The local unit of Switzerland-based agriculture firm Syngenta International and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced they will scale up a pilot project through which they train sellers of agricultural inputs in Indonesia to give technical assistance to farmers. The program, known as the Syngenta PartnerGrow Academy, trains agricultural retailers on financial management, sales, customer service, and problem solving as well skills for advising their customers. Ernest E. Bethe III, Principal Operations Officer of IFC, described a key component as helping retailers dispense “advice by using a consultative selling
Category: Risks
SPECIAL REPORT: Your Comment Requested on Draft: “Assessments of Social and Environmental Performance of Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Finance Institutions;” by Lucia Spaggiari
This is a summary of a draft paper by Lucia Spaggiari, published by the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), May 2018, 18 pages, available at: https://sptf.info/images/ES_performance_of_SME_finance_institutions_Draft_May_2018.pdf.
The draft report lays out the following steps for investors to gauge and help improve the environmental and social (E&S) performance of financial institutions that serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):
1. Identify the SMEs: The definition of an SME can be based on national norms, sector type, or metrics specific to the SME finance institutions under consideration.
2. Identify the SME finance institutions: The approach to defining what lenders qualify as SME finance institutions can be the same across an investor’s portfolio or tailored case-by-case.
3. Classify each SME finance institution by E&S category: Establish E&S risk categories warranting more or less scrutiny based on
SPECIAL REPORT: How Oikocredit Leveraged SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) to Expand Its Risk-management Program
Since 
2015, Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit has offered a risk-management program for microfinance institutions (MFIs). Participating institutions have built action plans around efforts such as: (1) increasing their use of data from credit bureaux to reduce over-indebtedness; (2) adjusting loan officers’ workload and training to improve client service; and (3) surveying clients about product terms. When expanding the program to a new country, Oikocredit holds a workshop that is open to the entire sector to engage potential partners. From this pool of workshop attendees, those who demonstrate the greatest motivation and ability to make progress in risk management receive a package of consulting services lasting 18 to 24 months.
The program first was active in Benin, Ghana and Togo. As a result of Oikocredit’s sponsoring an event at the 2015 SAM in Dakar to increase awareness of its risk-management efforts, several institutions from other countries expressed
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Finance for Refugees: “Making it Work;” September 7, 2018; The Hague, the Netherlands
Organized by the NpM Platform for Inclusive Finance, which was formerly known as the Netherlands Platform for Microfinance, this event will explore ways financial service providers can deliver products and services to refugee communities. One of the primary goals of the conference is to encourage private-sector investment in financial inclusion for refugees
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GSG Studying Feasibility of $1b Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF)
The UK-based Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) recently announced the launch of the Latin America Impact Fund of Funds (LIFF) Task Force, a group of Latin American impact investors that will estimate the potential of LIFF, a fund of funds that would supply debt and equity capital to social impact funds in 20 Latin American countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Reports Increasing Delinquency in India; L&T Finance, Bharat, Utkarsh Rejecting Up to 30% of Loan Applications Due to Multiple Borrowing
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulating body representing 48 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, reports that 2.83 percent of non-group microloans in the country have at least one payment overdue by more than 180 days as of March 2018,
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 11th Convergences World Forum; September 3 – 4, 2018; Paris, France
Sessions at this event will address topics such as social entrepreneurship, clean energy, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainable tourism and consumerism. While some sessions will be offered in English, the primary
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): “8th Annual Impact Investment Survey,” Sponsored by US Agency for International Development (AID), UK Department for International Development (DFID)
Following is a summary of a paper published by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), May 2018, 53 pages, available at:
https://thegiin.org/assets/2018_GIIN_Annual_Impact_Investor_Survey_webfile.pdf
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) recently collected “229 respondents’ perspectives on the growth and development of the impact investing industry” as part of its Annual Impact Investment Survey.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 6 Institutional, Social Ratings to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Africa, Latin America
Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating recently told MicroCapital that during May it issued two Social Ratings and four Microfinance Institutional Ratings (MIRs) to five microfinance institutions in Africa and Latin America. FMC Finance of Zimbabwe earned a Social Rating of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Orange, Safaricom, Telenor, Tigo, Vodacom Earn First GSMA Mobile Money Certifications for Security, Consumer Protection in Africa, Pakistan
Based on assessments conducted by Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating, five organizations in Africa and Pakistan have earned the first GSMA Mobile Money Certifications, verifying their ability “to deliver secure and reliable services, to protect the rights of consumers and to
SPECIAL REPORT: Buyer Selection in Responsible Microfinance Exits
The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) is pleased to announce the publication of “Caveat Venditor: Towards a Conceptual Framework for Buyer Selection in Responsible Microfinance Exits” by Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas.
The authors pose their research question as follows:
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Innovation Summit (AIS); June 6 – 8, 2018: Kigali, Rwanda
Summary of Event: The theme of this conference is facilitating development in Africa by empowering entrepreneurs across the continent. The topics include Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in Africa; Building a Resilient and Competitive Economy for Africa’s Future; 21st Century African Cities; Financing and Scaling up
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Traditional Credit Bureau Ctos Tapping LenddoEFL to Add Digital, Behavioral Data to Scoring Models to Boost Financial Inclusion in Malaysia
Malaysian credit scoring firm Ctos recently partnered with LenddoEFL, an alternative credit scoring firm with offices in Singapore and the US, to increase the number of people and small businesses for which it can supply credit evaluations. The usage of alternative data can also improve the credit scores of
MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Graduation Programming in Uganda, Financial Lives of Farmers in DRC, Funding Local-currency Microlending in Myanmar
“The Impact of Variations of Ultra-Poor Graduation Programming in Uganda;” by Richard Sedlmayr, Munshi Sulaiman and Anuj Shah; published by Innovations for Poverty Action; February 2018; 4 pages; available at https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/publications/VE%20Results%20Brief.pdf
Village Enterprise is a US-based NGO that offers microenterprise services in Africa such as cash transfers, mentorship, financial education and business education with the goal of helping participants achieve financial stability and increased income. This study includes a sample of approximately 6,000 Ugandan households in 138 villages that accessed Village Enterprise programs. The researchers studied a control group and groups engaged in four sets of interventions: (1) unconditional cash transfers equivalent to USD 300; (2) cash transfers coupled with training on how to manage the money; (3) cash transfers with training plus mentoring; and (4) all three of these services plus participation in business savings groups.
The fourth intervention – the full graduation program – had the largest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agribank of Zimbabwe to Accept 99-year Land Leases as Collateral, Boost Lending to Tobacco, Fruit, Oil-seed Growers
The government-controlled Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe (Agribank) recently announced that it will begin lending to farmers using 99-year land leases as collateral. This follows an update to local regulations that makes the leases transferable, for example in cases of loan default. The move gives leaseholders access to a pool of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Index Insurance Facility Issues Mayfair Performance-based Funding to Expand Crop Cover in Zambia
Mayfair Insurance Company Zambia, a subsidiary of Mayfair Insurance Company Kenya, recently secured an unspecified amount of additional funding for its crop insurance product from the Dutch government via the Global Index Insurance Facility of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). The goal is to help farmers both “protect their crops against losses and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opera Charging 1% Daily Interest on Short-term Loans in Kenya via OKash Mobile App, M-Pesa
OPay, a digital payment service developed by Norway-based technology firm Opera Software, recently began offering loans as small as KES 1,500 (USD 15) in Kenya via OKash, an app that works on Android smartphones. The minimum interest rate for initial loans is 1 percent per day, with a maximum term of 14 days. Repeat borrowers may apply for loans as large as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Outsized Adding Office in South Africa as Matching Service for Financial Inclusion Projects Grows
Outsized, a UK-based firm that matches financial services providers and investors involved in financial inclusion with vetted consultants, recently opened an office in South Africa. Since its launch in 2015, Outsized has developed a database of 1,300 consultancies, supporting 80 projects in areas including due diligence; digital financial services; and product design for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Outsized Managing Director Niclas Thelander tells MicroCapital, “We’re