MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CARE, Barclay's, Oxfam, EcoBank, Others Collaborate to Expand Financial Services to Sub-Saharan Africa's Poor

In its article “Innovations in Savings Services in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa,” the Microfinance Gateway, a service of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), highlights the collaboration between private and public sectors to connect Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural poor with financial services. CARE International (CARE), a Switzerland-based non-governmental organization with global poverty reduction programs aimed at developing women’s economic capabilities has reportedly collaborated with formal banking institutions like Barclays of the United Kingdom and Centenary Bank of Uganda on modifying financial products for low-income clients while also educating targeted communities about these products.

Other projects include Oxfam International, a group of 14 independent socially-oriented organizations, linking microentrepeneurial savings groups to fair trade companies that facilitate the purchase of products from poor countries by rich countries. EcoBank, a pan-African bank with a network of over 500 branches in 27 countries, aims to bring affordable services to approximately 10 million potential clients after it received a USD 6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a foundation in the US that aims to enhance healthcare and economic development. Lastly Kenyan telecommunications company, Safaricom, has partnered with Equity Bank, a microfinance bank founded in 1984 in Kenya, to launch M-Kesho, a savings program where clients will have access to interest-bearing savings accounts and microinsurance products.

About CARE International: CARE International (CARE) is a Switzerland-based non-governmental organization with global poverty reduction programs aimed at developing women’s economic capabilities. Founded in 1945 and originally established as a means to send supplies to post-war Europe from America, it has evolved into a large-scale humanitarian organization. As of June 30, 2009, CARE supported 800 poverty-fighting projects in 72 countries to reach 59 million people. It reported total assets of USD 952 million at that time.

About Oxfam International: Oxfam International is a confederation of 14 organizations founded in 1995 to help reduce poverty. Oxfam’s is derived from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942, which advocated for food supplies to be sent to Greece during the Second World War to aid women and children. Since then, Oxfam International has developed into a network of member organizations that operate in 99 countries to provide long-term solutions for poverty eradication, disaster relief, advocacy and policy research. As of March 2010, Oxfam INtenrational has GBP 2.4 million (USD 3.9 million) in assets.

About EcoBank: Ecobank is a pan-African bank with a network of 500 branches in 27 countries. By year end 2008, Ecobank had USD 8.3 billion in assets, USD 1.16 billion in equity and USD 5.8 billion in deposits. Its return on equity (ROE) was 17.1 percent and its return on assets (ROA) was 1.5 percent. As of July 2009, ETI’s shares are held by 170,000 private and institutional shareholders throughout the world.

About the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Based in the US, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides grants to organizations in approximately than 100 countries around the world with the aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding educational opportunities and access to information technology. As of September 2009, its endowment totaled USD 34 billion. USD 21 billion in grants has been committed since the foundation’s inception. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor initiative focuses on providing people with secure places to save money. To support this initiative, the foundation works with financial organizations to increase access to technology (point of sales devices, automated teller machines, etc.) and forge partnerships between mobile phone companies, banks and microfinance institutions.

About Equity Bank: Equity Bank, founded in 1984, is a microfinance bank based in Nairobi, Kenya. It provides loans, savings and fund transfer services with funding from savings deposits and shareholder capital. It reportedly accounts for 56 percent of bank accounts in Kenya with 4.9 million accounts as of July 2010. It is involved in microfinance operations not only in Kenya, but also in Southern Sudan and Uganda through its subsidiary, Equity Bank Uganda. As reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market in 2009, Equity Bank has USD 1.27 billion in total assets, a gross loan portfolio of USD 818 million and 716,000 active borrowers.

By Diana Baide, Research Assistant

[1] Microfinance Gateway. “Innovations in Savings Services in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa”

http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.26.14353/

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: CARE International

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=CARE+International

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Oxfam International

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Oxfam+International

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: EcoBank

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Ecobank

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bill+and+Melinda+Gates+Foundation

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Equity Bank