The Informa Connect Digital Investing Event is scheduled to include panels, debates, demos, workshops and live broadcasts on topics such as machine learning, portfolio management, artificial intelligence (AI), digital financial inclusion, blockchain and distribution, data and cybersecurity, and advisor technology and digital financial planning. The event was
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Refugee Youth from South Sudan Build Skills to Benefit from Microfinance Lending in Uganda: Agricultural, Financial, Social
This 3-minute video shows how ICCO Cooperation, War Child and ZOA are partnering to help youth “improve their social and economic wellbeing through psychosocial and livelihoods support in Africa’s biggest refugee settlement, Bidibidi.”
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Smart Campaign at Accion to Close; SPTF, CERISE to Preserve Its Client Protection Standards, Online Resources
The Smart Campaign, an initiative of the US-based Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), recently announced that it would wind down following ten years of activity. Two nonprofit partners of the initiative, the US-based Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) and France-based Comité d’Echange, de Réflexion et sur les Systèmes d’Epargne-Crédit (CERISE), have agreed to continue the evolution of the Smart Campaign Client Protection Standards, thereby “ensuring that [this tool] continues to be the ‘do no harm’ foundation of social performance management” (SPM). SPTF and CERISE also will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Orange, NSIA Establish Orange Bank Africa in Côte d’Ivoire, Offering Mobile Banking Services, Eyeing Expansion in West Africa
France-based telecommunications company Orange recently partnered with NSIA Group, a firm in Côte d’Ivoire that specializes in bancassurance, to establish Orange Bank Africa in the city of Abidjan. Orange Bank Africa offers both microcredit and savings services through mobile phones via the Orange Money service. The minimum loan size is XOF 5,000 (USD 9), and the minimum deposit transaction is XOF 1,000 (USD 2). Savings balances up to XOF 10 million (USD 18,000) earn an annualized interest of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Most Refugee, Host Savings Groups in 2 Uganda Districts Continue Meeting, Saving Despite Loss of Income Due to Pandemic
VisionFund Uganda, a microfinance institution (MFI) subsidiary of VisionFund International, recently conducted a survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on refugee and host-community savings groups. The 417 respondents are members of savings groups in the Yumbe and Obongi districts of Uganda, to which many refugees from South Sudan have relocated. The results are divided into
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Insurtech Summit; March 2-4, 2021; NEW DATES AND FORMAT
Formerly scheduled to take place in Istanbul in October 2020, this summit is centered around technological developments in the insurance industry. It is scheduled to include 70 speakers and panelists offering product demos and addressing topics such as How to Create Profitable Partnerships and Start Growing Revenue and Profit, Smartphones as a Digital Marketplace for Insurance Carriers, and Distribution Channels. Additionally, the CEO of Democrance, an insurance technology (insurtech) startup, will
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Lessons on Enhancing Women’s Financial Inclusion Using Digital Financial Services (DFS),” from Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)
The goal of this paper is to boost the understanding and appreciation of the roles that digital financial services (DFS) can play in improving the quality and usage of financial services for women. Through a review of existing literature and case studies of 40 countries, the authors analyze policy frameworks intended to reduce the financial inclusion gender gap.
Findex, a financial inclusion database compiled by the World Bank Group at 3-year intervals, shows an average gender gap in developing countries of 9 percent for both 2014 and 2017. Meanwhile the number of countries with a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USAID Gives $2.5m for Design of Kiva Invest in Women Fund (K-IWF) from Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative
The US Agency for International Development (AID) recently gave USD 2.5 million from the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative to US-based nonprofit Kiva to develop the Kiva Invest in Women Fund (K-IWF). Kiva plans for this investment vehicle to mobilize USD 100 million for women entrepreneurs as part of Kiva Capital, the NGOs “asset management subsidiary offering impact-first investment vehicles.” As groundwork for the fund, Kiva Capital will use the money to:
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “COVID-19 Crisis Through a Migration Lens,” by Dilip Ratha et al, published by World Bank Group
This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on past and potential future trends in international economic migration and remittances. The first section focuses on the general impact of the pandemic, considering topics such as changes in the earnings of migrant workers, declines in remittance flows and policy responses. The second section delves into the cost of remittances and migration patterns in six regions:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fonds National de la Finance Inclusive (FNFI) Cuts Interest Rates, Boosts Commissions for 9 MFIs in Togo Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
To support nine of its partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Togolese government’s Fonds National de la Finance Inclusive (FNFI) is taking the following measures: (1) cutting interest rates on its loans to the MFIs by 1 percentage point; and (2) boosting the management fee that the MFIs receive for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Approves $750m Loan to Support 1.5m MSMEs in India as Emergency Response to COVID-19
The World Bank’s Board of Directors recently approved a 19-year loan of USD 750 million, with a 5-year grace period, to create an emergency response program for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India that “have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.” The program is meant to provide “immediate liquidity” to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lends $100m to ProCredit Holding to Finance Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Eastern, Southeastern Europe; Ecuador
To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently issued a senior loan of USD 100 million to Germany-based ProCredit Holding. The financing will benefit ProCredit entities in Ecuador and eight countries in Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. IFC is funding the loan through Working Capital Solutions, a program that provides one-year, renewable loans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TerraPay, Visa Partner to Boost Interoperability, Digital Payments, Remittances, Financial Inclusion
TerraPay, a digital payment firm headquartered in the Netherlands, recently partnered with Visa, a US-based payment technology company, to increase the accessibility of contactless and other digital payments, both domestic and cross-border. Otto Williams, Visa’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, Financial Technology (FinTech) and Ventures in Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the partnership will “drive seamless and interoperable financial services and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MAPFRE, GSI Launch $57m Global Social Impact Fund to Invest in Africa, Central America
The Spain-based insurance firm MAPFRE (Mutualidad Agrupación Propietarios Fincas Rústicas de España) and Global Social Impact (GSI), a Spanish investment firm, recently announced the creation of the Global Social Impact Fund to invest in “companies with high social impact on both frontier and emerging markets.” The fund, which will invest primarily via debt, has a target volume of EUR 50 million (USD 57.1 million). Its sectors of focus are agriculture, energy and financial inclusion. It will begin its deployments in sub-Saharan Africa and later expand to Central America. MAPFRE and Santa Comba, the Spanish holding company that is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinDev Canada, FMO Loan $72m to Latin American Agribusiness Development (LAAD) for SME Finance
Development finance institutions (DFIs) FinDev Canada and the Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently provided a syndicated loan of USD 72 million to the US-based, for-profit Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD). LAAD will use the funds to finance term loans and revolving lines of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the goal of spurring market development and job growth in rural communities. LAAD requires that each of its loans is used according to an
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure, STP, TonkaBI Merge into “MicroInsurance Company,” Leveraging Straight-through Processing, Artificial Intelligence to Expand Access
Seeking to expand access to microinsurance for both individuals and businesses, UK-based companies MicroEnsure and TonkaBI along with the US-based STP Group recently merged to form the MicroInsurance Company (MIC). The new firm describes itself as “the first global end-to-end digital micro insurance solution,” benefitting from the three firms’ “reinsurance capacity, in-country insurance licenses, world-class distribution and market-leading artificial intelligence functionality.” STP Group brings the new company its straight-through processing (STP) methodology, which
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education Financing,” by Samer Al-Samarrai et al, published by the World Bank Group
This paper explores the economic implications of COVID-19 and arguments for mobilizing resources from government and development partners to alleviate educational losses in terms of educational services, student enrollment rates and student achievement. The authors also consider recent policy interventions and proposals in contrast to similar efforts made during past crises. The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enygma Ventures Places $1m in Equity in Zambia-based MFI Lupiya, Boosting Digital Financial Services, Especially for Women, Rural Clients
South Africa-based Enygma Ventures recently invested USD 1 million in Zambian microfinance institution (MFI) Lupiya, which serves its customers online rather than at retail branches. Lupiya describes its offerings as “simpler and easier so that people and businesses located across the country even in rural, remote areas can access financial services.” The MFI offers personal loans of up to ZMK 20,000 (USD 1,093) for as long as 12 months, categorized into Collateral Backed Loans, Salary Advance Loans and Scheme Loans. Lupiya also offers