Two NGOs, the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and the US-based Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), recently agreed to create a plan to foster “responsible growth, financial stability and customer protection in Cambodia’s microfinance and broader financial sector.” Elements of the plan include
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy,” Published by UNCDF
The authors of this paper note that the accessibility of climate- and disaster-risk financing and insurance instruments is growing globally and especially in the Pacific Island region. This region is particularly susceptible to climate risk because of factors such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEWA Affiliate Sitara Raises $20m in Equity from Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Women’s World Banking, Ongoing Shareholders to Improve Housing Conditions for Women in India
SEWA Grih Lin, an Indian affordable housing finance company also known as Sitara, recently raised USD 20 million in equity, including USD 8 million from the Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI). Sitara sourced the remainder in unspecified portions from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Cambodia Borrows $7m from Nordic Microfinance Initiative to Expand Financial Access in Rural Cambodia
The Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) recently announced a subordinated loan of USD 7 million to Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Cambodia, a member of the Sri Lanka-based LOLC Group, to expand lending and leasing services for individuals with low incomes who live in rural areas. The deal follows
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fusion Microfinance Borrows $4m from Crédit Agricole CIB for Group Lending to Rural, Women-owned Businesses in India, Guaranteed by GCA Foundation
Fusion Microfinance, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 4.4 million from Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) India, a unit of France-based Crédit Agricole. The loan, which is guaranteed by the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, is for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Endiya Lead $3m in Equity Funding for AquaExchange for Digitization in Fish Farming, Shrimp Industry in India
AquaExchange, a firm digitizing the operations of India’s fish farming and shrimp industry, recently obtained USD 3 million in equity funding in a round led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion, and Endiya Partners, an India-based venture capital fund, with additional participation from unspecified ongoing shareholders in the company. Neither the breakdown of the funding by investor nor
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.4m to Chamroeun for Microfinance in Cambodia
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently announced it has disbursed a loan of USD 3.4 million to Chamroeun, a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI). Chamroeun offers loans for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KOMIDA Secures $3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance for Women in Rural Indonesia
Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA), a microfinance institution in Indonesia, recently borrowed local currency equivalent to EUR 3 million (USD 3 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. The wholesale loan is to be used to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Khushali Microfinance Bank, Sindh Graduates Association Partner on Financial, Vocational Education for Women in Rural Pakistan
Pakistan’s Khushali Microfinance Bank recently initiated a collaboration with Sindh Graduates Association (SGA), an organization mobilizing university graduates in the Pakistani province of Sindh, on a program intended to increase women’s living standards. In particular, the programme targets the female population in the Sindh village of Mirpurkhas with training in tailoring and financial topics such as how to use
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Invests $6m in Peer-to-peer Lender Amartha from Inclusive Finance Fund, Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Increase Group Lending to Female Entrepreneurs in Rural Indonesia
Amartha, a firm offering peer-to-peer lending and other services in Indonesia, recently gained access to USD 6 million in debt financing from the Belgian impact investing firm Incofin Investment Management in an attempt to boost access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. Two thirds of the total invested comes from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), and the remainder is sourced from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobilink Microfinance Offering Loans to “Home-based Restaurants” Using Foodpanda to Take Online Orders, Offer Delivery in Pakistan
Mobilink Microfinance Bank, a Pakistani digital financial services provider, recently initiated a collaboration with foodpanda home chefs, a division of Singapore-based “online food and grocery delivery platform” foodpanda. The objective is to extend weekly microloans of up to PKR 50,000 (USD 247) to home-based restaurant owners in order to “help resolve supply chain, marketing, and food quality issues” thus “empowering
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indonesia Expands Consumer Protection Regulations for Financial Institutions
Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), Indonesia’s financial regulator, recently announced a new set of regulations intended to protect customers of financial services providers (FSPs). The regulations apply to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Grameen Seeking $50m in Debt from IFC for Financial Inclusion of Women in India
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently moved to lend as much as USD 50 million in the form of a three-year senior loan to CreditAccess Grameen, a unit of CreditAccess India. The objective of the loan is to boost enterprise lending to women who live in
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Growth and Performance of Affordable Housing Finance Lenders in India;” by Nadeem Karmali, Guillermo Rodriguez Ruiz
In studying the growth of affordable housing finance corporations (AHFCs) in India, the authors review the history of the Indian housing market and related government policies. After independence in 1947, the Indian government acted as a direct provider of housing. Since then, the government migrated its role into being a “facilitator of housing.” Starting in the 1990s,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management (I-AM) Loans $35m in 8 Countries via Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it has disbursed a total of USD 35 million to microfinance institutions in Armenia, El Salvador, Panama, Uzbekistan and four other countries. While I-AM has not released the names of the latter countries or any of the borrowers, it did announce a recent local-currency loan to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit, Aqua for All to Invest $17m in Water, Sanitation in Africa, Cambodia
Two Dutch entities, the cooperative investor Oikocredit and the nonprofit Aqua for All, recently launched a two-year partnership to facilitate access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Cambodia as well as unspecified countries in East and West Africa. Oikocredit has agreed to invest up to EUR 15 million (USD 15.6 million) in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BII Investing $75m in MSME Funders via Symbiotics to Enable “Green” Projects in Africa, Asia
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, recently subscribed to a bond issuance arranged by Switzerland-based Symbiotics in the amount of USD 75 million to be invested in 10 to 15 funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia to boost “small-scale green projects and businesses.” To support the investments, BII has committed USD 520,000 in technical assistance for the retail lenders to help their clients invest in assets such as “rooftop solar panels, sustainable agriculture, energy-efficient appliances” and others. The program spans
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNCDF, Quizrr, Ulula, Wagely Supporting Financial, Digital Literacy for Garment Workers in Bangladesh
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently committed approximately USD 556,000 to support pilot training programs for workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The funding will pay for technical assistance and performance-based grants for three firms seeking to promote financial and digital literacy skills and hence financial and digital inclusion for 135,000 individuals working in the sector, mostly women. UNCDF’s implementing partners for the project are