Event Name: 2nd International Forum on Islamic Finance
Event Dates: February 9-10, 2016
Event Location: Al Salam Rotana Hotel, Khartoum, Sudan
Category: Middle East
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Islamic Banking and Growth; Sharia-Compliant Microfinance Products; Islamic Financial Services in Yemen
“Is Islamic Banking Good for Growth?”; by Patrick Imam and Kangni Kpodar; published by the International Monetary Fund; April 2015; 33 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/library/islamic-banking-good-growth
This paper analyzes the relationship between the development of Islamic banking and economic growth in low- and middle-income countries, finding that “countries where Islamic banking is present experience faster economic growth than others” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Italy’s Banca Etica, Cassa Padana, Federcasse Partner with Palestinian Government, Offer Microcredit in West Bank
Banca Etica, an Italian cooperative bank; Cassa Padana, an Italian cooperative lender; and Federcasse, a network of cooperative credit banks in Italy, have partnered with the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), a public institution that regulates the banking industry in the Palestinian territories, and the Palestinian National Authority’s Finance Ministry to launch a three-year microcredit program in the West Bank.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB) Invests $11m in Sanad Fund for MSME for Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Middle East, North Africa
Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB), the development bank of Austria, has invested EUR 10 million (USD 10.7 million) in Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based public-private partnership that provides medium- and long-term debt and equity financing in the Middle East and North Africa.
SPECIAL REPORT: e-MFP Announces Finalists for $112k Sixth European Microfinance Award in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States: Crédit Rural de Guinée of Guinea, First Microfinance Institution of Syria, Taytay Sa Kauswagan of the Philippines
The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), a Luxembourg-based network of approximately 120 microfinance individuals and organizations, has announced that there are three finalists for the Sixth European Microfinance Award, which is themed “Microfinance in Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Areas & Fragile States” for 2015 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jordan’s Queen Noor, King Hussein Foundation Launch Sharia-Compliant Microfinance Institution Ethmar
Queen Noor of Jordan, the founder and chairperson of the King Hussein Foundation (KHF), recently announced the launch of Ethmar, a microfinance institution (MFI) that is compliant with Shariah, the Islamic legal system.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Announces Goals of “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”
The United Nations recently released the final version of, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” highlighting 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) with 169 associated targets intended to eradicate poverty by the year 2030.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel 2015 Conference: “Progress towards Financial Inclusion; Global Trends and Regional Initiatives”, October 20-21, 2015, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Event Name: Sanabel 2015 Conference: Progress towards Financial Inclusion; Global Trends and Regional Initiatives
Event Date: October 20-21, 2015
Event Location: Savoy Hotel, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Participation: This event is open only to Sanabel members and scholarship recipients.
Summary of the event: Conference sessions will address regional trends, opportunities and alternative approaches to microfinance in Arab countries. Topics to be covered include (1) innovation and diversification of financial services; (2) how to enhance market penetration; (3) best practices for partnerships between the private and public sectors; and (4) increasing awareness of client protection while working towards financial inclusion [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Attijari Leasing Partner to Increase Financing for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia
The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based public-private partnership that provides medium- and long-term debt and equity financing in the Middle East and North Africa, and Attijari Leasing, a Tunisia-based subsidiary of Attijari Bank that provides leasing services, signed a senior loan agreement for USD 5 million to support micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tunisia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Bankmed Partner to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) (Sanad), a Luxembourg-based organization that provides “medium- and long-term”[1] debt and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region, has recently announced the disbursement of a loan of USD 15 million to Bankmed, a Lebanese commercial bank regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Donates $28k to Vitas for Microfinance Client Protection in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories
The Luxembourg-based Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) recently donated USD 28,000 to Vitas Group, a commercial holding company created by US-based, international nonprofit organization Global Communities, to train the staff of Vitas Group’s microfinance institutions in the Middle East on client protection.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Planning to Loan $60m to Bank Audi of Egypt for SMEs, Trade Finance
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is planning to loan USD 60 million to Bank Audi Societe Anonyme Egyptienne (SAE), the Egyptian arm of Lebanon-based Bank Audi.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silatech Develops Crowdfunding Website Narwi for Shariah-Compliant Microfinance in Middle East, North Africa
Silatech, a Qatar-based social enterprise aiming to increase employment and entrepreneurship among youth in the Middle East and North Africa, recently announced the development of Narwi, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that will support microentrepreneurs via Islamic charitable giving. The platform is scheduled to be launched in late June 2015.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Morocco’s Microfinance Market; Trends in Funding Financial Inclusion; Growth Projections in Islamic Microfinance
“Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco: Acting early, acting right;” published by the International Finance Corporation in partnership with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development; the Danish International Development Agency; Japan; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs; and UKaid; October 2014; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/5e1e5a0047850bdba0d4f5299ede9589/IFC+Morocco+MicroFinance+Crisis+report.English.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union (EU), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Turkish Government to Provide $380m in Credit Lines for On-lending to Female Entrepreneurs in Northwest Turkey
The European Union (EU), the UK-based, multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Turkish government have partnered to introduce the Finance and Advice for Women in Business Programme in the northwest region of Turkey.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Asset Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Issue $6m in Credits to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay
During May 2015, Viennese asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management USD 6 million worth of credits via the two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay. Of this total, C-Quadrat Asset Management invested USD 500,000 in the microfinance institution based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Founded in 2001, this institution targets micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and provides services to approximately 3,200 clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Seeks Partners for Customer-Centric Financial Services Project
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit policy and research center devoted to worldwide growth of financial access, is searching for financial service providers with whom to partner to increase customer centricity within the providers’ systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $2.5m to Microfinance Institution Vitas Palestine