by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: How Oikocredit Leveraged SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) to Expand Its Risk-management Program

Since Yves Komaclo, Oikocredit2015, Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit has offered a risk-management program for microfinance institutions (MFIs). Participating institutions have built action plans around efforts such as: (1) increasing their use of data from credit bureaux to reduce over-indebtedness; (2) adjusting loan officers’ workload and training to improve client service; and (3) surveying clients about product terms. When expanding the program to a new country, Oikocredit holds a workshop that is open to the entire sector to engage potential partners. From this pool of workshop attendees, those who demonstrate the greatest motivation and ability to make progress in risk management receive a package of consulting services lasting 18 to 24 months.

The program first was active in Benin, Ghana and Togo. As a result of Oikocredit’s sponsoring an event at the 2015 SAM in Dakar to increase awareness of its risk-management efforts, several institutions from other countries expressed

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Impact Loans $5m to One Acre Fund for Agricultural Inputs, Clean-energy Equipment Leasing to Smallholder Farmers in East Africa

Calvert Impact Capital, a US-based NGO that raises funds for organizations with “a social and/or environmental focus,” recently loaned USD 5 million to One Acre Fund, a US-based NGO active in the agriculture sector in Africa.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Disburses $148m for Energy-efficiency Projects for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay via UN’s Green Climate Fund

With funds drawn from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a UN-managed investment vehicle for mitigating the effects of climate change, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the US-based IDB Group, recently made three loans totaling USD 140 million to finance energy-efficiency projects undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $5m to Motorcycle Leasing Firm Tugende of Uganda

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an entity of the US government that facilitates investments aligned with US foreign policy, recently loaned USD 5 million to Tugende Limited, a Ugandan motorcycle leasing company. Michael Wilkerson,

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada Donating $29m for Youth, Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs in Palestine to be Run by CARE Canada, CowaterSogema International, Mercy Corps, Save the Children

The government of Canada recently announced it will fund four projects under its program titled Women and Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship and Employment in the West Bank & Gaza. More specifically, Global Affairs Canada, the government’s international development and diplomatic relations department,

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Funding Expansion of EBRD Women in Business Programme to Morocco

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is expanding its Women in Business Programme to Morocco, where it will offer training sessions, networking opportunities and internet-based mentoring for women entrepreneurs in the country.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Rabobank Foundation Invest $500k in Apollo Agriculture, Provider of Loans, Insurance, Training to Smallholder Farmers in Kenya

The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, and Rabobank Foundation, the “social fund” of the Dutch Rabobank Group, each recently disbursed USD 250,000 to Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that provides financial and technical assistance to smallholder farmers in Kenya.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Azerbaijan to Expand Digital Financial Services in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Funding from Switzerland’s SECO

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently began working with the government of Azerbaijan to implement a cashless payment system in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a self-governing territory in Azerbaijan.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 14th International Microinsurance Conference: “Inclusive Insurance for Emerging Markets;” November 6 – 8, 2018; Lusaka, Zambia

Speakers at this year’s event will explore strategies to expand the growth and the accessibility of microinsurance services in emerging economies. Although the details of this year’s agenda are still under development, last year’s edition covered topics such as the role of microinsurance in economic development and digital technologies for microinsurance.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MTN, Airtel Launch Rwanda-to-Tanzania Mobile Remittance Service

Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, and Airtel Tanzania, which is controlled by Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, recently launched a remittance service allowing MTN Rwanda customers to use their mobile phones to send

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Invests $2.5m in Equity in Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Sambandh Finserve

Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Private Limited, a microfinance investment firm in Singapore, recently invested USD 2.5 million to buy a stake of undisclosed size in Sambandh Finserve Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution that is organized as a non-banking financial company.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Foromic: Reinventing Inclusion; October 29 – 31, 2018; Barranquilla, Colombia

Organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group and the government of Colombia, this year’s Foromic is themed “Reinventing Inclusion.” Speakers will discuss how new business models and technologies are affecting financial inclusion and entrepreneurial opportunity in Latin America. Although the detailed agenda for the event is still under development, the organizers have

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Asian Development Bank (ADB): “Embracing the E-commerce Revolution in Asia and the Pacific”

This is a summary of a paper published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), June 2018, 101 pages, available at:
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/430401/embracing-e-commerce-revolution.pdf.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Remittance Africa 2018: “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa;” October 23-24, 2018; Lagos, Nigeria

Event Summary: Themed “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa,” this event is intended is “to create a continental dialogue on deepening the remittance and payment ecosystems in Africa.” Attendees representing electronic payment providers, financial service providers,

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alipay, GCash Upgrade AlipayHK App for Users in Hong Kong to Send Remittances to the Philippines Using Blockchain

Mobile payment platforms Alipay, a unit of the China-based Ant Financial, and GCash, a unit of the Philippines-based Globe Telecom, recently partnered to extend the reach of AlipayHK, a mobile app that allows users in Hong Kong to

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $5.9m in Local Currency to Erste Bank ad Novi Sad to Support Household Energy Efficiency in Serbia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently loaned RSD 600 million (USD 5.9 million) to Erste Bank ad Nova Sad (Erste Bank Serbia), a commercial banking subsidiary