MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Merchant Expansion Through Digital Acceptance and Liquidity (MEDAL) Facility Report;” Published by Jordan Payments & Clearing Company, GIZ

The Merchant Expansion Through Digital Acceptance and Liquidity (MEDAL) Facility was created in Jordan to test methods for supporting “mobile payment service providers (mPSPs) [attempting] to meet certain merchant acquisition and QR-code transaction targets by experimenting with and developing business, operational and awareness strategies.” The program eventually provided two mPSPs a total of JOD 47,500 (USD 67,000) each because they met all three sets of the program targets, thus receiving the funds in three tranches. The targets included

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Launches GEFF Turkey With $56m Loan to TSKB for On-lending to Reduce, Adjust to Climate Impacts

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development finance institution, is “supporting Turkey’s transition to an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy” through the Green Economy Financial Facility (GEFF) Turkey. The loan package comprises funds from EBRD’s own resources as well as concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Raises $27m in Local-currency Bond Issue to Promote Housing Lending by Otbasy Bank to Women in Rural Kazakhstan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution based in the Philippines, recently mobilized KZT 14 billion (USD 27 million) to support the Housing and Construction Savings Bank of Kazakhstan, a state-controlled institution also known as Otbasy Bank, in issuing “affordable residential mortgage loans to women borrowers in rural areas.” ADB raised the funds through a bond issue to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foodics Buys Equity Stake in POSRocket from Sanad Fund for MSME, Linking Providers of Financial, Business Technology to Restaurants in MENA

Foodics, a technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, recently bought an equity stake of unspecified size in POSRocket, a point-of-sale (POS) platform supporting businesses in the food, beverage and other industries. Foodics purchased the holding from the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which Sanad had held it through its second equity sub-fund (ESF II). Subsequent to the deal, POSRocket’s customers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Furuz Microcredit of Tajikistan Borrows $560k in Local Currency from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

Furuz Microcredit Organization, which is headquartered in the city of Bokhtar, Tajikistan, has borrowed the equivalent of USD 560,000 in its first transaction with the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which is headquartered in Luxembourg. Established in 1999 as a program of the US-based NGO Millennium Relief and Development Services, Furuz offers loans for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Georgia Borrowing $200m from ADB, JICA for MSMEs, Especially Those Owned by Women

The Bank of Georgia (BOG), a UK-based institution active in Georgia, recently obtained a loan of GEL 617 million (USD 200 million) to on-lend micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially those owned by women. Half of the loan is from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a development finance institution active in Asia and the Pacific, and the other half is funded by

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aden Bank for Microfinance to Target MSMEs, Women, Youth in Yemen

Based on the authorization it received in October 2021 from the Central Bank of Yemen, Aden Bank for Microfinance is moving forward with plans to offer financial services in the country. Aden Bank is arranging partnerships with local

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACBA, Symbiotics Partnering on $6.7m Bond Issue for MSMEs, Green Lending in Armenia

The Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA), a commercial and investment bank, and Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, recently partnered to raise USD 6.75 million for onlending in Armenia. Symbiotics will list a sustainability bond on the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Capital Bank’s National Bank of Iraq to Borrow $10m from IFC for SMEs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to loan the National Bank of Iraq (NBI) USD 10 million for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and related advisory services. NBI is a commercial bank owned by Jordan’s Capital Bank Group.

NBI Chairman Bassem Khalil Al-Salem stated the loan will help his institution

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $16m to MFIs in Armenia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Tajikistan

C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management (IAM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced that it loaned a total equivalent to USD 16 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bolivia, Armenia, Costa Rica, Panama and Tajikistan from its

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $50m to QNB Alahli of Egypt to Boost Green Lending to Individuals, SMEs

Qatar National Bank (QNB) Alahli, an Egyptian member of the QNB Group, recently accepted a loan of USD 50 million from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund on-lending to individual borrowers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performing “green, energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy and resource efficiency projects.” The loan is part of

SPECIAL REPORT: “Financial Inclusion Compass 2021” Reveals a Sector Grappling with the Consequences of COVID-19 – and Trying to Look Beyond It

InEuropean Microfinance Platform 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: POSRocket Raises $5m to Expand Point-of-sale Payment Systems, Related Technology for Small Businesses in MENA

POSRocket, a Jordan-based provider of point-of-sale (POS) technology, recently raised USD 5.1 million in an equity round led by Algebra Ventures, an Egypt-based firm that invests in technology, and Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based vehicle targeting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The other participating investors are

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Boosts Loan Ceiling of Quds Bank to Support Cross-border Trade, MSMEs in West Bank, Gaza

Recently, the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to increase the credit line it has open for Quds Bank, a commercial bank operating in the West Bank and Gaza, by USD 10 million. Half of the new increment is for Quds Bank to use for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfund for Women (MFW) Expands Digital Capabilities via MoneyPhone Technology

Microfund for Women (MFW), a nonprofit microfinance institution in Jordan, recently partnered with MoneyPhone, a Netherlands-based financial technology (fintech) company, to enhance its digital offerings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bdour Al-Hyari, the director of strategic planning and business development at MFW, cited the “opportunity for us to introduce new digital services, such as

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week 2021 to Be Fully Online

From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): The past 15 months have been very challenging, and during this time we at e-MFP have engaged with our members and friends and adapted our activities accordingly to best mitigate the effects this pandemic brings to our sector and the vulnerable people we as a community serve.

One of our flagship activities is European Microfinance Week – held annually in November – and while it is difficult to predict the progression of the pandemic, it remains likely that travel restrictions will still apply in the coming months and that participants from the global South will be

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Applications for $60k Arab Financial Inclusion Innovation Prize (AFIIP) Open Through June 25, 2021

The organizers of the Arab Financial Inclusion Innovative Prize (AFIIP) are now accepting applications from financial services practitioners to compete for an award of USD 60,000 plus technical assistance in implementing their ideas. In past years, AFIIP has offered a financial inclusion prize for innovation in Arab nations that improves financial services catering to poor people as well as