The Peruvian lender Prestamype recently raised USD 5 million in equity in a pre-Series A funding round. The investment package was led by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Svatantra of India Paying Navi Group $179m for Microfinance Subsidiary Chaitanya
Svatantra Microfin Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company-microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI) recently agreed to pay INR 15 billion (USD 179 million) to India-based Navi Group in exchange for its fully-owned subsidiary Chaitanya. Navi was advised on the deal by
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Land Titling and Microcredit in Cambodia: Examining the Reality of Hernando de Soto’s ‘Three Steps to Heaven,’” by Milford Bateman
In this paper, Dr Bateman examines the Cambodian microcredit industry and argues against prior claims that increases in land titling lead to access to credit that enables poor landowners to increase their incomes. The results are based on
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Agritech and Fintech Providers in East and Southern Africa: A Landscape Assessment;” published by IFAD, SAFIN
The authors of this paper address: (1) the environment that financial institutions in East and Southern Africa (ESA) face when lending to agricultural micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); and (2) how this lending can be increased via agricultural technology (agritech) and financial technology (fintech) firms. The challenges include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Annapurna Finance Borrowing $25m from responsAbility to Boost Renewable Energy, Energy-efficiency in India
The Switzerland-based firm responsAbility Investments recently loaned USD 25 million to Annapurna Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) seeking to reduce poverty and spread economic opportunity in India. The MFI plans to on-lend the funds to families as well as smaller businesses looking to acquire solar panels and other equipment that reduces the need for fossil fuels. As Annapurna has
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DreamStart Labs Adding VisionFund as Preferred Financial Service Provider in Savings Groups App DreamSave
The US-based nonprofit World Vision International and its microfinance subsidiary VisionFund recently entered an agreement with the US-based financial software development company DreamStart Labs with the goal of enrolling 3 million people in 130,000 new savings groups over six years using DreamStart’s mobile app DreamSave. The organizations will focus on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maquita Cushunchic Borrowing $2m from DID Aequitas Fund for Microfinance, Small-enterprise Lending in Ecuador
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Maquita Cushunchic, a financial institution founded by women in Ecuador, recently accepted a loan of USD 2 million from Aequitas, a fund managed by a holding of Desjardins International Development (DID), which in turn is a member of the Canada-based cooperative Desjardins Group. Maquita Cushunchic, which mainly serves micro- and small enterprises, was founded in 1997 and since has grown to serve
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Ventures Places Equity in Agtech CassVita, Seeking to Boost Incomes from Farming Cassava in Cameroon
FINCA Ventures, an affiliate of the US-based NGO FINCA International, recently invested an undisclosed sum to take a minority stake in CassVita, an agricultural technology (agtech) firm aiding Cameroonian farmers in cultivating cassava as a climate-resilient alternative to other crops. CassVita finances farmers’ inputs, purchases their crops and processes the cassava into flour. This approach curbs spoilage,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baobab+ Borrows $1.3m from Oikocredit to Boost Household Access to Technology, Solar Energy in Rural Côte d’Ivoire
The Ivorian unit of the France-based renewable energy company Baobab+ recently borrowed EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.3 million) from Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit. Baobab+ is active in six African countries, primarily selling
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Committing $30m to South Asia Growth Fund III to Support Equity Placements in Businesses Reducing Environmental Impacts, Mainly in India
US-based Global Environment Fund (GEF) Capital Partners recently secured USD 30 million for its South Asia Growth Fund (SAGF) III from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). The funding is to boost the fund’s “equity and equity-linked” investments in middle-market institutions engaged in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Issues Local-currency Bond in Mongolia to Finance Invescore Lending to Women-led MSMEs
The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently issued a local-currency, three-year bond in Mongolia with a face value of MNT 13.7 billion (USD 4 million) and a coupon rate of 11.25 percent paid out semi-annually. The proceeds are to fund Invescore, a non-banking financial institution in Mongolia, to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: GSG Global Impact Summit 2023; October 2-3; Malaga, Spain
Organised by the UK-based NGO Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) and its Spanish National Advisory Board (SpainNAB), this year’s Global Impact Summit will focus on three topic areas: (1) Mobilising Capital for People and Planet Where It Is Most Needed; (2) Achieving Full Transparency in Measuring Impacts – Impact Transparency 2025; and (3) Building Impact Economies. The speakers are to include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IsDB, La Poste Tunisienne to Replicate Digital Financial Services via Postal Service in Djibouti
Based on their success replicating the digital financial services of Tunisia-based postal service La Poste Tunisienne in Mauritania, the multilateral Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and La Poste Tunisienne recently agreed to partner to expand the financial inclusion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Brick & Mortar Ventures Lead $3.4m Equity Raise for Licify to Expand Vende+ Construction Portal from Colombia to Mexico
Licify, a Colombian company offering construction procurement and related digital financial services, recently secured an investment package totaling USD 3.4 million. The group of investors includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Papara of Turkiye Acquires Rebellion Pay Mobile Money Service from Beka Finance of Spain in Cash, Equity Deal
Papara, a Turkiye-based provider of mobile payment services, recently acquired its Spanish competitor Rebellion Pay from Spain’s Beka Finance in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cash and shares. Rebellion, Papara’s first acquisition outside of Turkiye,
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: IDB Invest, Oikocredit Subscribing to $20m Bond from CJA to Finance MSMEs in Ecuador, Targeting Underrepresented Groups
Ecuador-based Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Jardín Azuayo (CJA), with support from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is issuing bonds to raise a total of USD 20 million. The Netherlands-based cooperative Oikocredit and IDB Invest each have committed to purchase