by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australian Government Introduces $30m “Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund” Targeting Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Asia-Pacific

The Australian government recently launched a facility called the Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund (EMIIF) in an effort to support “positive social and development outcomes for poor communities in the Asia-Pacific.” The fund, which will execute loans, equity placements and guarantees, has an allocation of AUD 40 million (USD 30 million) phased over the period 2017 to 2021. It will invest in parcels of

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Opens: Microfinance and Environment Action Group Celebrates Rollout of Solar Products in Central America, Ethiopia, Philippines; Turns Eye to Scaling Up

On European Microfinance Week 2017the opening day of European Microfinance Week, the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) Microfinance and Environment Action Group met to review its successes and make plans for the next two years.

Carla Palomares of ADA, the Luxembourgish nonprofit formerly known as Appui au Développement Autonome, explained her organization’s work with the 60-member Microfinance Council of the Philippines (MCPI) and Red Centroamericana y del Caribe de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF), a network of networks serving 139 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Dominican Republic and six Central American countries. ADA helped MCPI develop a team dedicated to supporting its member MFIs in offering loans for clients to buy solar lamps. MCPI is now working with six additional MFIs to roll out solar loans. The program with REDCAMIF is similar, but involves microleasing for agricultural equipment and support regarding environmentally sustainable farming practices as well as

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OJK Licenses 10 Islamic Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia

Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia, recently granted operating licenses to 10 Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country. The MFIs are funded by unspecified donors wishing to encourage

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Cambodia: Foreign Banks Struggling to Meet 10% Local-currency Lending Requirement Should Partner with Microfinance Institutions

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) continues to resist suggestions that it soften the decree it made in December 2016 that all financial institutions boost their local-currency lending to 10 percent of their portfolios by December 2019. NBC Director General Chea Serey reportedly said foreign banks struggling to meet the new threshold should partner with microfinance institutions (MFIs) because

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Linking 8 MFIs to United Bank’s “UBL Omni” Branchless Banking Service

United Bank Limited (UBL), a Karachi-based commercial bank, and the Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC), an organization funded by the governments of the UK and Germany, recently reached an agreement through which PMIC will link eight of its partner microfinance institutions (MFIs)

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 27 Rating Updates, New Reports for Microfinance Institutions in the Philippines, Latin America

During October 2017, MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) issued a Micro­finance Institutional Rating (MIR) of BB with a Stable outlook to Rangtay sa Pagrang-ay Microfinance of the Philippines. MFR also updated the MIRs of three affiliates of US-based Pro Mujer Incor­porated: Pro Mujer Argentina’s was confirmed at BB+ with a Positive outlook; Pro Mujer Nicaragua’s was confirmed at BBB+ with a Stable outlook; and Pro Mujer Mexico’s was upgraded

by Aleksandr Marceau -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Social Impact Hub Introduces Library of Potential Impact Investments in Australia

The Impact Investing Hub, a student-led project connecting investors to potential impact investments, recently created a Current Deals Library to provide greater access to information on opportunities that are meant to pay off financially as well as

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: At SAM, a “Moral Obligation” to Include More People in the Financial System, Harvesting Wins $12k FMO Fintech for Microfinance Prize for Use of Satellite Data to Boost Agricultural Lending

At the gala dinner at SAM Conference 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopiathe SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) conference, Olivier Massart, the General Manager of ADA, argued that the attendees of the event have incurred a “moral obligation” to increase financial inclusion. The 650+ attendees spent an estimated total of USD 1 million to USD 2 million on travel and registration fees. Because they elected not to spend this money directly on serving poor people, Mr Massart challenged each delegate to bring at least one additional person in to the financial system for each

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 5 Institutional, Social Credentials to Microfinance Institutions in Ecuador, Mexico, Palestine, Rwanda

Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) issued two microfinance institutional ratings during September. Palestine’s Asala Company for Credit and Development was assigned a grade of BB+ with a “stable” outlook, and Inkunga Finance of Rwanda was assigned a grade of

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend $31m to MFIs in Asia, Latin America

C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 31 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in five Asian countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, as well as three Latin American countries, Ecuador, Mexico and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peer-to-peer Lender HuaXia Finance of China Launches Escrow Services with Ping An Bank

HuaXia Finance, an online peer-to-peer lender in China, recently began holding customer funds at Ping An Bank, a Chinese bank, under a “formal online banking depository management system” in order to comply with tightened requirements of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Michael J Beda, the Director of Expat Investment at HuaXia, tells MicroCapital that his is “the first company to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org’s WaterEquity Borrowing $20m from Overseas Private Investment Corporation for WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Finance Water, Sanitation Systems in Asia

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a self-sustaining agency of the US government, recently agreed to lend USD 20 million to the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3, which will invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations that facilitate the deployment of safe water and sanitation systems. The goal of the fund is to raise USD 50 million to reach 4.6 million people in South and Southeast Asia over

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Asia, Central America Borrow $10m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds

C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 10 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Guatemala, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $12.5 to MFIs in Latin America, Southeast Asia

An arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 12.5 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four Latin American countries – Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru – as well as