MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RDG Collective Borrows $2m from Oikocredit for Pay-as-you-go Solar Appliances for 12k Low-income Households in Zambia

Dutch impact investor Oikocredit recently channeled USD 2 million to RDG Collective, a provider of renewable energy products to households in Zambia. Through this collaboration, RDG plans to supply 12,000 households with “access to clean energy

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

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $4.4m to KEP Trust of Kosovo with Focus on Rural, Women-led MSMEs

KEP Trust, a microfinance institution based in Kosovo, recently agreed to borrow up to EUR 4 million (USD 4.4 million) from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). KEP Trust plans to

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp West Africa Summit; June 12-13, 2023; Accra, Ghana

This event will focus on mechanisms through which entrepreneurial partnerships in regions such as South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, can solve global issues. The organizers expect approximately 80 speakers and 300 delegates discussing topics such as: (1) Agriculture; (2) Climate Change and Clean Energy;

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Araratbank of Armenia, FMO Ink $10m Risk-sharing Facility to Boost MSMEs

The Armenian bank Araratbank and Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently agreed to expand their risk-sharing facility by USD 10 million. FMO’s portion of the commitment is from its Nasira Fund, which guarantees

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity for Tanzania, New Holland to Lease Tractors to Small-scale Farmers

The Italy-based equipment manufacturer New Holland recently collaborated with leasing company Equity for Tanzania (EFTA) to deliver 200 tractors to Tanzania in an effort to enhance mechanization among small-scale farmers, improve agricultural productivity and strengthen food security. The effort includes

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Impacts of Microcredit Access on Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Adoption and Rice Yield in Kwara State, Nigeria,” by Adejoke Yewande Bakare et al

Because 70 percent of Nigeria’s population is active in agriculture as a primary occupation, climate change has a direct impact on the livelihoods of most people in the country. Access to microcredit can

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Relationship Between Financial and Social Performances in Microfinance: Insights from the Provision of Agricultural Loans in Cambodia,” by Tristan Caballero-Montes

In the context of agricultural lending in Cambodia, Dr Caballero-Montes assesses the extent to which microfinance institutions (MFIs) are able to pursue both financial and social objectives. The author contends that

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AgCelerant, Bank of Africa, IFC to Support Rice Value Chains in Senegal with Access to Loans, Insurance, Tools, Inputs

AgCelerant, the agricultural technology (agritech) service of Mauritius-based Manobi Africa, recently partnered with the Senegalese unit of the Bank of Africa Group and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) on an effort to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Semaai Raises Equity from Accion, XA Network, Beenext, Surge for Technology Supporting Farmers, Agricultural MSMEs in Indonesia

Semaai, an Indonesia-based agricultural technology firm, recently obtained bridge funding in an equity raise led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion, and XA Network, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, with ongoing investors Beenext and Surge increasing their exposure to Semaai. Although the amount invested by each party has not been released, the goal

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cracking the Nut: Reducing Risk in Rural and Agricultural Investment; June 12-13, 2023; Washington, DC, USA

This tenth iteration of “Cracking the Nut” will explore opportunities to finance agricultural supply chains to meet the needs of people working in the informal agriculture segment in low- and middle-income countries. The conference will focus on reducing the risk of investing in agricultural and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Babban Gona Borrows $5m from Huruma Fund to Support Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria, Prepare for International Expansion

Spain’s Gawa Capital, manager of the public-private Huruma Fund, recently disbursed the fund’s second investment in Africa, lending EUR 5 million (USD 5.2 million) to Babban Gona, a Nigerian firm that supports 81,000 farmers with financing, inputs, training

SPECIAL REPORT: Solar-powered Onions in Senegal, Meso-insurance Against Storms in Nicaragua, Performance-based Interest Rate Reductions for Climate-smart Lending in India

e-MFP logoIn a session on strengthening agricultural value chains today at European Microfinance Week, Daphne van Dam of Cordaid described her organization’s work to support onion farmers in Senegal. The farmers were struggling with the cost of fuel for irrigation. Cordaid was able to partner with local microfinance and solar providers to supply farmers with solar-powered irrigation systems that they could pay for on a schedule attuned to the harvest time of their crop.

Magdalena Arbelaez of Incofin described her firm’s work enabling insurance for farmers in Nicaragua. Rather than microinsurance, which would have been unworkable for many of the smallholder farmers in the region, the project extended

SPECIAL REPORT: Inclusive Finance in Africa Amid the Current Food and Climate Crises, in Anticipation of SAM 2023 in West Africa

In anticipation of SAM 2023 (Semaine Afri­caine de la Microfinance 2023), its organisers convened a panel discus­sion on October 19 as part of Accion’s Financial Inclusion Week. The panel illustrates the commitment of SAM’s organisers to nurture on­going dia­logue on the issues faced by the inclusive finance sector. The objective was to share and question the strategies being used to address issues faced by the agricultural sector, which remains one of the least financed due to investors’ per­ception of it as high-risk.

Climate change coupled with social and political turmoil is negatively impacting agricultural value chains in particular and global food security in general. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is lowering food security and agricultural pro­duction in many developing countries, as the warring nations are two of the largest exporters of key agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, sunflower oil and fertiliser. The Horn of Africa could suffer the worst effects of the war because of its ongoing food crisis following three years of severe drought, the COVID-19 pan­demic and protracted local conflicts. Market volatility and rises in energy costs, input costs, interest rates and perceived risk are expected to lead to higher costs of borrow­ing, credit crunches, and unmet working capital and liquidity needs.

Addressing these issues at the Financial Inclusion Week panel were:

– Jacques Afetor, Executive Director of Assilassimé Solidarité, a Togolese MFI supporting

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Huruma Fund Expands Impact to Mexico, Lending $15m to Mega, ProCredito for Agricultural SMEs

Spain’s Gawa Capital, manager of the public-private Huruma Fund, recently disbursed the fund’s first investments in Mexico, lending EUR 12 million (USD 12 million) to Mega and EUR 3.6 million (USD 3.6 million) to ProCredito, financial services providers whose clients include many agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both investees are active in lending intended to minimize the effects of

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Agri-SME Finance: Navigating Volatility in the Wake of the War in Ukraine;” Published by IFAD, IFC, SAFIN

The authors describe the recent turmoil in global food markets and the resulting “worst food crisis in generations.” The war in Ukraine has had a major impact on markets in Russia and Ukraine, which together previously produced a quarter of the wheat and most of the sunflower oil sold worldwide. Meanwhile, increases in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF Announces Funding, Guarantees, Technical Assistance for Enterprises Reducing Environmental Impacts of Agriculture, Energy, Forestry in DRC

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently launched two new funding instruments to provide financial and technical assistance for enterprises that help address deforestation in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 95 percent of households rely on wood for cooking. One instrument, Investments Aimed at Quantifiably Reducing the Consumption of Wood Energy in DRC, offers technical assistance and grants valued at