The Arab Spring Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Employment, also known as the Farasee Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that was created to launch “1 million jobs for Middle East and North Africa (MENA)” initiative, which intends to provide institutional investors and sovereign funds with opportunities to develop food security and jobs.
Category: Africa
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Financial Inclusion and the Linkages to Stability, Integrity and Protection: Insights from the South African Experience,” published by CGAP
Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); November 2, 2012, 47 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/I-SIP%20Report_1.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria: Microfinance Bank Assets Increase 3% to $1.3b Over 6 Months, Reserves Dip Into Negative Territory
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reported that the total assets held by microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country increased by 3 percent to NGN 196.5 billion (USD 1.3 billion) during the six months ending in June 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mighty Microfinance CEO to Peers in Ghana: Expand to Rural Areas
Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sampson Ahmed of Mighty Microfinance Company, a microfinance institution with 9 branches in Ghana, recently called on microfinance stakeholders in the country to focus on expanding operations to rural areas.
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.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Development Bank of Namibia Loans $3.4m to PostFin To Fund Rural, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), which has assets of NAD 1.6 billion (USD 183 million), recently disbursed the sum of USD 3.4 million to PostFin, a subsidiary of Namibia Post Limited (NamPost), to fund small and medium- sized enterprises in rural areas in addition to individuals seeking loans for housing and education.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Renaissance Credit (RenCredit) Launches in Nigeria; Will Offer Deposits, Point-of-Sale Consumer Loans Using T24 Banking Software from Temenos of Switzerland
Renaissance Credit (RenCredit), a new microfinance institution (MFI) offering deposit services and consumer loans in Nigeria, recently began operations using T24, a “cloud-hosted core banking system” offered by Temenos, a Geneva-based banking software provider.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Implement Financial Literacy Framework by March 2013
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s financial regulatory authority, recently announced plans to implement a financial literacy framework aimed at enhancing financial inclusion of unbanked people by the first quarter of 2013.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access Bank Plc of Nigeria Launches Early Savers Back to School Campaign to Promote Savings Among Kids
Access Bank Plc, a Nigerian commercial bank with branches in nine African countries and the UK, reportedly has launched an “Access Early Savers Back to School Campaign” aimed at instilling a savings culture in children in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Centre d’Appui a la Microfinance et au Developpement (CAMIDE), Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), Banque d’Escompte (BdE) Launch Service Offering Money Transfers from France to Mali
Centre d’Appui a la Microfinance et au Developpement (CAMIDE), a Malian nonprofit organisation that supports microfinance and other development initiatives, recently partnered with Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organisation that supports MFI capacity building, and Banque d’Escompte (BdE), an entity of the Wormser Frères Bank in France, to launch a new service offering money transfers from France to Mali.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Association of Microfinance Banks of Nigeria to Launch Money Market Operation in 2013
The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), a trade group of microfinance banks in Nigeria, announced that the Microfinance Money Market Operation (MMMO) is in its final stages of completion and will be launched by the first quarter of 2013.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Estimate: 90% of Nigerian Microfinance Clients Commit Fraud to Obtain Loans
The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) South West Zone, a chapter of Nigerian trade group NAMB, recently hosted a capacity building program on combatting fraud and forgery committed by staff and management of microfinance banks (MFBs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Namibia Launches Financial Literacy Initiative to Educate, Protect Consumers
A program aimed at increasing financial literacy among individuals and micro-,small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Namibia, the Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI), recently was launched in the city of Katima Mulilo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inklas of Nigeria Automates 136 Ghanaian Rural and Community Banks
ARB Apex Bank, a government-backed institution that inspects and funds rural and community banks (RCBs) under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana, through a contract with Inklas Computers Limited, a Nigerian company that specializes in information technology and financial systems integration, has completed the automation of 136 RCBs with 700 branches throughout Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credinka of Peru, Ugafode of Uganda, FACES of Ecuador, Agora Microfinance Zambia, ASDIR of Guatemala Borrow $4m From Triodos Investment Management
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Dutch Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans to the following five microfinance institutions: Caja Rural de Ahorra y Credito Quillabamba (Credinka) of Peru, Ugafode Microfinance Limited of Uganda, Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador (FACES) of Ecuador, Agora Microfinance Zambia and Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rural (ASDIR) of Guatemala.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Safaricom, Vodafone, Commercial Bank of Africa Launch M-Shwari, Offering Mobile Access to Savings and Loans in Kenya
Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile network provider; Vodafone, a British telecommunications company; and the Kenya-based Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) reportedly have partnered to launch a new service called M-Shwari for Safaricom customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $5m to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) of Nigeria
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group, recently extended a NGN 800 million (USD 5 million) loan to Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI) Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based MoreMagic, Splash Expand Mobile Money Services in Sierra Leone
Splash Mobile Money Limited, a mobile financial service provider based in Sierra Leone, and MoreMagic Solutions, a US-based technology provider that developed Splash’s service platform, have extended the Splash network in Sierra Leone with the addition of DStv, a satellite television network in the country; Access Bank and Ecobank Microfinance, two commercial banks; and a network of 50 rural banks set up by both the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture.