MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “China’s Long March to a Cashless Future: Regulatory Responses to DFS Innovation and the Challenges of Rural Distribution,” Published by CGAP

By Patrick Meagher, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), December 2019, 24 pages, available at: https://www.findevgateway.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/dfs_distribution_china_final_dec_2019.pdf

Over the last several years, China has experienced a large-scale migration of financial services to digital platforms. As these digital financial services (DFS) have become available in typically underserved rural areas, financial access has

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Banking and Finance Conference; April 22-23, 2020; Nairobi, Kenya

The theme of this year’s Africa Banking and Finance Conference is “Winning Practices – Rethinking Business Innovative Strategies.” The agenda comprises sessions on technology and innovation, the future of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fenix, MTN, UNCDF Cross-train Staff to Sell Pay-as-you-go Solar Home Power Systems, Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions in Rural Zambia

During a 10-month pilot project, Fenix International, a provider of solar home power systems that is controlled by France-based Engie; MTN, a telecom based in South Africa; and the UN Capital Development Fund collaborated to train 93 “Fenix Traders” to expand the uptake of solar home systems in Zambia. Previously, usage of the systems, which are enabled and disabled remotely based on users’ “pay-as-you-go” payments, were limited by a scarcity of mobile-money agents to accept these payments, particularly in rural areas. To address this problem, these Fenix Traders were cross-trained and equipped for both solar sales and the provision of mobile money services. Of the group, 82 operate in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GAIN, Incofin, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building Nutritious Food Financing Facility (N3F) to Invest in SMEs Producing, Distributing Foods in Africa; Irish Aid, Rockefeller Foundation Commit Funding

The Switzerland-based, nonprofit Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) recently launched a partnership with Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to create the Nutritious Food Financing Facility (N3F), which is intended to boost access to healthy food in sub-Saharan Africa. It will engage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in “food value chains by

MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Investors Forum for Financial Service Providers; March 9-10, 2020; Accra, Ghana; March 12-13, 2020; Lagos, Nigeria

These two events will bring together representatives of microfinance banks, NGOs, insurers and financial technology firms (fintechs) to meet with domestic and international investors. Speakers will include practitioners, researchers and government representatives. The goal is to

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week to Run November 18 – 20, 2020; Including $110k European Microfinance Award for Innovation in Savings; Applications to Open in March

The European Microfinance PlatformEuropean Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) will hold the next European Microfinance Week from November 18 through November 20, 2020, in Luxembourg. The first day of the event will include training opportunities as well as meetings of

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mondato Summit Africa; Maputo, Mozambique – POSTPONED

Please note that the start of this event was rescheduled from March 31, 2020, to September 23, 2020, and then to a date to be determined in 2021.

The seventh annual Mondato Summit Africa will center on the theme “Beyond Access: Generating Value Through Digital Inclusion.” The organizer chose Mozambique as the venue due to the fast growth of the country’s financial technology sector. Participants will attend

MICROFINANCE EVENT: FINCA Impact Finance International Women’s Day Panel; March 4, 2020; Washington, DC, USA

Even as worldwide access to financial services expands, women remain underrepresented among elected officeholders. This panel discussion will center on how access to finance can increase the political empowerment of women. The panelists include

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Responsible Investment Forum; March 4 – 5, 2020; New York, New York, USA

The fourth edition of the Responsible Investment Forum again brings together private equity firms and investors to discuss integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) into their work. The event is intended to increase the awareness and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OoEB, BNP Paribas, SPF, SPOV, vdk Invest $76m in Incofin’s agRIF Fund for Smallholder Farmers, Other Rural Entrepreneurs

A group of investors recently committed to loan a total of USD 76 million to agRIF, the successor to the first and second Rural Investment Funds (RIF I and RIF II) of Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management. Launched in 2015, agRIF is intended to generate market-rate returns from investments in small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises as well as funders of small-scale farmers and rural micro- and small enterprises.

The first-time investors in agRIF include the Austrian government’s development bank Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB), which loaned the fund

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Micro-business 2.0: A New Generation of Women “Social Commerce” Entrepreneurs in India & Indonesia,” Published by Women’s World Banking (WWB)

By Sophie Theis, published by Women’s World Banking, November 2019, 18 pages, available at https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights-and-impact/women-social-commerce-entrepreneurs-in-india-and-indonesia/

Female entrepreneurs in India and Indonesia historically have faced a multitude of challenges such as “low access to capital, restricted mobility, limitations on property rights, time poverty and gender norms.” In both countries, women own less than

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Second International Interest-free Banking & Takaful Forum; February 18-20, 2020; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

On February 18, this event includes speakers on investment opportunities and other potential benefits of Islamic finance, which employs mechanisms such as the sharing of both profit and loss

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC Group of UK Investing $2.6b in Africa Over 2 Years; $387m Announced for MSMEs, Mid-caps, Renewable Energy, Technology

The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government’s Department for International Development, has committed to investing GBP 2 billion (USD 2.6 billion) in African businesses over the next two years. This follows its recent announcement

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sustainable Finance Forum: Eastern Europe, Caucasus & Central Asia; March 11-12, 2020; Kyiv, Ukraine

The goal of the Sustainable Finance Forum is to catalyze investments for “sustainable” development in the region by bringing together banks, microfinance institutions, project sponsors and investors that are committed to creating a

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Davivienda of Colombia Borrows $335m from IFC to Increase Lending for Women-owned SMEs, Housing

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently loaned Banco Davivienda of Colombia USD 335 million to increase its “financing of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social housing and sustainable