The “Sustainable Fish Farming Project”, proposed to provide 500 families in the Baseri village of Nepal with funding to start fish farms, recently won a grant of USD 7,500 from the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge, a competition among aspiring entrepreneurs who attended the seventh annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting at the US-based Arizona State University, Phoenix [1].
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurance Commission of the Philippines Promotes Alternative Dispute Resolution in Microinsurance
The Insurance Commission of the Philippines (ICP), a government agency that regulates and supervises the country’s insurance industry, has been holding seminars in various parts of the country to present its latest strategies in consumer protection for microinsurance clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar to Raise $75m for “Frontier Fund” to Invest in South, Southeast Asia
Aavishkaar, an Indian manager of impact-oriented venture capital investments, reportedly plans to raise USD 75 million for its newly launched Aavishkaar Frontier Fund, an international social venture capital fund that aims to place investments in 300 start-ups in various countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citi Replicates Mobile Collect Fund Transfer Service in China, India
Citi Asia, a subsidiary of US-based bank Citigroup in Asia, recently launched Citi Mobile Collect, a mobile payment platform that enables customers to complete fund transfers via mobile phones, in China and India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Grants Preliminary Approval to Microlender Bandhan to Receive Banking License
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, recently granted “in-principle” approval to the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), an Indian financial services provider based in the city of Mumbai, and Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian city of Kolkata, to acquire banking licenses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Lends $4m to Arvand of Tajikistan, Bina Artha Ventura of Indonesia, Thaneakea Phum of Cambodia
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced the disbursement of the first tranche of a 54-month loan of EUR 1.04 million (USD 1.43 million) to Arvand, a financial institution that provides microcredit to low-income individuals in Tajikistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Satin Creditcare Raises $4.7m in Equity from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI)
Satin Creditcare Network (Satin), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently announced that it has raised INR 284 million (USD 4.7 million) in equity from the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that invests in and offers technical support to MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Etisalat Lanka of Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata of UAE Partner to Extend Ezcash Mobile Payment System in Sri Lanka
Dialog Axiata (DA), a Sri Lankan mobile communications subsidiary of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Berhad, reportedly has announced that it will begin a partnership with Etisalat Lanka (EL), a cellular network owned by the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation of the United Arab Emirates, to extend Dialog’s “eZcash” mobile payments to EL’s customers in Sri Lanka.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based NeoGrowth Raises $1.7m from Aspada Investment Company
NeoGrowth Credit, an Indian non-bank financial company that makes working capital and inventory loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, recently announced that it has raised INR 100 million (USD 1.7 million) from Aspada Investment Company, an Indian investor in early-stage businesses that target low-income consumers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Invests $29m in Equity in Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital of India
LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius that invests in microfinance, reportedly has invested USD 29 million in return for a minority stake of undisclosed size in the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Capital, an Indian non-banking financial company that facilitates funding for organizations that serve low-income people.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Disburses Syndicated Loan of $125m to Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank (NDB)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently disbursed a four-year syndicated loan of USD 125 million to National Development Bank (NDB), which is owned by the government of Sri Lanka, in an effort to improve access to funds for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Five Star Raises Equity Financing from Matrix to Expand Branch Network, Increase Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
Five Star Business Credits (Five Star), an Indian non-bank financial company that lends to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, recently announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum in equity financing from Matrix Partners India, the Indian subsidiary of US-based private equity firm Matrix Partners.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Branchless Banking Transactions in Pakistan Quintuple in Value to $8b
According to a report entitled “Access to Finance in Pakistan” that was recently published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central bank, the total value of branchless banking (BB) transactions in Pakistan during 2013 increased by PKY 651 billion (USD 6.73 billion) over the previous year, reaching PKY 802 billion (USD 8.29 billion).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Buksh Foundation, Kiva Announce Partnership to Support Microentrepreneurs in Pakistan
The Buksh Foundation (BF), a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan, and Kiva Microfunds, a US-based nonprofit online fundraising portal for MFIs, have announced a partnership to support microentrepreneurs in an effort to achieve development sector goals and alleviate poverty in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) of Malaysia to Increase Banking Agent Network to 7,500
Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), a government-owned commercial bank that provides traditional and Islamic banking services in Malaysia, recently announced that it will increase its number of banking agents from approximately 5,000 to 7,500 by the end of 2014.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Government Efforts to Achieve Financial Inclusion in India; Index-based Insurance in South, Southeast Asia; Microinsurance Claims Management
“Report of the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households;” published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI); December 31, 2013; 247 pages; available at http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/CFS070114RFL.pdf
This report was authored by the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households, which was appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2013 to propose measures for increasing access to financial services in India.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Water, Sanitation and Microfinance Toolkit 1: Introduction to Opportunities in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance,” Published by Water.org, MicroSave
“Water, Sanitation and Microfinance Toolkit 1: Introduction to Opportunities in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance;” published by Water.org and MicroSave, 2013, 75 pages, available at http://www.washmicrofinance.org/
Water insecurity and unhygienic sanitation practices pose significant health and financial risks in the developing world.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bandhan of India Raises $16m in Nonconvertible Debentures (NCDs) From Unnamed Swiss Investor
Bandhan Financial Services, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that offers loans for health emergencies and microenterprise, reportedly has raised INR 1 billion (USD 16.3 million) in nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) from an unnamed Swiss investor.