The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has announced it lent approximately USD 700,000 to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) Microfinance Company SL, which is located in Sierra Leone, mainly serving women in rural areas. Its product lineup includes savings accounts as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kamyab Pakistan Offers Government Guarantees, Subsidies for Wholesale Funding of Microenterprise, Housing, Farming Loans
The government of Pakistan recently launched the Kamyab Pakistan Program, through which commercial banks and development finance institutions can bid to provide wholesale loans to retail providers of housing and microfinance loans. Successful bidders will be eligible to apply for government funds to: (1) increase the ability of retail lenders to borrow from the wholesale lenders; and (2) cover the first 10 percent of losses retail lenders may incur within the program plus half of the losses wholesale lenders may incur. Through Kamyab Pakistan, retail lenders
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Invests Local-currency Equivalent of $650k in Moldova’s Smart Credit
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, a funder based in Luxembourg that promotes “financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship,” has granted local currency approximately equivalent to USD 650,000 to Smart Credit, a Moldovan microfinance institution. Founded in 2010, Smart Credit offers insurance products covering
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lazika Capital of Georgia Borrows $1.6m in Local Currency from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Agricultural Lending, Microfinance
Lazika Capital, headquartered in western Georgia, has acquired loans totaling the approximate local-currency equivalent of USD 1.6 million from the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. Established in 2000 by the British member of the NGO Stichting Oxfam International, Lazika is a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank Launches EIB Global to Expand in Africa, Asia, Latin America
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently launched a new unit, EIB Global, to expand its operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America with support from Team Europe, an initiative launched by the EU to help countries worldwide adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. To support its expanded geographic scope,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foodics Buys Equity Stake in POSRocket from Sanad Fund for MSME, Linking Providers of Financial, Business Technology to Restaurants in MENA
Foodics, a technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, recently bought an equity stake of unspecified size in POSRocket, a point-of-sale (POS) platform supporting businesses in the food, beverage and other industries. Foodics purchased the holding from the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which Sanad had held it through its second equity sub-fund (ESF II). Subsequent to the deal, POSRocket’s customers
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Resilient and Inclusive Financial Services Delivery During COVID-19,” Published by Toronto Centre
This paper examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial services by focusing specifically on financial inclusion in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zambia. The study explores changes in the “face-to-face (F2F) delivery of financial services” to groups traditionally underserved by the financial system, including “women, youths, small and medium enterprises, smallholder farmers and rural households.” The authors collected data via
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Te Creemos Subsidiary CAME Launches Techreo App to Expand Digital Financial Services in Mexico
Consejo de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAME), a unit of Mexico-based Te Creemos, recently launched an app called Techreo to expand the ways it provides financial services such as savings, loans, insurance and financial education. The institution has raised USD 7 million for the app from angel investors, of which USD 1.5 million is a loan from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Toronto Centre Releases Gender Toolkit for Financial Regulators
The Canada-based NGO Toronto Centre, with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), recently released a toolkit titled First Step: Integrating Gender into Technology-enabled Financial Sector Supervision, “to assist financial supervisors from emerging markets with integrating gender dimensions into their supervisory practices.” The toolkit, which emphasizes the relevance of gender awareness and inclusion, offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Furuz Microcredit of Tajikistan Borrows $560k in Local Currency from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
Furuz Microcredit Organization, which is headquartered in the city of Bokhtar, Tajikistan, has borrowed the equivalent of USD 560,000 in its first transaction with the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which is headquartered in Luxembourg. Established in 1999 as a program of the US-based NGO Millennium Relief and Development Services, Furuz offers loans for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CIMB Bank Philippines, Zoloz Partner on e-KYC in Effort to Boost Digital Financial Services, Inclusion
CIMB Bank Philippines, a digital banking unit of Malaysia-based CIMB Group Holdings, recently announced a partnership with China-based Zoloz to leverage its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) technology to simplify the bank’s verification of customers’ identities and otherwise create an “enhanced payment experience.” Zoloz, which is owned by China’s Ant Group, offers products that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: M&G Acquiring Majority Stake in Impact Investment Firm responsAbility
M&G, a UK-based holding company seeking “to help our customers invest for a more sustainable future for the planet and society,” recently moved to acquire 90 percent of responsAbility Investments of Switzerland. ResponsAbility invests in low- and middle-income countries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion, supporting agriculture deemed sustainable and reducing the effects of climate change. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and M&G is expected to acquire
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution RENACA of Benin Borrows $1.7m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
Reseau National des Caisses Villageoises d’Epargne et de Crédit Autogérées du Bénin (RENACA), a microfinance organization serving vulnerable groups in Benin, has borrowed the approximate equivalent of USD 1.7 million from the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cooperative Daquilema, Symbiotics Partner on $6.5m Bond Issue to Boost MSME Lending Among Indigenous Populations in Ecuador
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Fernando Daquilema, a cooperative in Ecuador, recently partnered with Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, to raise USD 6.5 million via a bond issue with a term of three years. Daquilema is to on-lend the funds in amounts up to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Lends Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank Equivalent of $2.2m in Local Currency
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, a Luxembourg-based investor in “financial inclusion and entrepreneurship with social impact,” has loaned the local-currency equivalent of USD 2.2 million to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Payments Latam; May 12-13, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA – NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to begin on May 9, this conference focuses on the evolution of digital payments in Latin America, including as innovations in technology conflict with unstable markets and regulatory lag. A key theme is how the massification of digital payments is creating an increase in demand on which both new and traditional players are capitalizing. While this year’s agenda has not yet been released, session titles from the 2021 conference included “Nuevo Impulso a la Inclusión Financiera desde los Pagos Móviles” (Mobile Payments Bring New Momentum to Financial Inclusion), “Una Plataforma de Pagos Pionera, Impulsada por la
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: One World Connect, Philippine National Bank (PNB) Partner on Online Remittances
One World Connect, a UK-based company that facilitates remittances from the UK and Australia to the Philippines, recently announced a partnership with Philippine National Bank (PNB) to expand the options the firms offer recipients in the Philippines. Users can now receive money transfers in cash at 700 PNB branches or directly into their PNB accounts, whether denominated in pesos or US dollars. For example,
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Better Practice Guidance on Women’s Digital Financial Capability,” Published by Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion
This paper addresses methods for increasing women’s “ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, evaluate and use financial services offered through digital technologies.” The digitalization of financial services and products is becoming increasingly prevalent, including in parts of the world that are underserved by traditional banks. Investing in building women’s digital financial capability can play a significant role in