LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund that invests in microinsurance, recently made its second investment in India in the past year by taking a 15-percent equity stake in Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited (MIBL), an Indian insurance brokerage firm dedicated to serving rural Indians.
Category: Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Etisalat Rolls Out Mobile Money Service in Nigeria
Etisalat Nigeria Limited, the local subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation of the United Arab Emirates, recently unveiled its “Easywallet” a mobile money system.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $1.9m in Advans of Cameroun, $1.2m in MicroCred of Senegal
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently disbursed the approximate equivalent of USD 1.9 million in subdebt to Advans Cameroun and the equivalent of USD 1.2 million in debt to MicroCred Senegal.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The African Microfinance Transparency to Host 5th Annual Investor’s Fair, Tunisia, October 11-12, 2012
Event name: Fifth Annual Investor’s Fair
Event date: October 11-12, 2012
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AppZone Launches Branchless Banking Platform BankOne in Nigeria
AppZone, a Nigeria-based financial technology firm, reportedly has launched a branchless banking platform called BankOne that allows financial institutions to use mobile devices as data capture terminals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $5m in Chase Bank Kenya, $1.25m in KWFT of Kenya, $1.2m in FINCA Microfinance Holding of USA
ResponsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by responsAbility Social Investments of Switzerland, recently loaned USD 5 million to Chase Bank of Kenya.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Odotobri Rural Bank of Ghana Opens 7th Branch, to Introduce ATMs, Mobile Banking Services
Odotobri Rural Bank Limited, a publicly traded bank in Ghana, reportedly has opened its seventh branch in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Funds Take Stakes in EDPYME Solidaridad of Peru, FIDES Bank of Namibia, ACEP-Burkina of Burkina Faso
The Rural Impulse Fund II (RIF II), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by Incofin Investment Management (IM) of Belgium, has acquired an 8.2-percent equity stake in Peru’s Empresa de Desarrollo de la Pequeña y Micro Empresa (EDPYME) Solidaridad, a non-bank financial institution that is held by the nonprofit organization Caritas del Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ProCredit Ghana Sounds Alarm on Multiple Lending, Calls for Tighter Entry Requirements for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
Mrs Sarah Tsien Zetterli, Managing Director of ProCredit Savings and Loan Company of Ghana, reportedly stated recently that the microfinance market in Ghana has become overcrowded and that tighter entry requirements for microfinance institutions (MFIs) must be established by the Bank of Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Business Bank of Angola Launches Sociedade de Micro-Credito, Adding 4 Microcredit Products
The International Business Bank (BNI in Portuguese), an Angolan bank, reportedly has launched the Sociedade de Micro-credito, a microcredit society, in Angola’s capital city, Luanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Invests $2.2m in Microfinance Institutions CAURIE of Senegal, Thaneakea Phum Cambodia (TPC) of Cambodia
Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), an organization that provides financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects, has agreed to disburse a XOF 700 million (USD 1.3 million) to Senegal MFI Cooperative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Economiques par la Micro finance (CAURIE).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Burundi Commercial Bank, Burundi Telecommunications Launch Mobile Banking
The Burundi Commercial Bank (BANCOBU in French), a privately owned bank, and the state-owned Burundi Telecommunications Company (ONATEL in French), have launched Mobicash, a mobile banking service that allows customers to transfer funds, withdraw money and pay bills through their mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Loans $10m to Rafiki Deposit Taking Microfinance of Kenya, Mibanco of Peru
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss microfinance investment manager, has reached four investment deals with micro banks in Kenya and Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ecobank Launches Savings Campaign in Uganda
Ecobank, which is based in Togo and has operations in 29 African countries, has launched a campaign to promote savings in Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Bank of Nigeria Creates Cardless Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to Promote Financial Inclusion
First Bank of Nigeria, a commercial bank listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recently introduced a cardless Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfer service across the country that intends to facilitate the transfer of funds to people without bank accounts or payment cards.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Makes $7m Loan to Enda Inter-Arabe Microfinance Institution of Tunisia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that aims to support private-sector development, recently made a local currency loan equivalent to USD 7 million to the microfinance institution (MFI) Enda Inter-Arabe of Tunisia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Development Fund of Nigeria Will Seek to Increase Women’s Access to Financial Services by 15% per Annum
The microfinance development fund long planned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly is intended to result in a 15-percent annual increase in women’s access to financial services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, SEEP Network Launch $7.6m Program for Microfinance Associations in Sub-Saharan Africa
The MasterCard Foundation, a private, Canada-based foundation that focuses on education and microfinance, and the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, a US-based network of microenterprise practitioners, recently entered into a four-year, USD 7.6 million partnership to improve microfinance associations in Sub-Saharan Africa.