MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: R5 Raises $7m in Equity Investment Round Led By Global Founders for Vehicle-related Fintech, Insurtech in Colombia

R5, a Colombian provider of financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech) services, recently raised USD 7 million in an investment round led by Germany-based Global Founders Capital. Also participating were US-based Accion Venture Lab, Costa Rica-based Carao Ventures, US-based Endeavor Catalyst and Chile-based Magma Partners. Neither the

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Translating Digital Credit Transaction Data Into Consumer Protection Supervision,” by Daniel Putman, Published by Innovations for Poverty Action

The adoption of digital financial services (DFS) has increased significantly in lower- and middle-income countries in recent years, specifically the usage of digital credit via mobile phone messaging, mobile apps and web browsers. Among the benefits of digital loans is the

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Fintech: Financial Inclusion or Exclusion?”; by Yoke Wang Tok, Dyna Heng; Published by International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Based on a review of existing literature, the authors find that the global gender gap in digital financial inclusion is 11 percent points and the rich-poor gap is 15 percent points. They then perform a regression analysis drawing from a wide range of datasets on digital financial inclusion; traditional financial inclusion; proxies for financial technology (fintech) such as fundraising; and measures of the digital divide by gender, income, and urban versus rural. The three main results are:

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sherpa Company Pays $65m for 25% Equity Stake in Trusting Social to Harness Big Data for Consumer Finance in Vietnam

Singapore-based Trusting Social recently closed its Series C funding round, selling 25 percent of its equity for USD 65 million to Sherpa Company, a subsidiary of the Vietnam-based Masan Group, which operates across the financial, food, materials, retail and technology sectors. Trusting Social offers

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Fintech Summit Latam; August 24-25, 2022; Mexico City, Mexico

This event will explore how banks and mobile operators in Latin America are adopting digital financial services. The first day will focus on financial technology (fintech) and the telecom industry, addressing The Evolution and Consolidation of the Fintech Ecosystem; Inter-regional and International Expansion; Biometric Identification Systems; Big Data: Fintech & Mobile Operators; Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; and IoT (Internet of Things) and B2B (Business-to-business). August 25 will center on fintech and traditional financial services providers, with sessions titled

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wave Digital Finance Receives E-money Licence from Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

The Central Bank of West African States, which is commonly referred to by its French acronym BCEAO, recently granted an e-money licence to Wave Digital Finance, a Senegal-based firm providing mobile money services in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. Whereas previously Wave only could offer its financial products to customers through banks, the new licence allows the firm to

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Merchant Expansion Through Digital Acceptance and Liquidity (MEDAL) Facility Report;” Published by Jordan Payments & Clearing Company, GIZ

The Merchant Expansion Through Digital Acceptance and Liquidity (MEDAL) Facility was created in Jordan to test methods for supporting “mobile payment service providers (mPSPs) [attempting] to meet certain merchant acquisition and QR-code transaction targets by experimenting with and developing business, operational and awareness strategies.” The program eventually provided two mPSPs a total of JOD 47,500 (USD 67,000) each because they met all three sets of the program targets, thus receiving the funds in three tranches. The targets included

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bankingly of Uruguay Raises $11m in Equity Round Led by Dalus Capital to Help Financial Institutions Boost Digital Inclusion in Africa, Asia, Latin America

Uruguay’s Bankingly recently secured an investment package totalling USD 11 million, which it plans to use to expand in Latin America and Africa as well as enter Southeast Asia. Bankingly provides financial institutions with software-as-a-service (SaaS) that helps them serve customers via websites, mobile apps, chatbots and other tools, thus “facilitating the financial inclusion of millions of people…”. Bankingly CEO and Founder, Martin Naor, expressed the hope that

MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Network (EMN) Annual Conference; June 16-17, 2022; Brussels, Belgium

Subtitled “Financial Inclusion and the Future of Work,” the 19th annual conference of the Belgium-based European Microfinance Network (EMN) will focus on changes in the labour market brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic along with rapid technological advances. The agenda will focus on how the microfinance industry can respond to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Solaris Offgrid Adds NuovoPay to PaygOps Platform, Boosting Retailers’ Ability to Lease Smartphones to Unbanked

Two providers of business-to-business services, UK-registered Solaris Offgrid and India’s NuovoPay, recently agreed to make NuovoPay’s smartphone leasing service available to distributors via Solaris’s PaygOps platform with the goal of increasing “access to digital technology for millions of unbanked people in emerging countries.” PaygOps is a system for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar India Fund VI Nets $130m for MSMEs Addressing Climate Change, Agtech, Fintech – Anchored by Public Funding from Domestic, European Sources

Aavishkaar Capital, a subsidiary of India’s Aavishkaar Group, recently completed the first close of its Aavishkaar India Fund VI with commitments totaling INR 10 billion (USD 130 million) to invest mainly in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, Sushma Kaushik, a partner at Aavishkaar Capital, said that the fund aims to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Max to Boost Financing of Motorcycle Taxis for Okada Drivers in Nigeria with $3m Credit Line from VFD Microfinance Bank, Operator of VBank

Nigeria’s VFD Microfinance Bank, whose primary offering is the VBank online banking service, recently agreed to open a credit line for Max, a Nigeria-based provider of electric and conventional motorbike leasing and other services to taxi drivers. In addition to lending Max up to USD 3 million, the bank will offer Max’s okada drivers

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A New Tool in the Financial Inclusion Toolkit?”; by Raphael Auer et al; Published by Bank for International Settlements, World Bank Group

The authors of this study interviewed representatives of nine central banks that are at various stages of exploring the possible creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with the goal of increasing financial inclusion. Among the barriers to financial inclusion CBDCs might address are:

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aliada Digital Card from NanoPay Offers Financial, Medical, Legal Services to Women in Mexico

Mexico’s NanoPay is targeting its new Aliada Digital Card at women in Mexico. The card, which leverages the network of US-based Mastercard, offers lines of credit as well as a range of free legal and medical services. The medical services include online access to physical and mental health professionals as well as

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Khazna of Egypt Raises $38m in Series A Round Led by Quona, 3 More Fintechs Join in Netting Investments from Nclude Fund

Nclude Fund, which was launched in 2022 primarily to focus on financial technology (fintech) in Egypt, has invested unspecified amounts of funding in four startups: (1) Khazna, a financial services app targeting the underbanked; (2) Lucky, an app offering consumer loans and loyalty rewards; (3) Mozare3, which helps small-scale farmers and food processors find funding; and (4) Paymob, an online payment platform that operates in the Middle East and Africa. Khazna also raised funding from

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banque Misr Leads $85m Investment to Launch Global Ventures’ Nclude Fund for Financial Inclusion via Fintech in Egypt

Global Ventures, a UAE-based venture capital firm that invests primarily in the Middle East and Africa, recently founded Nclude, an investment fund specializing in financial technology (fintech), with the aim of boosting financial inclusion, primarily in Egypt. Part of the purpose of Nclude is to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SIG Venture Capital Leads $210m Investment in Fintech Voyager of the Philippines

Voyager Innovations, a Philippine provider of digital financial services tools such as Fintq, PayMaya and Smart Padala, recently secured an investment package totaling USD 210 million. The fresh capital is slated for developing the company’s “digital banking venture and other services like cryptocurrency and micro-investments.” Voyager was established in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Catalyst Fund to Incubate 6 “Inclusive” Fintechs Serving Africa, Latin America 

Catalyst Fund, an initiative of the US-based firm BFA (Bankable Frontier Associates) Global, recently announced the tenth cohort of financial technology (fintech) companies that it will support in their efforts to serve more “underserved and climate-vulnerable communities in emerging markets.” Four of the companies are based in