVest Asset Management

The US-based impact investing firm MicroVest recently selected Michael Apel as its new CEO and Chief Investment Officer. In taking on these roles, Mr Apel will be in charge of the company’s daily operations, including entering into new markets to expand the company’s deployment of private capital to boost micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Mr Apel has 25 years of experience at IDB Invest,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: David Grimaud Named CEO of Palladium Group’s Bamboo Capital Partners

The Luxembourg-based fund manager Bamboo Capital Partners recently selected David Grimaud as its CEO, marking the departure of Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, the company’s founder. Mr Grimaud has a background in impact investing and asset management

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sa-Dhan National Conference on Inclusive Growth; November 8-9, 2023; New Delhi, India

Sa-Dhan’s 18th annual conference will focus on alleviating poverty through financial inclusion and associated services, including: (1) Microinsurance; (2) Micropensions; (3) Health; (4) Water and Sanitation; (5) Clean Energy and Climate Change; (6) Digitization;

SPECIAL REPORT: The Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Global Development

In September 2015, every UN member country endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which comprises 17 target areas known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

After falling from 10.1 percent in 2015 to 8.6 percent in 2018, the global poverty rate increased to 9.2 percent in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing a long trend of poverty reduction. Other headwinds such as armed conflicts, rising inflation, food in­security, and political and social unrest also are affecting global devel­opment, and the UN estimates that these crises combined to cause an additional 95 million people to live in extreme poverty in 2022.

On the other hand, the digital revolution has made many people’s lives easier with access to mobile phones, the internet and other tools. Digital financial inclusion (DFI) and its innovative business models have had a particularly disruptive effect, bolstering financial inclusion worldwide.

Impact on Sustainable Development Goals
DFI is enabling all types of pathways to advance the achievement of the SDGs, strengthening the link between financial inclusion and de­vel­opment. In 2016, CGAP and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics

Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ILO, UNCDF to Expand PICAP Climate Microinsurance Program to 8 Pacific Countries

The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently joined the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in its efforts to expand climate risk insurance in the Pacific region. The Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP), which was launched in 2020 by UNCDF and two other UN agencies, has supported insurers in deploying parametric coverage in Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. Parametric insurance pays

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO Loans $15m to AMK Microfinance of Cambodia

BIO, a government-owned institution also known as the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, recently loaned USD 15 million to Cambodia’s Angkor Microheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK). AMK provides individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Abler Nordic Sells Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Baobab Senegal, Retains Holding in Parent Company

Abler Nordic, a partnership of public and private investors based in Denmark and Norway, recently sold its stake in Baobab Senegal for an undisclosed price to the latter’s parent company, Baobab Group, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Africa and China. Abler, known at the time as the Nordic Microfinance Initiative, bought the stake in 2012. Abler continues to hold a stake in Baobab Group.

“As we hand the baton on, we are very pleased with how the company has grown, the impressive social results they have achieved, and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund Invests $1m in Acceso Financiero for Microfinance in Honduras

The managers of the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund recently invested USD 1 million from the fund in the Honduran unit of Mexico-based Acceso Financiero, a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides credit to approximately 40,000 low-income clients in rural El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. The investment, which is in the form of “risk adjusted blended finance capital,” is

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KosInvest Borrows $650k from Grameen Crédit Agricole for Microfinance in Kosovo

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, a Luxembourg-based investor in social businesses, recently issued a two-year loan of EUR 600,000 (USD 660,000) to KosInvest, a Kosovo-based microfinance institution (MFI) affiliated with the US-based Christian NGO World Vision. KosInvest provides microinsurance as well as loans designed for purposes such as

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al Tadamun Circulating Mobile Branches to Boost Microfinance for Women in Egypt

Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation of Egypt is launching three vehicles that will serve as mobile branches in the regions of Cairo, Dakhalia and Minya. Among the goals of the effort are to “contribute to the speed of disbursement of financing and reducing the cost of time and money incurred by the client in order to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jeevan Bikas, Pula, UNCDF Partner on Index Insurance for Farmers in Nepal

The Nepali microfinance institution Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha, Swiss insurance technology (insurtech) firm Pula and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced the completion of a pilot program combining technical assistance, subsidies and financial education to design and deploy an index-based insurance product for Nepali smallholder farmers. The program provided 15,000 smallholder farmers with insurance covering

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arohan of India Raises $11m in Equity from FMO to Expand Microfinance, Including via Technology

Arohan Financial Services, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI) offering credit and insurance services to groups, individuals and other MFIs, recently accepted an equity investment in local-currency equivalent to USD 11 million from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). Arohan plans to use the fresh capital

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Robos, General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Partner on Events Promoting Financial Literacy, Savings, Social Insurance, Pensions

The Egypt-based General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) recently agreed to support Bahrain-based Fintech Robos in its production of the following annual events: (1) Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; (2) the Arab Pension & Social Insurance Conference; and (3) the Arab Actuarial Conference. Fintech Robos CEO Ebrahim K Ebrahim noted that one of the goals of the partnership is