The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of the Philippines, a government body that allocates government resources with the intent of promoting the socio-economic development of the country, has announced that it will establish a Credit Support Fund (CSF) of PHP 2 billion (USD 45.7 million) to aid microentrepreneurs through the provision of microfinance in regions that are recovering from the effects of typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that affected the country in 2013 [1].
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, MicroEnsure, EFU Life to Cover Loan Payments in Case of Sickness, Disability, Death, Death of Spouse
Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, a member of the Advans SA group that offers financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan, has joined with MicroEnsure Pakistan, a subsidiary of the UK-based MicroEnsure insurance agency, and Eastern Federal Union Life, a private-sector life insurance company in Pakistan, to introduce “Enhanced Credit Cover” for its borrowers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital Sextuples Investment With Partial Exit from Indian “Socio-commercial” Outsourcing Firm RuralShores
Lok Capital (Lok), a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on the microfinance and social business sectors in India, reportedly has sold part of its equity stake in RuralShores Business Services, an India-based company offering business process outsourcing to public and private clients in the microfinance, banking, insurance, telecom and information technology sectors.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Depositors of 5 Microfinance Institutions in Fiji to Be Reimbursed
The Trade and Investment Ministry of Fiji has announced that it has identified approximately 1,000 people who lost savings that they had deposited with five microfinance institutions (MFIs) and has started reimbursement of their claims [1][2].
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” Published by the Development Research Group of the World Bank
“Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh,” by Shahidur R. Khandker and Hussain A. Samad, published by The World Bank, March 2014, 50 pages, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2417519
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh have experienced rapid growth over the past two decades and in 2008 disbursed approximately USD 1.8 billion to approximately 30 million clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nepal Rastra Bank Allows Acquisitions of Financial Institutions
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country’s central bank, recently announced the approval of an acquisition bylaw that will allow banks and financial institutions to acquire similar institutions in the market.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Responsible Equity Exits in Microfinance; Greenfield Microfinance Models in Africa; Mobile Financial Services Usage Among Rural Women in India, Philippines
“The Art of the Responsible Exit in Microfinance Equity Sales;” by Daniel Rozas, Deborah Drake, Estelle Lahaye, Katharine McKee and Danielle Piskadlo; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); April 2014; 32 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Forum-Art-of-the-Responsible-Exit-April-2014.pdf
This paper explores how microfinance investment intermediaries (MIIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) can exit responsibly from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in which they have invested equity as well as how investors can contribute to healthy development of the overall market. The authors conducted six case studies and interviewed representatives from MIIs, nongovernmental organizations, DFIs, MFIs and merger-and-acquisition specialists.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Akhuwat, MyBiz Pakistan Launch Incubation Centre to Support Growth of Microenterprises in Pakistan
Akhuwat, a Pakistan-based nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI), in collaboration with MyBiz Pakistan, a nonprofit initiative that provides business advisory services and seed-stage financing for small businesses, recently launched the MyBiz Incubation Centre (MyBiz Incubation), a program that aims to develop microenterprises in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Yes Bank’s Sampann, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank Use “Doorstep” Banking in Rural India
Two private commercial banks based in the Indian city of Mumbai, Yes Bank and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank, reportedly have started using “doorstep” banking in rural India to reach more customers by offering services such as credit, savings and insurance at customers’ homes.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Thai Office of Insurance Commission Promotes Microinsurance, Introduces $6 Life Product
The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), a government agency that regulates and supervises the insurance industry of Thailand, has started a drive to promote microinsurance in the country and announced that it will launch a life insurance policy aimed at poor people [1].
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Mobile Money Agents in Uganda; Sustainable Microfinance; Mobile Money for the Global Unbanked
“Agent Network Accelerator Survey: Uganda Country Report 2013;” published by Helix Institute of Digital Finance; January 2014; 26 pages; available at http://www.helix-institute.com/data-and-insights/agent-network-accelerator-survey-%E2%80%93-uganda-country-report-2013-0
This document presents the results of a study conducted by the US-based nonprofit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and India-based for-profit consultancy MicroSave that seeks to identify the challenges, trends and successes of the mobile money market in Uganda by surveying 2,000 agents.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dingyi Venture Capital of China Grants $3m to International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Fund Assessment of Financial Services Available to Microenterprises in Rural China, Other Initiatives
Dingyi Venture Capital of China has awarded a grant of USD 3 million to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, to fund various initiatives in rural China including an assessment of existing financial services available to microenterprises.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Saving for Change Reaches 85k Members in Cambodia, 680k Worldwide
Saving for Change (SfC), a saving-group initiative that was established in 2005 by nonprofit organizations Oxfam America, Freedom from Hunger and the Stromme Foundation, has grown to serve approximately 85,000 women in Cambodia as of March 2014 since its launch in that country in 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations, Smart Communications, Land Bank of Philippines Use Mobile Money in Recovery from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with Smart Communications Incorporated (Smart), a Philippines-based telecommunications company, and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), a government bank specializing in serving farmers and fishermen, reportedly have commenced using mobile money to facilitate wage payments under UNDP’s “cash-for-work ” program that was launched for the 12 month period beginning in November 2013 in areas of the Philippines struck by typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), World Bank (WB) to Develop National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central banking authority, and the World Bank (WB), a US-based multilateral institution, reportedly have announced a partnership to develop a National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) for Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mongolia Seek to Improve Secured-Transaction Payment System
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, has recently partnered with Mongolia’s Ministry of Justice to augment Mongolia’s regulatory system for secured-transaction payments, transactions between lenders and borrowers that are predicated on borrowers’ collateral.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, China Microfinance Institution Association (CMIA) Seek to Strengthen Risk Management
PlaNet Finance, an NGO based in Paris, France, recently announced a partnership with the China Microfinance Institution Association (CMIA), a trade group of microfinance institutions (MFIs), to enhance risk management in the microfinance industry in China.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: China Commercial Credit Launches Online Loan Portal “Pride Lending Group”
China Commercial Credit, a microcredit company based in the Chinese city of Suzhou, recently announced that it has launched an online lending portal called Pride Lending Club.