Two private commercial banks based in the Indian city of Mumbai, Yes Bank and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank, reportedly have started using “doorstep” banking in rural India to reach more customers by offering services such as credit, savings and insurance at customers’ homes.
Category: Key Players
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Ghana, MicroEnsure, Enterprise Life Roll Out Free Mobile Accident Insurance in Ghana
Airtel Ghana, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel; MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance company founded by US-based Opportunity International; and Enterprise Life, an insurance company that is part of Ghana-based Enterprise Group, recently announced that 100,000 Airtel Ghana customers have registered for Airtel Insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Facebook Seeks Regulatory Approval from Central Bank of Ireland to Provide Remittances, Mobile Money Throughout European Union
Facebook, a US-based social networking company, reportedly is waiting for approval of its application to the Central Bank of Ireland to become an “e-money” institution, which would allow it to provide remittances and mobile money services throughout Europe through a structure known as “passporting”[2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seven International Lending Institutions Launch Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF)
The Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF), an alliance focused on creating a sustainable financial market for small agricultural businesses, recently was launched by seven international lending institutions at the 11th Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship in Oxford, United Kingdom.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), World Bank (WB) to Develop National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, and the World Bank (WB), a US-based multilateral institution, reportedly have announced a partnership to develop a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) for Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB) of Tanzania, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sign $75m Agreement to Support Small, Medium-Sized Businesses Including Those Owned by Women, Involved in Agriculture
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB), a commercial bank in Tanzania, recently signed an agreement worth USD 75 million to support financing to small businesses in the country, particularly agribusinesses and companies owned by women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mongolia Seek to Improve Secured-Transaction Payment System
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, has recently partnered with Mongolia’s Ministry of Justice to augment Mongolia’s regulatory system for secured-transaction payments, transactions between lenders and borrowers that are predicated on borrowers’ collateral.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, China Microfinance Institution Association (CMIA) Seek to Strengthen Risk Management
PlaNet Finance, an NGO based in Paris, France, recently announced a partnership with the China Microfinance Institution Association (CMIA), a trade group of microfinance institutions (MFIs), to enhance risk management in the microfinance industry in China.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Grants Preliminary Approval to Microlender Bandhan to Receive Banking License
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, recently granted “in-principle” approval to the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), an Indian financial services provider based in the city of Mumbai, and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian city of Kolkata, to acquire banking licenses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Uganda Slow to Apply for Credit From Microfinance Support Center (MSC)
The Microfinance Support Center (MSC), an arm of the government of Uganda, reportedly is urging groups such as village savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs), microfinance institutions, and small and medium enterprises, to apply for credit from the company “yet demand for it has been low” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) to Provide Training, Capacity Building Services to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries
AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE), a Pakistan-based NGO that promotes Islamic banking, and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research & Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), a subsidiary of the Turkey-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide training and capacity building services to the central banks of the 57 member countries of OIC.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KfW, Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), Developpement International Desjardins, Lundin Foundation Commit $41m to AfricInvest Financial Sector Fund
AfricInvest-TunInvest Group, a Tunisia-based private equity firm, recently announced the closing of a third round of capital-raising for its AfricInvest Financial Sector Fund, a vehicle that invests in financial institutions that lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of America Invests $10m in Calvert Foundation to Support Financial Access for Women Entrepreneurs in Low-, Middle-income Countries
Bank of America, a US-based financial services provider, is investing USD 10 million in Calvert Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization specializing in social-impact investment, to provide loans to organizations that increase financial access for women entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union to Provide Technical Assistance to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia
The Small Business Support (SBS) team of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based financial institution, recently began operations in Tunisia, with plans to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with technical tools and management skills in order to help them innovate, increase efficiency and boost productivity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Disburses Syndicated Loan of $125m to Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank (NDB)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently disbursed a four-year syndicated loan of USD 125 million to National Development Bank (NDB), which is owned by the government of Sri Lanka, in an effort to improve access to funds for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Buksh Foundation, Kiva Announce Partnership to Support Microentrepreneurs in Pakistan
The Buksh Foundation (BF), a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan, and Kiva Microfunds, a US-based nonprofit online fundraising portal for MFIs, have announced a partnership to support microentrepreneurs in an effort to achieve development sector goals and alleviate poverty in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Offers $5m Credit Line to FINCA for Lending in Kyrgyz Republic
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, England, recently announced that it will extend a credit line of USD 5 million to FINCA Kyrgyzstan, a unit of US-based microfinance nonprofit FINCA International.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Citi to Share Risk on $550m Global Loan Facility, $220m Inclusive Growth Agreement
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development agency of the US government, reportedly has entered agreements with Citi, a US-based financial services corporation, to share credit risk for the financing of investments in an unspecified number of the 150 OPIC-eligible countries with a USD 550 million loan facility for general investments and a USD 220 million loan facility to support financial inclusion.