by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Buys 28% Equity Stake in Unguka Bank, Provider of Microfinance in Rwanda, from Incofin

Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings, a Sri Lankan unit of the Japanese conglomerate Orix, recently paid an undisclosed sum to Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to acquire 28 percent of the shares of Rwanda’s Unguka Bank. Unguka provides deposit, lending and other services to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The bank has 15 service locations in the capital and three provinces. It serves 1,700 clients with total assets of USD 29 million. Unguka received its license from the National Bank of Rwanda in 2005.

Geert Peetermans, Co-CEO of Incofin commented: “From the time we

by Elva Montelongo -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Enables Spenn Mobile App Users to Send Money to Financial Institutions Across Rwanda 

Norway’s Spenn Technology recently expanded its partnership with the Rwandan unit of Kenya’s Investments & Mortgages (I&M) Bank to allow users of the Spenn mobile application to send money to any financial services provider in Rwanda, including banks and competing mobile money services. The app’s other features include

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Enabling Microinsurance via Technology: RFID Tags Slash Fraud, Costs of Livestock Cover in Rwanda

e-MFP logoAt a well-attended workshop today at European Microfinance Week, Ovia Tuhairwe, the CEO of Radiant Yacu Microinsurance, described her firm’s journey to develop a viable product to insure livestock in Rwanda. On its own, a subsidy of 40 percent from the Rwandan government did not make it easy to insure cattle, pigs and chickens in the country. Before Radiant Yacu moved to its current model in 2019, fraud was rampant, and costs were high at 10 percent of

by Zach Deluca -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends Local Currency Worth $1.5m to Yehu of Kenya, ASA Microfinance Rwanda

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced the disbursal of the following local-currency loans: to Kenya’s Yehu the approximate equivalent of USD 888,000 and to

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: SAM (the French Acronym for African Microfinance Week) in Progress in Rwanda Until October 22, 2021

Get an overview of the five-day SAM from the ADA press release or follow the proceedings on our Twitter feed!

This feature is part of a sponsored series on the SAM 2021, which is organized by the Luxembourgish NGO ADA, the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) and the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), with the support of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg and the Government of Rwanda. The event is taking place from October 18 to October 22 in Kigali, Rwanda. MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and document each of the SAMs since 2015.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Babylon’s E-health Reaches 30% of Rwandans via Phone-sharing

Babylon, a digital healthcare firm with offices in five countries, recently expanded its Babyl service in Rwanda so that multiple users can access the service from the same mobile phone, including if the phone is not a smartphone. Previously, the service only was accessible by one user per phone. As a result, the number of daily Babyl consultations has risen from 3,000 to

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: The SAM Innovators’ Village – What About the 2019 Iteration Convinced So Many to Return for the SAM 2021 Coming Up in October in Rwanda?

The SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance – African Micro­finance Week in French) is a major five-day gathering dedicated to inclusive finance in Africa. Since the first SAM in 2013, the SAM has consistently offered a true ecosystem of events, including a two-day confer­ence that this year will deeply explore the resilience of the sector and the popula­tions it serves, thanks to the participation of a range of high-level speakers and panelists. Before and after the con­ference, par­tici­pants will meet new partners and learn new skills at the Investors’ Fair, the Innovators’ Village and a wide assortment of free training sessions and workshops.

The Innovators’ Village is a key element of the SAM, showcasing innovative solutions that strengthen the resilience of indiv­iduals and organisations in the inclusive finance sector. It is also a meeting place, creating opportunities for synergies among a myriad of actors in the sector. At the Innovators’ Village, you’ll find a range of organisa­tions that can strengthen the resilience to shocks of African institutions and populations through concrete tools, methodolo­gies, products and ser­vices. Exhibitors will meet new potential customers and investors to develop their businesses, as well as partners for new projects. Practi­tioners likewise will identify innovative solutions that meet their needs and find potential partners and investors. Funders can identify innova­tive solutions with high potential for both social and financial returns.

Probably the most effective way to understand the value of the Inno­vators’ Village is through the words of leaders who have participated as exhibitors in the past and will return for this next edition of the SAM, which will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 18 to 22, 2021.

Jarek Chuchla, Microfact Coordinator: Every single edition of the SAM is a

by Divya Deshmukh -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: The SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance); October 18-22, 2021; Kigali, Rwanda

This year’s SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) includes five days of conference sessions, an investors’ fair, an “Innovators’ Village,” research presentations, training sessions and workshops under the theme “Resilience of the African Inclusive Finance Sector.” The two-day conference portion of SAM includes sessions on topics such as how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, financing agricultural value chains, risk management, serving youth, digital infrastructure and post-crisis reconstruction. The other days of SAM include workshops on topics such as social performance,

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Building Resilience for Microfinance Clients – the SAM 2021 Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, October 18-22

MicroCapital: How will the theme resilience be addressed during the SAM 2021?

Yombo Odanou: The EU has defined resilience as “the capacity of an individual, household, community, country or region to resist, adapt and recover quickly from crises and shocks.” The dual climate and COVID-19 crises and their effects on the global economy are forcing institutions to find new ways to take advantage of this austere environment.

Christophe Hebting: We believe the discussions at the SAM can build the resilience capacity of all actors in the inclusive finance sector. This includes addressing questions such as: How can resilience be increased through structural change? In the face of climate change? Through technological innovations?

MC: How are you addressing concerns attendees may have regarding the potential transmission of COVID-19 during the event?

YO: Since the beginning of this pandemic, MAIN has initiated actions to enable its members to minimise the risk of infection, allowing them to continue

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: SAM 2021 to Take Place in Kigali, Rwanda, October 18-22; “One Is Not Born Resilient But Becomes Resilient: Fostering Inclusive Finance to Better Overcome Crisis!”

From ADA: It’s official! The largest event in inclusive finance on the African continent, the long awaited African Microfinance Week (AMW 2021), will take place in Kigali, in the land of 1,000 hills and mountains: Rwanda. From October 18 to October 22, 2021, the SAM will address the theme of resilience, a concern that is all the more important in these particular times.

This notice is the first in a

by Eha Joshi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Singapore, Rwanda Implementing 1st Rollout of E-commerce Platform Proxtera; Promising SMEs International, Domestic Connections to Customers, Vendors, Logistics, Financial Services

Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently signed a deal to implement the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) platform Proxtera in Rwanda. As the successor to Business sans Borders, Proxtera

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Money Transactions in Rwanda Quadruple, Cash-outs Plummet After NBR Mandates Free Digital Payments Due to Pandemic

Airtel, an India-based telecommunications company that operates in Rwanda and 17 other countries in Africa and Asia, recently reported “a spike in data, mobile payments and voice [usage] during the lockdown” imposed by the Rwandan government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in mobile payments was encouraged by a March 15 instruction from the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the country’s central bank, that mobile network operators (MNOs) in

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.5m to ACEP Niger, VisionFund Rwanda, LAPO of Sierra Leone

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has issued local-currency loans to three microfinance institutions (MFIs), approximately equivalent to the following amounts: USD 550,000 to ACEP Niger, an affiliate of the Agency for Private Enterprise Credit (ACEP) International; USD 540,000 to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inclusivity Solutions, Provider of Insurance Technology (Insurtech) in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda, Raises Equity Investments from Goodwell, Allan Gray, RGAx

Inclusivity Solutions, a South Africa-based provider of digital insurance services, recently raised USD 1.5 million in an equity round led by Goodwell Investments, a Netherlands-based investor in “inclusive growth” in Africa and India. Inclusivity has distributed insurance policies to 530,000 people via wireless service providers Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda. The firm plans to use its new cash to grow in these markets as well as to expand to other countries.

The managing partner of Goodwell Investments, Wim van der Beek, said, “…we believe that collaborative insurtech solutions like Inclusivity Solutions are best positioned to reach large numbers of underserved consumers” because of

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MTN, Airtel Launch Rwanda-to-Tanzania Mobile Remittance Service

Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, and Airtel Tanzania, which is controlled by Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, recently launched a remittance service allowing MTN Rwanda customers to use their mobile phones to send