The microfinance institution Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) Cameroon has borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.2 million from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Created in 1999, ACEP Cameroon focuses on the development of micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) via deposit, loan, transfer, insurance and mobile banking services. Its loan offerings include products for farming, enterprise and other purposes. The institution’s microinsurance services range from health and life cover to vehicle insurance. ACEP Cameroon
Category: Microinsurance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microserfin to Boost Farm Microinsurance, Microloans in Panama with $2.3m in Debt Finance from Huruma Fund
Microserfin, a lender to homeowners as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Panama, recently borrowed EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) from Huruma Fund, a Spain-based public-private partnership supporting rural finance in low- and moderate-income countries. Microserfin, which is controlled by the Spain-based Fundación BBVA Microfinanzas, serves 14,000 clients with financial products; financial education; and access to a 24-hour hotline for assistance with health, legal, agricultural and veterinary emergencies. The microlender’s upcoming plans include
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,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tugende Raises $17m in Debt from Symbiotics, Goldfinch, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Lendahand to Expand Vehicle, Equipment Financing for MSMEs in Kenya, Uganda
Tugende, a financial technology (fintech) firm specializing in vehicle finance in Uganda and Kenya, recently raised USD 17 million in debt funding. The firm plans to use USD 12 million of the fresh cash to support growth in
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week – Christoph Pausch Discusses the Main Event, November 17-19, Plus 2 Bonus Training Days
MicroCapital: European Microfinance Week (EMW) 2021 – like in 2020 – will be virtual. How is it possible to make an online conference a success?
Christoph Pausch: Like last year’s successful first virtual conference and in the years before it, EMW2021 remains primarily a member-led event, and the programme is developed based on what members propose and consider important. This is as true as ever. There are things we learned from last year’s event, and there will be some changes based on what we observed – and based on feedback from attendees, of course. But fundamentally the idea remains the same: a programme covering a wide range of topic streams and presented via a whole array of different session models, chosen depending on the subject matter, the audience and the objectives of the session. That means plenaries, traditional panels, workshops, topic lounges, publication launches and Action Group meetings – among others. As much as possible, we help our members put together sessions that are current, relevant, important and interactive. Beyond this, there are
SPECIAL REPORT: SAM (the French Acronym for African Microfinance Week) in Progress in Rwanda Until October 22, 2021
Get an overview of the five-day SAM from the ADA press release or follow the proceedings on our Twitter feed!
This feature is part of a sponsored series on the SAM 2021, which is organized by the Luxembourgish NGO ADA, the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) and the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), with the support of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg and the Government of Rwanda. The event is taking place from October 18 to October 22 in Kigali, Rwanda. MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and document each of the SAMs since 2015.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Babylon’s E-health Reaches 30% of Rwandans via Phone-sharing
Babylon, a digital healthcare firm with offices in five countries, recently expanded its Babyl service in Rwanda so that multiple users can access the service from the same mobile phone, including if the phone is not a smartphone. Previously, the service only was accessible by one user per phone. As a result, the number of daily Babyl consultations has risen from 3,000 to
SPECIAL REPORT: CRECER, Dreamlopments, Fonkoze in Finals for European Microfinance Award 2021 on Inclusive Finance & Health Care
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On the 22nd and 23rd September 2021, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2021 (EMA 2021) on “Inclusive Finance & Health Care” chose the three finalists who will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 117,000) prize: CRECER IFD from Bolivia, Dreamlopments Limited from Thailand and Fonkoze from Haiti.
Access to quality health care underpins everything else: it allows education to play its role in opening new opportunities; it allows people to earn, invest and employ others; it lets groups and societies prosper. But paying for health care is the single biggest
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week – Online November 17-19, 2021 – Registration Now Open
Despite the pandemic, the 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/
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance); October 18-22, 2021; Kigali, Rwanda
This year’s SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) includes five days of conference sessions, an investors’ fair, an “Innovators’ Village,” research presentations, training sessions and workshops under the theme “Resilience of the African Inclusive Finance Sector.” The two-day conference portion of SAM includes sessions on topics such as how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, financing agricultural value chains, risk management, serving youth, digital infrastructure and post-crisis reconstruction. The other days of SAM include workshops on topics such as social performance,
SPECIAL REPORT: Building Resilience for Microfinance Clients – the SAM 2021 Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, October 18-22
MicroCapital: How will the theme resilience be addressed during the SAM 2021?
Yombo Odanou: The EU has defined resilience as “the capacity of an individual, household, community, country or region to resist, adapt and recover quickly from crises and shocks.” The dual climate and COVID-19 crises and their effects on the global economy are forcing institutions to find new ways to take advantage of this austere environment.
Christophe Hebting: We believe the discussions at the SAM can build the resilience capacity of all actors in the inclusive finance sector. This includes addressing questions such as: How can resilience be increased through structural change? In the face of climate change? Through technological innovations?
MC: How are you addressing concerns attendees may have regarding the potential transmission of COVID-19 during the event?
YO: Since the beginning of this pandemic, MAIN has initiated actions to enable its members to minimise the risk of infection, allowing them to continue
SPECIAL REPORT: “Financial Inclusion Compass 2021” Reveals a Sector Grappling with the Consequences of COVID-19 – and Trying to Look Beyond It
In
2018, e-MFP launched the first Financial Inclusion Compass, a new annual publication series to collate sector opinions on emerging short-, medium- and long-term trends in the financial inclusion sector. e-MFP is delighted to now publish the English language version of the Financial Inclusion Compass 2021 – the fourth in the series.
The survey on which this paper is based was open in May 2021, with financial services providers (FSPs), investors, donors, researchers and support services providers evaluating and describing the importance of various current Trends, rating future New Areas of Focus, and providing open-comment qualitative input on the expected (and hoped-for) direction of financial inclusion progress.
The survey had two main sections: in Section 1, respondents rated from 1-10 the current importance of a list of 20 Trends and evaluated a list of 16 future New Areas of Focus to rank their highest five in terms of future significance. Optional comments on each were possible. Section 2 had three optional and open-ended questions, with a focus on the impact of the pandemic.
The Compass received 125 responses from 39 countries. A plurality of respondents were FSPs, followed by consultants/support services providers, infrastructure organisations, funders and researchers. On the main geographic focus of respondents’ work, a plurality selected Global, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Trends
Two new trends, introduced in response to the uniquely challenging context of the pandemic, took the top two spots
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Announces $6m Loan for Microfinance Institution Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia to Support Climate Resilience, Growth of Small-scale Farmers
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently announced a loan of USD 6 million to support Bolivia-based microfinance institution (MFI) Institución Financiera de Desarollo Sembrar Sartawi. The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), a private entity managed by FMO, will fund the facility, aiming to boost the “climate-resilient economic growth [of] vulnerable smallholder farmers” through
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Zeepay of Ghana, Dutch Government, SNV, UNCDF Partner on Financial Education, Remittances via EU-funded GrEEn Program
Zeepay, a financial technology (fintech) company with offices in Ghana and the UK, recently partnered with the embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana, the Dutch NGO Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV) and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as part of the EU-funded Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) program. The goal is to serve “youth, women and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Avla Raising $20m in Equity Round to Be Led by US-based Creation Investments to Expand B2B Insurance Offerings in Chile, Mexico, Peru
US-based Creation Investments Capital Management recently announced it is leading an equity investment of USD 20 million in Avla, a Chile-based business-to-business provider of insurance, surety bonds and collections services in Chile, Mexico and Peru. The firm’s insurance products include coverage for
SPECIAL REPORT: SAM 2021 to Take Place in Kigali, Rwanda, October 18-22; “One Is Not Born Resilient But Becomes Resilient: Fostering Inclusive Finance to Better Overcome Crisis!”
From ADA: It’s official! The largest event in inclusive finance on the African continent, the long awaited African Microfinance Week (AMW 2021), will take place in Kigali, in the land of 1,000 hills and mountains: Rwanda. From October 18 to October 22, 2021, the SAM will address the theme of resilience, a concern that is all the more important in these particular times.
This notice is the first in a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated Expanding Branch Network in 9 Provinces in the Philippines in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
A unit of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI) reportedly is planning to expand its branch network as part of its efforts to help microentrepreneurs in the Philippines adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. The entity, RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated (RMF), provides loans of up to PHP 300,000 (USD 6,277) as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lami of Kenya Raises $1.8m in Equity for Digital Insurance (Insurtech) in Africa
Kenya-based insurance technology (insurtech) firm Lami Technologies recently raised USD 1.8 million in a seed investment round led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion. Lami provides a digital platform through which firms offer instant quotations and the subsequent distribution of