MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Annual CLIIQ Nexus Latam; September 26-28, 2023; Cuenca, Ecuador

This year’s Cumbre Latinoamericana de Inversión de Impacto (CLIIQ) will bring together impact investors in Latin America for discussions in arenas such as: (1) Diversity and Inclusion: Gender and Beyond; (2) Climate Solutions; (3)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Places $4.3m in Equity in Varashakti Housing Finance via India Progress Fund

Incofin, a Belgian investor in lower-income countries, has invested INR 350 million (USD 4.3 million) to take an equity stake of undisclosed size in Varashakti Housing Finance (VHF), a firm active in

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Driving Digital Financial Services in Africa Through Merchant Acceptance of Digital Payments,” published by Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)

This paper examines the growth and challenges of digital payment adoption by retailers in Africa, including “contactless payment (QR codes, tap to pay) [and] buy-now-pay-later” services. The authors note four main prerequisites for merchant adoption:

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Minds: Standing Together; August 28-30, 2023; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This event will promote networking among impact ecosystem actors to facilitate the deployment of capital in Latin America and the Caribbean. On August 27, members of the Colombia-based network Latimpacto will meet for a pre-event dinner. The main event offers sessions titled: (1) The Role of the Multilaterals Acting as

SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date for SAM 2023 – African Microfinance Week – in Togo, October 16-20!

Registration is due to open within days for SAM 2023 – Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance – which will include a multi-day conference, a gala dinner, an Innovators’ Village and a two-day Investor Fair. The second day of the Investor Fair is new, reflecting the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics

Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seedstars Accepting Applications from Fintechs Offering “Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration” Through July 30

Seedstars, a Switzerland-based investment and education firm, is accepting applications from financial technology (fintech) startups looking to scale up their services to women in Africa and Asia who have migrated from their homes or whose family members have done so. Seedstars is offering this support through its Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) programme, which includes

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CEB, EU Expand Roma Housing Microfinance, Financial Inclusion Program to Bulgaria

The multilateral Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and two EU institutions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, recently launched the Housing and Empowerment for Roma (HERO) program in Bulgaria. As part of the program, Tokuda Bank, which is based in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, will provide 200 members of the Roma community with microloans totaling EUR 490,000 (USD 550,000) as well as financial literacy training. The purpose of the loans is to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bankingly, Woodcore Partner to Help FSPs in Africa to Offer Digital Financial Services

Bankingly, a Uruguay-based company that helps smaller financial services providers (FSPs) implement digital financial services, and Woodcore, a provider of core banking software with offices in Nigeria and the US, recently partnered on an effort to help microfinance institutions and other FSPs in Africa to add

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 60 Decibels Microfinance Index Data from 32 Countries Indicates Higher Confidence Among Group Borrowers, Greatest Debt Burden in Cambodia

This year’s second annual Microfinance Index from US-based impact measurement firm 60 Decibels draws on phone calls to approximately 32,000 users of microfinance services delivered by 115 financial services providers (FSPs) in 32 countries. In general, FSP clients reported higher confidence in dealing with economic shocks than

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global SME Finance Forum; September 12-14, 2023; Mumbai, India

The ninth iteration of this event will explore financial services providers’ delivery of digital services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leveraging samples from India and abroad. The forum will cover topics – particularly “ecosystems” – relating to digital finance, international

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 24 Education Technology Startups in Kenya, Nigeria Joining Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship

The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that 24 educational technology (edtech) startups in Kenya and Nigeria have joined the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship program, which promotes “technology in learning and teaching to benefit learners, education and edtech innovators across the continent” of Africa. The Kenyan inductees are listed at:

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO Loans $15m to AMK Microfinance of Cambodia

BIO, a government-owned institution also known as the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, recently loaned USD 15 million to Cambodia’s Angkor Microheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK). AMK provides individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Worth Your Weight: Experimental Evidence on the Benefits of Obesity in Low-income Countries,” by Elise Macchi

This paper examines how the perception of obesity as a symbol of wealth can yield financial benefits to overweight people in southern Uganda. The author applied computer software to photos of 34 test subjects to create

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxus Kyrgyzstan Borrowing $1.6m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance Lending

Oxus Kyrgyzstan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, recently borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.6 million from Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg. Like its partner MFIs in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, Oxus Kyrgyzstan seeks to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSPs in Ecuador to Evaluate Role of Bias in Financial Access for Women-led MSMEs with Support from IDB Invest, RFD

Red de Instituciones Financieras de Desarrollo (RFD), a network of 53 banks, cooperatives and nonprofit financial services providers (FSPs) in Ecuador, recently agreed to partner with IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, to offer RFD members advisory services relating to boosting their financing of female-led micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). RFD will distribute an online survey designed by the IDB Group to address

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $760k to Microfinance Institution Oxus Tajikistan

Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg, recently lent Oxus Tajikistan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 760,000. The purpose is to

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Determinants of Choice of Credit Source Among Clients of Microfinance Systems in the Upper West Region of Ghana,” by Paul Bata Domanban et al

The authors of this article examined which groups of people in northwestern Ghana were more and less likely to borrow money from microfinance institutions (MFIs). The authors conducted