MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Proparco Lend $125m to NMB for MSME, Agriculture, Green Financing in Tanzania

The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently led a senior loan package of USD 125 million in favor of Tanzania’s National Microfinance Bank (NMB). NMB is a commercial bank offering

MICROFINANCE EVENT: X Conferencia Centroamericana y del Caribe de Microfinanzas; March 20-22, 2023; Antigua, Guatemala

The tenth Central American and Caribbean microfinance conference is themed “Resilience and recovery of financial inclusion in the new reality.” The first morning is a forum for showcasing new technologies. The remaining two days will cover themes such as digital transformation, gender equity,

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Livelihoods India Summit; January 19-20, 2023; New Delhi, India

The 13th edition of this event will address how to increase the resilience of low-income people’s livelihoods. The sessions are to cover topics such as: (1) inclusive value chains; (2) the impact of climate change on livelihoods; (3) methods for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans KICB $7m for MSME Financing in Kyrgyzstan

The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently lent the local-currency equivalent of USD 7 million to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) to finance micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kyrgyzstan. The loan is part of

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Assessing the State of Youth Financial Inclusion in Developing Contexts,” by Niclas Benni, Published by FAO

Youth in low- and middle-income countries often face significant challenges in accessing the financial services they need. Meanwhile, the lack of public data on youth financial inclusion makes it difficult for practitioners to assess and address the situation in a given context. Among the factors to consider when formulating a plan to increase youth financial inclusion are the

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Opportunity Collaboration: OC2023; October 15-19, 2023; Miches, Dominican Republic

The purpose of this event is to enable attendees to collaborate on solutions to global poverty and injustice. The agenda is primarily attendee-led, with an “unconference” style. For example, Affinity Circles allow attendees to meet informally in groups based on their region, role or goal of interest.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cracking the Nut: Reducing Risk in Rural and Agricultural Investment; June 12-13, 2023; Washington, DC, USA

This tenth iteration of “Cracking the Nut” will explore opportunities to finance agricultural supply chains to meet the needs of people working in the informal agriculture segment in low- and middle-income countries. The conference will focus on reducing the risk of investing in agricultural and

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future of Fintech; June 14-15, 2023; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place starting March 1, this event will focus on “disruptive ideas from across the fintech ecosystem.” The two-day event offers online and in-person sessions including: (1) Evaluating Saudi Arabia’s FinTech [Financial Technology] Venture Activity – Key Drivers and Factors; (2) Offering Financial Flexibility to

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Islamic Finance & Banking Summit; September 27-28, 2023; Dubai, UAE – NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place beginning February 27 in Saudi Arabia (and then May 31 in UAE), this two-day event is organized with the goal of developing strategies for elevating the Islamic finance industry. The agenda offers sessions – in-person and on-line – such as: (1) Economic Growth, FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] & Islamic Banking Developments; (2) Leveraging

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Driving Financial Resilience Through Formal Savings Among the Low-Income Population,” by Laura Courbois et al, Published by World Savings and Retail Banking Institute

This paper explores the extent to which saving through the Scale2Save program allows customers to increase their financial resilience. Two NGOs, the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation and the Belgium-based World Savings and Retail Banking Institute, created

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zanaco Borrows $50m from BII to Support MSMEs, Climate-change Mitigation in Zambia

Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) recently borrowed USD 50 million from British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution, with the goal of funding micro-, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) as well as climate-focused initiatives such as renewable energy generation. BII is looking to

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Digital Finance Campaign Replication Guide,” Published by USAID

This paper describes a digital finance education campaign called “Hey Sister! Show Me the Mobile Money,” including efforts to make it easy to replicate from one geographical context to another. The program facilitates low-income women’s access to digital financial services (DFS) by addressing the challenges of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lulalend Raises $4.7m for SMEs in South Africa via Symbiotics Social Bond

Lulalend, a funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, recently partnered with Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle- income countries, to issue bonds supplying USD 4.7 million to Lulalend. The bond issue is deemed socially responsible per the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CCAF-World Bank Study Finds Regulators in Africa Tops for Increasing Focus on Fintech, Cybersecurity Main Concern Worldwide

A recent survey of 128 financial regulators and supervisors worldwide found that just over half of respondents in low- and middle-income countries have been increasing their focus on financial technology (fintech) firms. The figure is about one out of three in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investors Buy $173m in Equity in Fusion Microfinance of India; IPO Allows Exits by Early Shareholders, Promoters

In the run-up to the recent IPO by India’s Fusion Microfinance, 17 investors paid approximately INR 3.3 billion (USD 40 million) for equity stakes in the microlender. The actual IPO was oversubscribed by a factor of two, as Fusion raised INR 6 billion (USD 72 million) in fresh cash, and early investors and promotors sold shares for a total of INR 5 billion (USD 61 million). Among those selling their entire holdings in the company was

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC to Support Mastercard Community Pass Program to Expand Access to Digital Services in Africa, India

The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is backed by the US government, recently agreed to collaborate with the US-based financial technology firm Mastercard to strengthen Mastercard’s Community Pass program. Community Pass supports digital connectivity, smartphone penetration and identification systems in rural parts of India, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. DFC has agreed to invest up to USD 50 million in