The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an entity of the US government that facilitates investments aligned with US foreign policy, recently loaned USD 5 million to Tugende Limited, a Ugandan motorcycle leasing company. Michael Wilkerson,
Category: Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Funding Expansion of EBRD Women in Business Programme to Morocco
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is expanding its Women in Business Programme to Morocco, where it will offer training sessions, networking opportunities and internet-based mentoring for women entrepreneurs in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues Financial, Social, Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Ratings; Client Protection Certifications in Burkina Faso, France, Asia, Latin America
Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) recently informed MicroCapital that during June it issued three Social Ratings, 11 Financial Ratings and two Client Protection Certifications to 13 microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zimbabwe’s EcoCash Mobile Money Platform Down for 2 Days
EcoCash, a mobile money service of the South African telecom Econet Wireless, recently suffered a 2-day interruption of its services in Zimbabwe. While some customers could not access their mobile wallets at all,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CBN Doubts Nigeria will Meet 2020 Financial Inclusion Goal
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reported that the country is not on track to meet the goals it set in the 2012 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). According to a CBN statement, “Nigeria has failed to meet its financial inclusion targets due to a variety of factors;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Rabobank Foundation Invest $500k in Apollo Agriculture, Provider of Loans, Insurance, Training to Smallholder Farmers in Kenya
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, and Rabobank Foundation, the “social fund” of the Dutch Rabobank Group, each recently disbursed USD 250,000 to Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that provides financial and technical assistance to smallholder farmers in Kenya.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $5m to Ghabbour Auto’s Tasaheel Microfinance of Egypt
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it loaned USD 5 million in June 2018 to Tasaheel Microfinance, which is controlled by Egypt-based vehicle manufacturer Ghabbour (GB) Auto, formerly known as Ghabbour Brothers. IIV disbursed the loan from its microfinance investment vehicle, IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund that lends to microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in developing countries.
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
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $59m to Qatar National Bank (QNB) Tunisia for Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Financing
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently loaned EUR 50 million (USD 59 million) to Qatar National Bank (QNB) Tunisia, a subsidiary of the Qatar-based QNB Group. QNB Tunisia will use the proceeds from the loan to on-lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia. This is the first transaction between EBRD and QNB Tunisia.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: AgriProFocus, ICCO Cooperation, Rabobank Foundation: “Critical Capital for African Agri-Food SMEs;” by Bert van Manen, Boubacar Diallo, Miraj Desaj, Paul Njenga
Following is a summary of a paper by Bert van Manen, Boubacar Diallo, Miraj Desaj and Paul Njenga; published by the Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO Cooperation); May 2018; 60 pages; available at: https://www.icco-cooperation.org/Portals/2/Files/Publications/Critical%20Capital%20Web.pdf
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Remittance Africa 2018: “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa;” October 23-24, 2018; Lagos, Nigeria
Event Summary: Themed “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa,” this event is intended is “to create a continental dialogue on deepening the remittance and payment ecosystems in Africa.” Attendees representing electronic payment providers, financial service providers,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $33m in Local Currency to Exim Bank Tanzania for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Financing
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned TZS 75 billion (USD 33 million) to Exim Bank Tanzania Limited, a commercial bank active in Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti and Uganda. The bank has allocated the funds for lending to micro-,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Cameroon Launches Centrale des Risques de Etablissements de Microfinance (CREMF) in Collaboration with Microfinance Institution Networks CamCCUL, ANEM-CAM to Address Delinquency Rate of 23%
The Cameroonian government recently announced the launch of the Centrale des Risques de Etablissements de Microfinance (CREMF), an organization that assists microfinance institutions (MFIs) in assessing the credit worthiness of their customers. Since June 2018, CREMF has offered a database of microloan borrowers that any Cameroonian MFI can consult for data such as whether
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Climate Investment Funds Disburse $15m to “Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience” Project for Technical, Financial Support for Smallholder Farmers
The World Bank recently disbursed a total of USD 15 million in grant and debt funding via the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), a group of four funding vehicles addressing issues related to climate change, for the second phase of the Zambia Strengthening Climate Resilience project. The project was launched
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Agri-Finance Forum (AAFF) 2018; September 25, 2018; Nairobi, Kenya
Themed “Inclusive Finance for the Agricultural Value Chain,” this event will include discussions about new financial product offerings for small-scale farmers and the obstacles impeding capital investment in the agricultural sector
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Industry (BOI) of Nigeria to Debut Government’s TraderMoni Microenterprise Lending Program
The government of Nigeria recently announced plans for a national rollout of TraderMoni, a lending service for microenterprises whose inventories do not exceed NGN 10,000 (USD 30). During the pilot phase of the project, 368 microentrepreneurs in Nigeria’s Edo State each borrowed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Holding Company ASA International to Trade on London Stock Exchange, Citigroup Coordinating IPO
ASA International, a microfinance holding company that owns and operates 12 microfinance institutions in Asia and Africa, is scheduled to become a Premium Listed company on the London Stock Exchange on July 13. The firm, which has offices in Bangladesh and the Netherlands, was co-founded by Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, the founder and President of ASA. ASA,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s IDA Loans $50m to Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) for Technical Support for Entrepreneurs; Seed Grants for SMEs
The International Development Association (IDA), a unit of the World Bank, recently issued a credit of USD 50 million to create the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), which is designed to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of existing small and medium-sized