MICROFINANCE EVENT: AFSIC: Investing in Africa; October 9-10, 2023; London, UK

The tenth edition of the Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC) will promote investing in the continent with presentations on trends in environmental protection and sectors such as agriculture and financial technology (fintech). In addition to country-specific investment and networking meetings, the agenda includes sessions titled: (1) Banking in Africa – for

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Worth Your Weight: Experimental Evidence on the Benefits of Obesity in Low-income Countries,” by Elise Macchi

This paper examines how the perception of obesity as a symbol of wealth can yield financial benefits to overweight people in southern Uganda. The author applied computer software to photos of 34 test subjects to create

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Enables Spenn Mobile App Users to Send Money to Financial Institutions Across Rwanda 

Norway’s Spenn Technology recently expanded its partnership with the Rwandan unit of Kenya’s Investments & Mortgages (I&M) Bank to allow users of the Spenn mobile application to send money to any financial services provider in Rwanda, including banks and competing mobile money services. The app’s other features include

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Activists Block Access to 3 Microfinance Institution Branches in Nepal, Accusing MFIs of Causing Over-indebtedness

Members of the Nepal Communist Party reportedly placed locks on the doors of two microfinance institution (MFI) branch offices in the western Nepali province of Sudurpaschim. Access to a third branch in the province also was blocked before police removed

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; October 9-11, 2023; Cairo, Egypt – NEW DATES

This event, which originally was set to begin on May 7, 2023, will focus on the importance of financial literacy and long-term savings in improving household financial stability. It offers in-person and remote access to sessions such as: (1) Reconciling the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lulalend Raises $4.7m for SMEs in South Africa via Symbiotics Social Bond

Lulalend, a funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, recently partnered with Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle- income countries, to issue bonds supplying USD 4.7 million to Lulalend. The bond issue is deemed socially responsible per the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investors Buy $173m in Equity in Fusion Microfinance of India; IPO Allows Exits by Early Shareholders, Promoters

In the run-up to the recent IPO by India’s Fusion Microfinance, 17 investors paid approximately INR 3.3 billion (USD 40 million) for equity stakes in the microlender. The actual IPO was oversubscribed by a factor of two, as Fusion raised INR 6 billion (USD 72 million) in fresh cash, and early investors and promotors sold shares for a total of INR 5 billion (USD 61 million). Among those selling their entire holdings in the company was

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sonata Borrows $6m from MicroVest for Group Microlending to Women in Rural India

Sonata Finance, a provider of loans and insurance to women in India, recently borrowed USD 6 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global. Founded in 2006, Sonata serves 700,000 borrowers on a cash-free basis via 460 branches. While most of the microfinance institution’s loans are to groups of women conducting rural enterprise, the institution also offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Committee in Bangladesh Considering Cutting Microcredit Interest Rate Cap Below 24%

The Bangladeshi government recently convened a committee to “analyze cost of the MFIs’ [microfinance institutions’] services and to determine if there is any scope to reduce the charges” with a nationwide cap. The committee, which includes 11 representatives of government, industry and observers, is headed by

MICROFINANCE EVENT: World Finance Conference; August 1-3, 2022; Turin, Italy

This conference promotes the exchange of ideas in research, teaching and managerial practices relating to finance, economics and banking. Although the detailed agenda for this year has not yet been finalized, the last iteration of the event included topics such as microsavings, interest rates,

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week – Online November 17-19, 2021 – Registration Now Open

Despite the pandemic, European Microfinance Platformthe European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) once again presents one of its flagship activities, European Microfinance Week (EMW), online this November. While the detailed agenda has not yet been released, it will include the presentation of the EUR 100,000 European Microfinance Award, as always. Over three days, last year’s EMW included 130 speakers reaching 500 attendees via the internet. Registrations fees vary from EUR 40 to EUR 200. More details appear at https://registration.european-microfinance-week.eu/website/27793/.

This notice is part of a sponsored series on EMW, the next iteration of which will occur online from November 17 through November 19, 2021. This event is held annually by e-MFP, a Luxembourg-based network with approximately 130 members. MicroCapital has been engaged to cover the event each year since 2012.

Additional Resources

European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) information on European Microfinance Week 2020
http://www.e-mfp.eu/european-microfinance-week-2020

MicroCapital coverage since 2012 of European Microfinance Week, including each European Microfinance Award
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RBI Proposes Reforms Including Debt-income Ratio Cap, Repeal of Interest Rate Ceiling for Microfinance Institutions in India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently proposed a set of new rules that include eliminating the cap on the interest rates that microfinance institutions (MFIs) charge their customers and harmonizing microlending regulations for all organizations providing microloans. This would include

SPECIAL REPORT: Protecting Consumers, Tracking Business Cash Flows, Cutting Costs for Digital Microfinance

During European Microfinance Platform a session entitled “Digital Credit Beyond Consumer Finance” at European Microfinance Week 2020, Michael Rothe, the co-founder of UK-based Flow, argued that there are both good and bad players in digital lending. He said that “most development finance institutions think digital credit is dangerous” and that “because providers are not being differentiated, Flow is being lumped in with” consumer finance. In fact, Flow is a fintech that lends to businesses only. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some Flow customers – many of whom operate shops that offer mobile-money services as a sideline – had to close down due to government restrictions on travel and trade. However, those that remained open saw an uptick in transactions. This is partially because governments encouraged the use of mobile money in an effort to minimize virus transmission. While other lenders stopped operating during the early days of the pandemic, Flow continued to lend, resulting in brand loyalty that Mr Rothe describes as very high. The ratio of the firm’s portfolio at risk peaked at

SPECIAL REPORT: Local Market Data, Resilience During Pandemic, Securitization, Land Title Systems Enable Housing Microfinance, Micro-mortgages

During European Microfinance PlatformEuropean Microfinance Week 2020, Maria Claudia Rojas of the Netherlands’ Triple Jump described her firm’s experience managing the MicroBuild Fund it created with US-based Habitat for Humanity in 2012. Compared with Triple Jump’s portfolio as a whole, MicroBuild has maintained higher asset quality, and that margin of superiority has doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lucie Astier Such of the French government’s AFD explained her agency’s role in providing technical assistance, loans and data to support housing finance in developing countries. Part of this effort involves connecting households and microfinance institutions (MFIs) with reputable builders and suppliers of construction materials. One tool for this purpose is

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Action Group Meeting: Investors Not Incentivizing MFIs Sufficiently re Measuring Social Performance

DuringEuropean Microfinance Platform today’s opening sessions of European Microfinance Week, e-MFP’s Investor Action Group met to discuss social performance measurement within microfinance institutions (MFIs). Calum Scott of US-based NGO Opportunity International described his organization’s efforts to work with MFIs to measure client outcomes. He specified that Opportunity generally does not seek to measure client impact, as that has proven too resource-intensive for its purposes. However, he argued that, “The pandemic doesn’t make outcomes data less important. If anything it makes it more important to know if and how your products are helping clients.” Of Opportunity’s partners, 95 percent use

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Consumer Protection and COVID-19: Borrower Risks as Economies Reopen,” by Elisabeth Rhyne, Published by CGAP

Dr Rhyne has analyzed data collected by CGAP, microfinance investors and financial service providers (FSPs) to consider how FSPs can collect outstanding microloans – including after repayment moratoria – and issue

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fonds National de la Finance Inclusive (FNFI) Cuts Interest Rates, Boosts Commissions for 9 MFIs in Togo Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

To support nine of its partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Togolese government’s Fonds National de la Finance Inclusive (FNFI) is taking the following measures: (1) cutting interest rates on its loans to the MFIs by 1 percentage point; and (2) boosting the management fee that the MFIs receive for