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government of the Indian state of Assam recently announced it has reached an agreement with 38 microfinance institutions (MFIs), many of which are members of the self-regulating Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), to launch the Assam Microfinance Incentive and Relief Scheme (AMFIRS). For those who have been late repaying their microloans, the “relief under the scheme shall be extended to…
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triple Jump via ASN Microkredietpool, NMI, Incofin Place $9.4m in Equity in Light Microfinance for Financial Inclusion of Women in Rural India
Light Microfinance, a non-banking finance institution in India, recently raised equity from three European organizations: USD 4 million from Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership active in Africa and Asia; USD 3 million from ASN Microkredietpool, a microfinance fund managed by Netherlands-based Triple Jump; and EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippines Moving Toward New Effort to Promote Financial Inclusion, Education in Rural Areas
The Committee on Rural Development of the Philippines’ House of Representatives recently approved a bill that would implement a “financial and digital literacy program” to boost access to financial services – including
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), RAFI Micro-finance Boost Access for Food Retailers to Online Sales, Deliveries to Aid in COVID-19 Adjustment
A unit of Philippines-based Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI), RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated (RMF), recently began a partnership with Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), an online delivery and advertising service in the Philippine city of Cebu. RMF has linked the Facebook group it has developed for its clients, Tindahan Ni Nanay (TNN), with LEB to provide
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Raises $4.6m via Green Bond for Samunnati Financial for Sustainable Agriculture in India
India’s Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services, whose customers are farmer-producer organizations and other members of agricultural value chains, recently raised the rupee-equivalent of USD 4.6 million in a bond issue handled by Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform. The bond transaction is the first by Symbiotics that specifically promotes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) Secures $50m Loan from CDC Group to Promote SME Lending, Climate Projects in Sri Lanka
The CDC Group, a UK-backed development finance institution formerly known as the Colonial Development Corporation, recently agreed to lend USD 50 million to the Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) to fund loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as climate projects that “support Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.” Sri Lanka’s goals related to climate change include
SPECIAL REPORT: “Financial Inclusion Compass 2021” Reveals a Sector Grappling with the Consequences of COVID-19 – and Trying to Look Beyond It
In
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: Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia Restructured $1.7b in Loans During Early 2021, Requests for Restructuring Peaked in 2nd Quarter
Kaing Tongngy, the director of communications for the 114-member Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), reportedly has stated that CMA members restructured approximately USD 1.7 billion in loans during the first six months of 2021. At the beginning of 2021, around
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC Group, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Agree to $50m Risk-sharing Facility to Boost Trade, Supply Chains in South Asia, Africa
CDC Group, a development finance institution backed by the UK government, recently announced a risk-sharing facility valued at USD 50 million in partnership with Habib Bank Limited (HBL) UK, a subsidiary of Pakistan-based HBL. The facility aims to boost HBL UK’s ability to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEBI Approves $180m IPO by Microfinance Institution Fincare SFB of India
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently approved plans by Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB), an Indian microfinance provider, to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) of up to INR 13.3 billion (USD 180 million), of which
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Approves $250m Loan to HDFC for Housing Finance for Low-, Middle-income Borrowers in India; 25% Earmarked for Green Buildings
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently approved a loan of USD 250 million to Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), a housing lender based in India. Whereas green housing has “largely been regarded as a luxury market in the country,” one quarter of the loan amount is reserved for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Raises $60m for India Progress Fund, Bringing Equity Investments to Rural Entrepreneurs, Value Chains from DFIs, Family Offices, King Baudouin Foundation, Korys, SDG Frontier Fund
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently announced it has raised USD 60 million for the first close of the Incofin India Progress Fund (IPF). The fund will issue private equity investments that support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IIV Disburses $18m to Khan Bank of Mongolia, Including for On-lending to MSMEs Developing Post-COVID Business Models
Germany’s Invest in Visions (IIV), under the advice of Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management, recently lent USD 18 million to Khan Bank of Mongolia from the fund IIV Mikrofinanzfonds. The proceeds primarily are slated for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muthoot of India Raises $10m in MLDs for On-lending to Microfinance Borrowers
Muthoot Microfin Limited, a unit of Indian conglomerate Muthoot Pappachan Group whose focus is serving female entrepreneurs, recently raised INR 750 million (USD 10 million) via market-linked debentures (MLDs) that mature in 18 months. Muthoot Microfin CFO Praveen Thoroppady said, “[W]ith MLDs, we were able to raise
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADA’s SSNUP, Incofin’s agTAF Supporting Mobile App from Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) of India, Easing Farmers’, Buyers’ Assessment of Seed Quality
Incofin Investment Management, which is based in Belgium, recently announced a grant of approximately EUR 125,000 (USD 147,000) from its agricultural technical assistance fund (agTAF) and the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP) to fund a mobile application for customers of Indian agricultural logistics firm Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM). The app, which SLCM plans to launch by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of India Revises COVID-19 Guarantee Program for Bank Funding of MFIs, Seeking to Enable 2.5m Microfinance Loans
India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharam, recently unveiled a set of measures intended to boost the nation’s economic recovery following its second wave of COVID-19 infections. One of these is to encourage the distribution of 2.5 million retail microloans by microfinance institutions (MFIs), funded by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Amazon Opening “Digital Kendra” Storefronts to Support MSME Growth, Digitization in India
US-based retailer and technology company Amazon recently launched its first Digital Kendra customer service location to assist micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India in making more digital sales. The firm plans to open more Digital Kendras to deliver assistance with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fairbanc Raises Equity from Accion, ADB, East Ventures, Sampoerna Group to Boost Lending, Payment Systems for MSMEs in Indonesia
Fairbanc, a US-based lender and payment facilitator for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, recently raised pre-Series A equity of