At 
today’s opening plenary of European Microfinance Week, Manuel Tonnar, who leads Luxembourg’s Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said that his country “is committed to transforming itself and helping others transform their economies into sustainable economies.” This is “not for charitable reasons,” he argued, “but because it’s the most efficient way” to move forward. Mr Tonnar also said, “Financial inclusion should be closely allied with other development interventions to provide the most value to disadvantaged populations.” In closing, he quoted Jean Monnet, who said, “I am not optimistic. I am not pessimistic. I am
Category: Microinsurance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Through 1st Bond Issue, VisionFund Raises $14m for Microfinance for Women, Farmers
VisionFund International (VFI), which is owned by US-based NGO World Vision, recently issued a bond package in Australia, raising AUD 20 million (USD 13.8 million) to fund microloans, mainly for farmers and non-farming female entrepreneurs who live in poverty. This is the first-ever bond issue by VFI, and the bonds carry a term of 5 years and pay interest of
SPECIAL REPORT: Credit Scoring Methods, Data for Farmers, Digital Financial Services on Offer as 30 Firms Showcase Inclusive Finance Products at SAM Innovators’ Village (Part One)
Dozens 
of firms presented their newest technologies and other products during the full-day Innovators’ Village of the recent SAM conference. Among these was ICCO Cooperation, whose representatives described their organization’s ACAT tool for evaluating the creditworthiness of agricultural producers. ACAT, which was designed in partnership with the French bank Crédit Agricole, offers features to help loan officers who do not specialize in agriculture to evaluate producers’ operations. The tool calculates the input needs per hectare for crops such as sesame as well as predicting farmers’ income. While the pilot phase has gone well, there have been a few challenges, such as poor internet connectivity and difficulty calculating the sizes of the farmers’ plots due to deficient land surveys.
Mohamed Asri of HPS (Hightech Payment Systems) discussed his firm’s PowerCard core banking system, which allows the “client to act as an agent.” The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) Borrows $324k from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) recently borrowed the local-currency equivalent of USD 324,000 from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. The loan has a term of three years. During 2018, the microfinance institution (MFI) began offering
SPECIAL REPORT: Fostering Economic Resilience in the Face of Climate Change with Microinsurance, Savings, Investments in Agriculture
Dan Zook of ISF Advisors opened the SAM session on “Fostering Economic Resilience in the Face of Climate Change” arguing that smallholder farmers are the “number one most vulnerable in the world to climate change…so it’s important that we talk about adaptation financing.” A survey by CGAP segments the needs of farmers as follows: (1) subsistence farmers are the poorest and most vulnerable; they need savings and insurance; (2) commercial farmers that sell cash crops can benefit from investments such as drip irrigation; and (3) larger-scale farmers need to think about adaptation as well as how to reduce their own environmental impact. Although agriculture is the source of a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, Mr Zook said, smallholders have minimal environmental impact, except in the case of those raising a few particularly resource-intensive crops.
Yann Groeger of BlueOrchard cited his firm’s InsuResilience Investment Fund, which works with insurers to
SPECIAL REPORT: Climate-change Resilience Takes Centre Stage at European Microfinance Week 2019
As a proud co-organiser of the EUR 100,000 European Microfinance Award (EMA), e-MFP leverages European Microfinance Week to spot-light the theme of the Award each year. With EMA 2019 focused on Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change, the many ways that financial inclusion stakeholders are helping vulnerable populations adapt to climate change are at the forefront of the European Microfinance Week programme. If your work involves addressing climate change through financial inclusion, #EMW2019 is not to be missed!
The opening plenary, titled Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change, features the three finalists for EMA 2019:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fiji, IFC Partnering on Access to Insurance Against Cyclones
The government of Fiji and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently signed an agreement to provide payments to disadvantaged families affected by cyclones in Fiji. Registered households that are impacted by future cyclones will be
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trustco of Namibia Earns Higher Rating by Extending Debt Term, Supporting Interests in Finance, Education, Real Estate, Mining
Namibia-based Trustco Group Holdings, whose members include the Institute for Open Learning (IOL), Trustco Finance, Trustco Bank, Trustco Life, Trustco Insurance and Trustco Resources, recently negotiated a term extension with its lender group. Subsequently, Mauritius-based GCR Ratings increased Trustco Group’s financial rating to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: GSG Impact Summit; November 18-20, 2019; Santiago, Chile
This conference is meant to promote the sharing of ideas for addressing socioeconomic problems through entrepreneurship and investment. Sessions will cover topics including the following:
MICROFINANCE EVENT: SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance / African Microfinance Week); October 21 – 25, 2019; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
The fourth SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) includes five full days of trainings, conference sessions, an investors’ fair, an innovators’ village and research presentations, all on the theme “Pathways Towards Impact: African Inclusive Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals.” The training presenters are ADA, Amarante Consulting, Arendt, Banca Etica, BNP Paribas, BRS, Caritas Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization, Graine, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, the Microinsurance Network, MicroSave Consulting, Pamiga,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arohan Financial Services Borrows $9m from BNP Paribas for Microfinance in India
BNP Paribas, a France-based bank, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued a two-year loan to Arohan Financial Services in the amount of INR 650 million (USD 9.1 million). The Kolkata-based microfinance institution (MFI), is to repay the loan in
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 15th International Conference on Inclusive Insurance; “Coping with Climate Risk;” November 5-7, 2019; Dhaka, Bangladesh
This conference offers the opportunity to share information on how to accelerate the outreach of microinsurance services to foster
SPECIAL REPORT: APA of Kenya, ASKI of the Philippines, FDL of Nicaragua Named Finalists for European Microfinance Award 2019: Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On the 19th of September, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2019, “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change,” chose the three finalists who will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 110,000) prize: APA, ASKI and FDL. Through the initiatives these outstanding organisations have put in place to increase vulnerable populations’ resilience to climate change, they demonstrate the innovation and dynamism of this most critical area of financial inclusion.
This year’s Award couldn’t be timelier. Extreme events – including drought, flooding, storms, fluctuating temperatures, and other climatic changes – are occurring with greater frequency and intensity, increasing risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, economic growth and human rights. It is the poor in developing countries who feel the brunt of these climatic changes and
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Using Satellite Data in Financial Inclusion;” published by CGAP
By Maria Fernandez Vidal and Peter Bull, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), July 2019, 24 pages, available at https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_07_Technical%20Guide_Using_Satellite_Data.pdf
In this paper, the authors provide guidance on how satellite data and data analytics can be used by financial service providers (FSPs) to extend the reach
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Social Ventures Fund IV Closes with $184m to Invest in Microfinance, SME Finance
US-based Creation Investments Capital Management LLC recently met its goal of securing commitments totaling USD 184 million for its Social Ventures Fund IV. The investors were a mix of “existing and new investors including corporate pension plans, funds of funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, public pension funds, and family offices.”
With approximately USD 700 million in assets under management as of September 2019, Creation Investments seeks to “serve the
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Smallholder Households: Distinct Segments, Different Needs;” published by CGAP
By Jamie Anderson, Ramesh Karrupusamy, Paul Enrico Neumann, Howard Miller and Ram Tamara; published by CGAP; April 2019; 12 pages; available at https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_04_Focus_Note_Smallholder_Households_Distinct_Segments_Different_Needs.pdf
To ensure that financial service providers (FSPs) are able to: (a) identify opportunities to serve smallholder households; (b) provide services that are tailored to smallholders’ needs;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Activa Insurance, AXA Cameroon, IFC Launch Agricultural Index Insurance Project
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently partnered with two insurance companies in Cameroon to create agricultural index insurance products. These products offer payments to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Toward Better Resilience During the War Crisis: Case Study of Three Microfinance Institutions in Yemen,” Published by the Macrothink Institute
By Nashwan Sabrah and Nabeel T Alsohybe, published by the Macrothink Institute, June 2019, 17 pages, available at http://www.findevgateway.org/library/toward-better-resilience-during-war-crisis-case-study-three-microfinance-institutions-yemen
Since 2015, conflict in Yemen has impacted businesses in the country, driving actors in the microfinance industry to adapt the services they provide. Based on interviews with 11 individuals working at three microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country, this study describes some of the challenges confronted by the MFIs and