“The State of Microfinance Investment 2012: MicroRate’s 7th Annual Survey and Analysis of MIVs;” published by MicroRate; October 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.microrate.com/downloads/78
Category: Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Africa Proposes “Twin Peaks” Financial Regulation System
At a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, hosted by the Alliance of Financial Inclusion (AFI), a nonprofit Thailand-based network of financial policymakers aimed at increasing access to financial services, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that his country is considering the implementation of a “Twin Peaks” regulation system in an effort to foster financial inclusion, strengthen consumer protection, combat financial crime, promote financial education efforts and increase the accessibility of financial services.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Institute for International Research Holds Third Annual Microinsurance Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, January 22 – January 24, 2013
Event Name: 3rd Annual Microinsurance Conference
Event Date: January 22 – January 24, 2013
Event Location: The Wanderers Club, Ilovo, Johannesburg, South Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LendmeMula, eTranzact, ZimSwitch to Offer Access to Credit via MulaConnect Card
British payday lender Lendme Limited reportedly has partnered with eTranzact, a Nigeria-based mobile money service provider, to offer clients in Zimbabwe immediate access to funds that they borrow from the LendmeMula service.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya to Levy 10% Tax on Mobile Money Transactions
Kenya’s government recently announced a 10-percent excise duty will be charged on fees for cash transactions executed using mobile money transfer systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cooperative of Savings and Credit Duterimbere of Rwanda Requests Microfinance Institution Status
The Cooperative of Savings and Credit Duterimbere (COOPEDU), a nonprofit organization in Rwanda, is seeking to become recognized by the Central Bank of Rwanda as a microfinance institution (MFI) in an effort to increase its outreach and the range of financial services it provides to its members.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Directorate for Development and Cooperation, European Investment Bank, Appui au Développement Autonome Unveil $5.2m Microfinance Project, MicroMED Tunisia
The Directorate for Development and Cooperation (Lux-Development), an agency of the government of Luxembourg, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s lending institution, recently unveiled MicroMED Tunisia, a EUR 4 million (USD 5.2 million), five-year initiative intended to aid the development of the microfinance sector in Tunisia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Appui au Developpement Autonome, BSB, Confederation des Institutions Financieres Partner on Microinsurance in West Africa
Appui au Developpement Autonome (ADA), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organisation, recently partnered with Confédération des Institutions Financières (CIF), a Burkina-Faso-based association of six West African savings cooperatives, to implement microinsurance projects across five countries in West Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP) Deposit Taking Microfinance Institution of Kenya Looking to Raise $18.5m in Share Capital
Small and Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP), a deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI) in Kenya, is looking to raise KES 1.6 billion (USD 18.5 million) in share capital for expansion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya Licenses Century Deposit Taking Microfinance (DTM)
Century Deposit Taking Microfinance (DTM), a newly established microfinance institution (MFI) based in Nairobi, was recently licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya to operate nationwide.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Zambia Urges Microlenders to Move Away From Consumption-Related Lending at Launch of Microfinance Zambia
The Bank of Zambia (BOZ), the country’s apex financial institution, has recently called for microfinance institutions operating in the country to embrace lending to productive sectors in the economy as distinct from lending for consumer- related purposes, which is estimated to account for about 90 percent of the amount loaned in the country’s microfinance sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya May Give Microfinance Institutions Access to Credit Reference Bureau
The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), which promotes the interests of its 43 member banks, and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) are reportedly working on possible regulation changes that would allow microfinance institutions (MFIs) to access customer data at the country’s Credit Reference Bureau.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II Loans $2.6m to Kenya Women Finance Trust, Incofin Investment Management to Finance Technical Assistance Project for AB Bank Zambia
The Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), a Kenyan deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI), recently received a EUR 2 million (USD 2.6 million) loan from Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund (RIF) II, a Belgian microfinance investment vehicle (MIV).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank Governor Sanusi of Nigeria Argues Microfinance Should Empower Families
Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the apex financial authority of the country, recently announced the bank’s plans to establish a database of microfinance banks in Nigeria as part of efforts to regulate the microfinance sector [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya Women Finance Trust, Samsung to Market Phones, Mobile Banking to Women in Kenya
The Kenya Women Finance Trust – Deposit Taking Microfinance (KWFT-DTM), a subsidiary microfinance institution (MFI) of Kenya Women Holdings, has partnered with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics to market mobile banking to low-income women in Kenya.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Social Investments Loans $1.5m to AccessBank Tanzania, $1.3m to EKI of Bosnia and Herzegovina
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned USD 1 million through the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), one of the microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) it manages, to AccessBank Tanzania, a commercial bank established as part of Germany’s AccessHolding in 2007.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Microscope 2012; Impact of Financial Access in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Economic Opportunities and Financial Outcomes of Microfinance
“Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2012;” by the Economist Intelligence Unit; published by The Economist; 72 pages; available at: http://www5.iadb.org/mif/en-us/home/knowledge.aspx?idPublication=64206
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: YuMobile, MicroEnsure, Jubilee Insurance Partner to Offer Life, Disability Insurance to Mobile Subscribers in Kenya
YuMobile, a Kenyan mobile phone service provider; MicroEnsure, a UK-based subsidiary of Opportunity International; and Jubilee Insurance, a Kenyan insurance provider, recently partnered to offer life and disability insurance called yuCover for yuMobile’s pre-pay subscribers.