by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: As Lenders Meet Central Bank of Sudan Requirement to Allocate 12% of Portfolios to Microfinance, Agriculture Leads Market

Since 2007, the Central Bank of Sudan, microfinance institutions and other stakeholders have worked to institutionalize microfinance practices that comply with Islamic law and are resilient to challenges such as changing political situations, regional stagflation and COVID-19. The regulator required in 2010 that commercial banks allocate at least 12 percent of their lending to microcredit, which is defined as loans of up to USD 2,600, but they only recently met the requirement.

From the end of 2020 to the end of 2021, the number of microfinance clients in the country grew by 100,000 to

by Nathan Kiplagat -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNIDO Incubates Agro-processing Training Center, Moving Groundnut, Sesame Farmers Up Oils Value Chain in South Sudan

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) recently handed over a program for developing agricultural value chains to local managers in South Sudan. Since its launch in 2019, 250 farmers in the country have enrolled, learning entrepreneurship skills and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Refugee Youth from South Sudan Build Skills to Benefit from Microfinance Lending in Uganda: Agricultural, Financial, Social

This 3-minute video shows how ICCO Cooperation, War Child and ZOA are partnering to help youth “improve their social and economic wellbeing through psychosocial and livelihoods support in Africa’s biggest refugee settlement, Bidibidi.”

This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sudan Establishing Digital Transformation Agency to Promote E-payments, Financial Inclusion; Joins UNCDF’s Better Than Cash Alliance

The Republic of Sudan recently joined the Better Than Cash Alliance, an initiative of the UN Capital Development Fund, as part of its effort to expedite the country’s transition to the use of digital payments. This effort is a major element of Sudan’s economic reform

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: VisionFund Uganda Opening Branches to Deliver Microfinance to Refugees from South Sudan

The Ugandan subsidiary of VisionFund International, which is owned by US-based NGO World Vision, recently opened a branch in the Moyo region of Uganda, serving refugees and local residents near the Palorinya settlement for refugees from South Sudan. About 121,000 refugees and 48,000 Ugandans live in the area. During 2020, VisionFund Uganda plans to open three more branches targeting areas with large numbers of refugees, including one branch serving the town of Yumbe and the nearby settlement Bidibidi, where 230,000

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Sudan Issues Monetary Policy Promoting Financial Inclusion, Competition Among Financial Institutions; Sets $30k MSE Loan Ceiling

Governor CBOS Governor Badr IbrahimBadr Ibrahim (pictured) of the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) recently announced a new monetary policy intended to reduce inflation, stabilize exchange rates, finance goods produced for export, strengthen financial safety nets, boost financial inclusion and increase competition among financial services providers.

Elkhidir Elamin Mohammed, the managing director of Al-Fal MSE Finance, tells MicroCapital that, “This announcement is motivating financial institutions to innovate and link their investment activities with

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Al-Fal Boosts Rural, Interest-free, Value Chain Microfinance in Sudan via SAM, the Pan-African Conference on Financial Inclusion

Two years ago, SAM 2019Elkhidir Elamin Mohammed (pictured below), the managing director of Al-Fal Microfinance, was the only attendee from Sudan at the SAM conference in Addis Ababa. Because Al-Fal lends in compliance with Islamic law, Mr Elkhidir was keen to network with others on the topic of interest-free lending. As a result of meeting Dr Mebrahtu Meles, Ethiopia’s Minister of Industry, Mr Elkhidir connected with

by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: NilePay, Zain to Launch Mobile Money Service in South Sudan

NilePay PLC, an electronic financial services company in South Sudan, and the local member of the Zain Group, a Kuwait-based mobile telecommunications firm, are launching a licensed mobile money service in South Sudan. The NilePay service will allow customers to

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: RUFI Crosses Border with Refugees from South Sudan, Opens Doors in Uganda; Breaking MFIs’ Stereotypes About Victims of Conflict – Insights from European Microfinance Week

Friday European Microfinance Platformat European Microfinance Week, Resi Janssen of Dutch NGO Cordaid described her institution’s Rural Finance Initiative (RUFI), which had been working in South Sudan when violence in 2016 caused most of its clients to flee to Uganda. With no license to accept deposits in Uganda, RUFI became an agent of Centenary Bank so it could continue to provide savings and other services to its customers – albeit in a different country – at a time of great need.

Not long after relocating, some of RUFI’s customers started asking how they could keep their children from being recruited as fighters. RUFI secured

by Meredith Steih -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA) to Host 2nd International Forum on Islamic Finance (IFIF), February 9-10, 2016, Khartoum, Sudan

Event Name: 2nd International Forum on Islamic Finance

Event Dates: February 9-10, 2016

Event Location: Al Salam Rotana Hotel, Khartoum, Sudan

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Market in Sudan Reaches 700k Borrowers, $352m in Funding

The Sudan Vision, a Sudanese daily newspaper, recently reported that, as of the end of 2013, the outreach of the country’s microfinance sector had grown to approximately 700,000 borrowers, up from approximately 490,000 the year before and 244,000 in 2011.

by Meghan Gillis -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sudan’s Northern Darfur Ministry of Finance Seeking to Improve Women’s Access to Microfinance

According to a statement attributed to Abu Daoud Suleiman, the Minister of Finance, Economy, and Civil Service of the Sudanese state of North Darfur, his state reportedly will seek to increase rural women’s access to funds from microfinance institutions because “women demonstrate commitment to repaying installations on time.”

by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development Grants $925,000 to Agricultural Bank of Sudan Microfinance Initiative Focusing on Women

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations agency, has provided a grant of USD 925,000 to the Republic of Sudan to be invested in the Agricultural Bank of Sudan Microfinance Initiative (ABSUMI), a creation of the government-owned Agricultural Bank of Sudan.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Charitable Society for Mother and Child Care of Sudan Obtains $100k for Microfinance from Islamic Solidarity Fund of Palestine

The African Charitable Society for Mother and Child Care, a Sudan-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) also known as the African Maternity and Childhood Welfare Society, reportedly has signed an agreement to access USD 100,000 from the Islamic Solidarity Fund, a Palestinian fund that aims to elevate the living standard of Muslim people worldwide.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silatech Sponsors Financial Literacy Training Course Expected to Benefit 1,000 Credit Officers in Sudan

Silatech, a Qatar-based social enterprise that aims to increase employment and entrepreneurship among youth in the Middle East and North Africa, recently delivered a three-day Financial Literacy Training of Trainers course to 20 instructors from the Sudan Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (SABFS), a Sudanese technical university.

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Launching Business Edge Training Program in South Sudan

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to expand its Business Edge training program, which was launched in 2002, to South Sudan in an effort to aid small businesses within the country.

by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: President Al Bashir, Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) Plan 500 New Microfinance Services Centers to Employ 1,000 Graduates

President Al Bashir of Sudan recently met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS), Mohamed Khair Alzubeir, to discuss the state of the Sudanese economy as well as specifics of a planned expansion of banking services throughout the country.