MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: MFI Client Satisfaction and Consumer Protection in Peru; Mobile Microfinance Users Predicted to Triple by 2020; Mobilizing Savings Through Agency Banking

“Voice of the Client: An analysis of client satisfaction and consumer protection across four microfinance institutions in Peru,” by J. Foelster, A. Pierantozzi, M. Pistelli; published by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) in collaboration with Hivos People Unlimited; February 2016; 31 pages; available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/Voice%20of%20the%20Client%20Peru_0.pdf

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 4th Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC); May 4-6, 2016; London, United Kingdom

Event Name: 4th Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC)

Event Dates: May 4-6, 2016

Event Location: The Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel; London, United Kingdom

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) to Distribute Funds from Government-Backed Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) Microloan Program via Rural Banking Members of Perbarindo

Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), a state-owned bank in Indonesia, recently signed an agreement with Perbarindo, an Indonesian association of rural banks, to support the government-backed microloan program Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) channeling “subsidized loans” to micro- small and medium-sized enterprises.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Necessary for SMEs to Grow; Microfinance Challenges in the Arab World; Incofin on MFIs’ Social Performance

“ADB Report: Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014;” by S. Shinozaki, T. Chaiken, S. Jain, K. Dorofev, C. T. Delos Santos and J. Bautista; published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); September 2015; 318 pages; available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/173205/asia-sme-finance-monitor2014.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Completes $153m Syndicated Loan to Sri Lanka’s Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC)

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently served as lead arranger and facility agent to finalize a USD 153 million senior secured syndicated loan for Sri Lanka’s Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Qalaa Holdings Planning to Sell 70% Stake in Microlender Tanmeyah to Egyptian Financial Group (EFG) Hermes for $40m

Qalaa Holdings, an Egypt-based investment holding company previously named Citadel Capital, recently announced that it will sell its 70-percent ownership in Tanmeyah, an Egypt-based provider of microloans and microinsurance, to Egyptian Financial Group (EFG) Hermes, an investment bank serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB), MasterCard Collaborate on Financial Inclusion in Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent; and MasterCard, a US-based payments and technology company, recently announced that they are launching a collaboration aimed at increasing financial inclusion in Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) Allows Micro-Banking Offices (MBOs) to Approve New Deposit Accounts

Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, recently authorized micro-banking offices (MBOs) of financial institutions to extend the range of “allowable activities” [1] with the aim of increasing financial inclusion in the rural parts of the country.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $5m to Opportunity Bank Serbia for On-Lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises; Low-Income Households in Rural Serbia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced that it will loan EUR 5 million (USD 5.4 million) to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS), a branch of US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, to improve access to finance for micro -and small enterprises (MSEs) and low-income households in rural areas of Serbia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) Donates $4.5m to World Vision Myanmar for Microfinance Lending, Savings

The Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund, a Myanmar-based multi-donor trust fund, recently has donated a three-year USD 4.5 million grant to three organizations affiliated with US-based NGO World Vision, to aid approximately 100,000 people in gaining improved access to financial services.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASN-Novib Microcredit Fund Goes Public on Euronext Stock Exchange

The ASN-Novib Microcredit Fund [EUR 54.07 -0.02%] [1], which is managed by the Algemene Spaarbank voor Nederland (ASN Bank), a Dutch bank, and Oxfam Novib, the Dutch branch of UK-based NGO Oxfam International, recently went public on Euronext, a stock exchange in the Dutch city of Amsterdam [2][3].

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Next Stage of Financial Inclusion;” by Dean Karlan; Published by Stanford Social Innovation Review

“The Next Stage of Financial Inclusion;” by D. Karlan; published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review; fall 2014; 9 pages; available at: http://www.ssireview.org/pdf/Fall_2014_The_Next_Stage_of_Financial_Inclusion_1.pdf

This paper investigates the evolving role of nonprofit organizations in providing microcredit to people with low incomes.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: People’s Bank of China (PBC) Reports Growth of Microcredit Sector in Country

The People’s Bank of China (PBC), the central bank of the People’s Republic of China, has reported significant growth in the country’s microcredit sector over the past three years, with the number of microcredit companies reaching approximately 7,000 and the total outstanding loans reaching CNY 700 billion (USD 115 billion) at the end of June 2013 in China [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Dual Return Funds Invest $9.5m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) of Eight European, Asian, Latin American Countries

In June 2013, Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, issued loans totaling the equivalent of USD 9.5 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Poland though its two Vision Microfinance funds, Dual Return Fund- Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund- Vision Microfinance Local Currency Fund.