The Egypt-based General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) recently agreed to support Bahrain-based Fintech Robos in its production of the following annual events: (1) Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; (2) the Arab Pension & Social Insurance Conference; and (3) the Arab Actuarial Conference. Fintech Robos CEO Ebrahim K Ebrahim noted that one of the goals of the partnership is
Category: Middle East
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future of Fintech; June 14-15, 2023; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to take place starting March 1, this event will focus on “disruptive ideas from across the fintech ecosystem.” The two-day event offers online and in-person sessions including: (1) Evaluating Saudi Arabia’s FinTech [Financial Technology] Venture Activity – Key Drivers and Factors; (2) Offering Financial Flexibility to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Islamic Finance & Banking Summit; September 27-28, 2023; Dubai, UAE – NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to take place beginning February 27 in Saudi Arabia (and then May 31 in UAE), this two-day event is organized with the goal of developing strategies for elevating the Islamic finance industry. The agenda offers sessions – in-person and on-line – such as: (1) Economic Growth, FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] & Islamic Banking Developments; (2) Leveraging
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel Conference; November 22-23, 2022; Cairo, Egypt
Themed “Reality and the Future of Financial Inclusion in the Arab World,” this event will include sessions such as: (1) Green Microfinance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Quona Capital Closes Fund III with $332m for Fintech in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Quona Capital, an investor in financial inclusion that has offices in 10 countries, recently announced the close of its Fund III, with this latest fundraising round engaging most of Fund III’s ongoing investors and 20 new ones. As a result, the fund has a total of USD 332 million in commitments, and the firm has USD
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Islamic Microfinance Forum; November 21-24, 2022; Dubai, UAE
Now in its 11th edition, this event is meant to increase the recognition of Islamic finance as a tool for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Islamic finance makes use of mechanisms such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citing “Impatience with the Pace,” Calvert Impact Restructures to Boost Microfinance, Green Investment
US-based NGO Calvert Impact Capital is rebranding itself as Calvert Impact, a name it has given to the NGO that will hold a group of subsidiaries that will continue to serve retail investors, institutional investors and financial advisors. CEO Jennifer Pryce stated, “We found that our original organizational framework sometimes prevented us from going bigger and bolder…. Our strategy reflects our impatience with the pace of adoption across the capital markets. We…need to double down on what we know works in and for communities.”
Calvert Impact subsidiaries will continue with the organization’s past activities, such as offering Community Investment Notes in denominations as small as
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 4th Global Takaful & Re-takaful Forum; August 24-26, 2022; Dubai, UAE
The purpose of this event is to share information about takaful – insurance that complies with Islamic law. The event combines a forum on the first day with workshops during the two following days. The forum will include sessions such as: (1) Foundations and Current Practices of the Takaful Industry; (2) Takaful Portfolios and Innovative Products; (3) Best Marketing Strategies; (4) Risk Management & Actuarial Services; and (5) Future Perspectives of Takaful.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobilink Microfinance Bank, CBA to Broaden Range of Digital Financial Services for MSMEs in Pakistan
Two Pakistani companies, Mobilink Microfinance and CBA Digital Distribution Platform, recently partnered to increase access to digital financial services by allowing Mobilink to offer its customers CBA services. CBA enables
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silicon Badia, Sanad Fund for MSME, Arab Bank Accelerator, Sunny Side Invest Equity in Cartona to Digitize Food Supply Chain in Egypt
Four entities recently placed equity in Cartona, a virtual marketplace connecting Egyptian food wholesalers and distributors, for the first time: US-based Silicon Badia; Sanad Fund for MSME, which was founded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); Jordan-based Arab Bank Accelerator; and Egypt-based Sunny Side Venture Partners. Silicon Badia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citibank Pakistan, National Institutional Facilitation Technologies Partner on Digital Financial Services for Retailers in Pakistan
National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), a Pakistani payment system operator, and the local arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, recently announced a “referral arrangement” under which Citibank Pakistan will refer its clients to NIFT’s infrastructure for processing digital payment services. The deal will allow corporations to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Microfinance Bank, Millat Tractors Partner to Serve Farmers in Pakistan
Pakistan-based FINCA Microfinance Bank, a for-profit entity whose name derives from the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently announced a partnership with Pakistan-based Millat Tractors to increase the availability of machinery to farmers in the country. Under the new arrangement, customers of FINCA Pakistan are able to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Global Findex Database: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19;” by Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar
This report presents findings from a World Bank survey of approximately 125,000 adults in 123 emerging markets regarding financial inclusion. The survey was conducted during 2021 and follows analogous surveys performed in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
Account ownership among respondents in all regions has been growing rapidly, from 51 percent in 2011 to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SAFCO Transforming into For-profit Entity with Microfinance License from Securities and Exchange Commision of Pakistan
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recently issued a license to Sustainable Actions to Access Financial Capital Opportunities (SAFCO) Microfinance Company, a unit of the SAFCO Support Foundation, allowing it to offer microfinance services. The announcement comes as SECP is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aman for Microfinance Targets Unbanked in Egypt via Youm-B-Youm Savings Fund, Target Return Is 8%
Aman for Microfinance, a member of the Egypt-based Aman Group, in partnership with the asset management unit of Egypt’s Prime Holding, recently announced an investment fund called Aman Youm-B-Youm, whose name can be translated as Aman Day-by-Day. Aman for Microfinance anticipates the fund will generate returns of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Evocabank of Armenia Launches Money Transfers via Mobile Phone Number
Evocabank, an Armenian bank, recently partnered with Armenian Card (ArCa), a network of 15 Armenian and international banks, to launch a service that allows Evocabank bank customers to send money transfers using recipients’ mobile numbers, without the need for their bank details. The service is part of Evocabank’s mobile app, EvocaTouch. Transfers are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 60 Decibels Microfinance Index Offers Impact Data from 18k Customers of 72 MFIs
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Palestinian Monetary Authority, European Investment Bank (EIB) Announce $63m Package for MSMEs in Gaza Adjusting to COVID-19 Pandemic, with Focus on Companies Run by Women, Youth
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently announced it will disburse EUR 60 million (USD 63 million) to the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), with USD 50 million of the total to be on-lent by retail lenders in Gaza to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The remainder of the funding will