Yemen’s Al-Qutaibi Islamic Bank for Microfinance recently launched its Vendor Finance Department to support farms and other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in acquiring technology to produce renewable energy as well as “climate-smart” farming tools such as “solar-fed irrigation systems, greenhouses, and tunnel farming tools.” The bank did this with support from the
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MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Digital Finance Campaign Replication Guide,” Published by USAID
This paper describes a digital finance education campaign called “Hey Sister! Show Me the Mobile Money,” including efforts to make it easy to replicate from one geographical context to another. The program facilitates low-income women’s access to digital financial services (DFS) by addressing the challenges of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC, USAID, African Union’s AUDA-NEPAD Partner to Expand Access to Finance for MSMEs in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria
The US Agency for International Development (AID) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently joined with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) to provide loan guarantees to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Nigeria. The goals of the partnership are to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: HDFC Bank to Lend $100m to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in India – Half Led by Women – with Support from DFC, Mastercard, USAID
HDFC Bank, an affiliate of India’s Housing Development Finance Corporation, recently agreed to lend USD 100 million to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India to support their usage of digital payments, including to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of the credit facility is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact, Pro Mujer Raise $1.3m from USAID for Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund to Deploy in Latin America, Caribbean
Canada-based asset management company Deetken Impact and US-based nonprofit women’s development organization Pro Mujer recently announced they have raised USD 1.3 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, which is active in Latin America and the Caribbean. Deetken plans to leverage a portion of the funding to attract private investment, adding a total of USD 5 m
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IKEA Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, USAID Invest $30m in Aceli Africa, Guarantor of Loans to Agricultural SMEs
The IKEA Foundation, an affiliate of the Sweden-founded IKEA group of furniture companies; the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently made a joint investment of USD 30 million in Aceli Africa, a US-based nonprofit. Aceli encourages lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector, typically by depositing
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:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Launches, Combining Efforts of OPIC, USAID’s DCA with Investment Cap of $60b to Focus on Low-income, Lower Middle-income Countries
The government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently launched with goals to “help businesses expand into emerging markets, foster growth and improve lives in the developing world, while reinforcing US foreign policy and national security interests.” DFC is taking over the work of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which had similar goals and an investment cap of USD 29 billion, and the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USAID to Guarantee $15m in Agricultural Lending by Cambodia’s AMK Microfinance Institution, LOLC, RMA Financial Services
Through its Development Credit Authority (DCA), the US Agency for International Development (AID) has agreed to guarantee a portion of agricultural loans totaling USD 15 million to be disbursed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladeshi Farmers to Receive Microloans via Credit Cards Arranged by CARE Bangladesh, DAM, mPower, USAID
The Agricultural Extension Support Activity (AESA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is implemented by the Bangladesh-based nonprofit Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), is piloting an initiative to provide smallholder farmers with loans via bank cards.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, USAID to Cooperate on Boosting Private Sector Development in Regions Including Eurasia, Middle East, North Africa
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, England, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, recently signed a “Framework for Cooperation” detailing a plan to boost private sector development in regions in which both organizations operate.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Donating up to $6m to World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) for Housing Development in Haiti
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign assistance agency of the US government, recently agreed to give the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based association of credit union groups in 54 countries, a donation up to USD 6 million under USAID’S “Home Ownership and Mortgage Expansion” (HOME) facility.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USAID-Funded Lebanon Investment in Microfinance (LIM) Program Establishes Microfinance Association
Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities officially has approved the establishment of a microfinance association, whose membership will consist of the following Lebanese microfinance institutions (MFIs): Association for the Development of Rural Capacities, Association d’Entraide Professionnelle, Al Majmoua, Entrepreneurial Development Foundation, Emkan, Ibdaai Lebanon, Makhzoumi Foundation and Vitas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Provide $71m to Government of India for Banking, Clean Energy, Water and Sanitation
The US Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, recently committed up to USD 71 million to the Government of India to support the country’s banking, clean energy and water and sanitation sectors.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID), NetHope Announce 3 Grants Totaling $42k to Support Electronic, Mobile Payments
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and NetHope, a consortium of 41 international humanitarian organizations, recently announced three grants totaling USD 42,000 that aim to support development organizations in testing electronic payments and performing cost-benefit analyses of cash versus electronic payment systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tigo Ghana, EB Accion, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, USAID to Help Women Become Mobile Money Agents
The Ghanaian branch of Luxembourg-based telecommunication firm Millicom International Cellular, which is also known as Tigo and has operations in 15 African and Latin American countries; EB Accion, a Ghana-based microfinance institution (MFI) affiliated with Togo-based Ecobank Group and US-based non-governmental organization (NGO) Accion; Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, a London-based charity focused on technology and access to finance; and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, reportedly have partnered on a mobile money project that is expected to involve hundreds of women in Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Women’s World Banking (WWB) Partners with Australia’s AusAID on Microinsurance, 90k Jordanians Reached by Microfund for Women
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), an agency of the federal government of Australia, reportedly has pledged its support to Women’s World Banking (WWB), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, to assist with the expansion of international microinsurance services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), US Agency for International Development (USAID) Commit $23m to Development Innovations Group (DIG) Housing Finance Facility in Haiti
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution of the US government, recently signed an agreement to loan USD 17 million to the US-based for-profit organization Development Innovations Group (DIG) to establish a housing finance facility in Haiti.