by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 40 Funders Commit $75m via World Economic Forum COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs

The World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based nonprofit, recently convened the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, through which 40 organizations are aligning their efforts to reduce the economic and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These 40 organizations support 15,000 entrepreneurs who have served a total of 1.5 billion customers in 190 countries by “protecting livelihoods; mitigating millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide; improving access to health, sanitation, education and energy; [and having] driven social inclusion movements for the disabled, homeless or those with refugee status.”

The alliance members have committed a total of USD 75 million in response to the pandemic. In addition, they are working together to assess needs; increase recovery funding; coordinate legal, technological and

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enda Tamweel, FMO Ink $65m Syndicated Loan for Education, Enterprise, Housing Microfinance in Tunisia with Support from TCX, AATIF, ASN, Microbuild, BlueOrchard

Enda Tamweel, a Tunisian microfinance institution, and the Netherlands Development Finance Company, which is also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently finalized a syndicated loan agreement denominated in Tunisian dinars equivalent to EUR 60 million (USD 65 million). Two thirds of the funding will flow to Enda via

by Kiersten Greene -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Palau, TaiwanICDF Partner to Lend to MSMEs, Provide Business Training with Foci on Young Entrepreneurs, Women

Two government institutions, the National Development Bank of Palau (NDBP) and Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), recently crafted a financial inclusion plan

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Board for Small Scale Industries, Mastercard Foundation Announce $15m Emergency Fund for MSMEs in Ghana Affected by COVID-19

The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation and Ghana’s National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), a unit of that country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, recently agreed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with a “Recovery and Resilience Program for MSMEs.” The program will provide micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Taking $13m Equity Stake in Yeelen Financial Fund to Boost Inclusion in West Africa

The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, recently approved an equity investment of EUR 12 million (USD 13 million) in Yeelen Financial Fund, an investment vehicle that aims to strengthen financial institutions in the eight nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which also is known by its French acronym UEMOA.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mercy Corps’ AgriFin, UNCDF, Zanaco Bank Roll Out AgriPay Digital Financial Services for Rural Farmers in Zambia

The AgriFin program of US-based NGO Mercy Corps, the UN Capital Development Fund and Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) recently partnered to create a digital financial services product in Zambia. Within four months, 3,000 farmers – just over half of them women – had enrolled to access the savings and remittances services of the program, dubbed AgriPay. About of a third of the users are

by the MicroCapital Team -

MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Video Summary of SAM 2019, also Known as African Microfinance Week, in Burkina Faso

This five-minute video gives you a taste of what happened when 900 participants from 50 countries met for the 2019 SAM conference in Ouagadougou.

This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!

MicroCapital coverage of the last three SAM conferences, including vignettes demonstrating its value to participants, appears at http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/.

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

by Anna Gravois -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Young People in Africa: Research Showing Opportunities for Financial Service Providers in Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal,” Published by World Savings Banks Institute

By Lise Paaskesen and Steven Peachey, published by the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI), October 2019, 45 pages, available at 
https://www.wsbi-esbg.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/0587_ESBG_BRO_CENTRALREPORT%20(004).pdf

The Scale2Save initiative of WSBI and the Mastercard Foundation is intended to contribute to improving financial services for people aged 15 to 30 years by examining their access to services, support structures and entrepreneurship opportunities in three rapidly growing African countries – Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. Part of this work is to

by Alex Chowdhury -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lending Crédit Agricole Srbija $33m for Investing in SMEs, Mid-Caps in Serbia

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending institution of the EU, recently gave the Serbian unit of the French banking group Crédit Agricole access to EUR 30 million (USD 33 million) of a EUR 50 million (USD 55 million) line of credit. Crédit Agricole Srbija agreed to

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Are MFIs Making Child Labor Worse? Willing to Test a Risk-assessment Prototype? How Can Schools Boost Child Protection? Why Buy Disposable Sanitary Pads When You Can Sew Reusable Ones?

DuringEuropean Microfinance Platform Thursday’s “Risky Business” session at European Microfinance Week, Patricia Richter of the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) led the audience through a poll of audience members’ personal work histories and how they think microfinance institutions (MFIs) can help reduce child labor. The audience voted that MFIs should do more to “raise awareness among clients and households” about the issue. The ILO’s Minimum Age Convention of 1973, which has been ratified by 172 countries, specifies the youngest acceptable ages for various types of work, ranging from 12 years old for fewer hours of light work in developing countries to 18 years old for hazardous work in any country.

The motivations for adults to engage children in age-inappropriate work include: (1) the family’s need for more income; (2) social norms that encourage child labor or the passing down of skills from parents to young children; (3) insufficient educational opportunities; (4) market demand for

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Sibling Rivalry, Pre-disaster Microinsurance Payments, Protecting Climate-displaced People via International Law at European Microfinance Week

At European Microfinance Platformtoday’s opening plenary of European Microfinance Week, Manuel Tonnar, who leads Luxembourg’s Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said that his country “is committed to transforming itself and helping others transform their economies into sustainable economies.” This is “not for charitable reasons,” he argued, “but because it’s the most efficient way” to move forward. Mr Tonnar also said, “Financial inclusion should be closely allied with other development interventions to provide the most value to disadvantaged populations.” In closing, he quoted Jean Monnet, who said, “I am not optimistic. I am not pessimistic. I am

by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Foundation Commits $300m to Bring “Young Africa Works” to Ethiopia

The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently committed USD 300 million to Ethiopia to expand Young Africa Works, an initiative intended to create job opportunities for 30 million young Africans, 70 percent of whom are women, in 10 countries by 2030. The effort, which was launched in partnership with Ethiopia’s Jobs Creation Commission (JCC), will fund programs that

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Partnerships, Patience, Sizing Goals for Hummingbirds to Meet SDGs Via Financial Inclusion, Complimentary Services

“We SAM 2019need to develop services with added value to increase impact,” said Corinne Molitor of ADA during the first Wednesday plenary session at SAM. In the absence of non-financial services, financial inclusion does not lead directly to reduced poverty. To find evidence of poverty alleviation, she says, we must consider the long term because reducing poverty is a very slow process. Mathieu Ciowela of the UN Development Program said of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that, “We have been implementing this for four years. Maybe in 10 years we’ll have data on progress.”

Adrian Kamenitzer of the European Investment Bank also spoke in terms of decades rather than years. He told a personal story of growing up in Romania and observing the transition from communism. “In 1990, we had a new regime. We had hopes,

by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Foundation Commits $200m to “Young Africa Works,” a 10-year, 10-country Effort Launching in Senegal

The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that Senegal is among the first countries in which it will roll out Young Africa Works, an initiative intended to create job opportunities for 30 million young Africans, 70 percent of whom are women, in 10 countries by 2030. The foundation has made a

by Anna Gravois -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IsDB Funds WPDI Youth Peacemaker Network to Empower Youth, Promote Peace, Boost Sustainable Development in Northern Uganda

The Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) recently donated USD 1.9 million in to the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative’s (WPDI’s) Youth Peacemaker Network to support the creation of a “community learning center” in Karamoja, a region of Uganda that has experienced “decades of conflict, instability, poverty, and inconsistent climatology.” At the center, WPDI plans to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance / African Microfinance Week); October 21 – 25, 2019; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

The SAM 2019fourth SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) includes five full days of trainings, conference sessions, an investors’ fair, an innovators’ village and research presentations, all on the theme “Pathways Towards Impact: African Inclusive Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals.” The training presenters are ADA, Amarante Consulting, Arendt, Banca Etica, BNP Paribas, BRS, Caritas Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization, Graine, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, the Microinsurance Network, MicroSave Consulting, Pamiga,

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $2.4m to Vision Fund Myanmar, Phare Performing Social Enterprise of Cambodia

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently issued loans of EUR 1.8 million (USD 2.0 million) to VisionFund Myanmar, a member of VisionFund International, and the equivalent of USD 367,000 to