Nala, a financial technology firm launched in Tanzania in 2018, expanded into Kenya earlier in 2022, allowing money transfers from the US and UK in partnership with
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Impact Radar,” Published by UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative
The authors of this report offer a taxonomy to help measure the positive and negative impacts of the products and services of financial institutions, with the aim of enabling these institutions to build a better understanding of various elements of sustainable development. The “impact radar” includes a range of “impact areas” and constituent
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 18th Annual Global Microfinance Forum; March 16-17, 2023; Prague, Czech Republic
In the context of lingering pandemic-induced caution among investors, this event promises to cover a variety of topics relevant to microfinance investors, practitioners and other stakeholders. In addition to addressing “how MFIs [microfinance institutions] adapt to and run in the new reality [and] complications for micro clients,” sessions will cover
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citing “Impatience with the Pace,” Calvert Impact Restructures to Boost Microfinance, Green Investment
US-based NGO Calvert Impact Capital is rebranding itself as Calvert Impact, a name it has given to the NGO that will hold a group of subsidiaries that will continue to serve retail investors, institutional investors and financial advisors. CEO Jennifer Pryce stated, “We found that our original organizational framework sometimes prevented us from going bigger and bolder…. Our strategy reflects our impatience with the pace of adoption across the capital markets. We…need to double down on what we know works in and for communities.”
Calvert Impact subsidiaries will continue with the organization’s past activities, such as offering Community Investment Notes in denominations as small as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Visa Foundation Donates $2m to Opportunity International to Support Microfinance, Small-business Lending to Women in Africa
US-based nonprofit microfinance network Opportunity International recently secured a grant of USD 2 million from the Visa Foundation, an affiliate of US-based payments firm Visa. The goal is to facilitate Opportunity in routing an additional USD 14 million via its affiliated financial services providers (FSPs) in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda to micro- and small businesses owned by women. The two-year grant is to fund services for: (1) business owners and farmers, such as training in financial literacy, business management and agricultural practices; and (2) partner FSPs, such as technical assistance in developing gender-oriented policies and financial incentives for serving women, such as guarantees, interest-rate buy-downs and collateral buy-downs. A collateral buy-down – where an FSP might
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Pakistan, Microfinance Portfolios Rise 7.5% Quarterly to $2b
According to data attributed to the Pakistan Microfinance Network, microfinance providers in the country grew the number of savers they serve by 2.9 percent to 87 million from March 2022 to June 2022. During that period, however, the aggregate amount saved by those customers fell 8.9 percent to PKR 391 billion (USD 1.8 billion).
Meanwhile, microlending in Pakistan is growing unambiguously, and it is expected to continue its upward trend as new regulations recently
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend to MFIs in India, China
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it has disbursed loans totaling USD 12 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven countries through its Dual Return Funds. MFIs in China and India received “among the highest volumes,” but the other countries have not been announced. The names of the MFIs and the amounts invested
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Themed “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” Financial Inclusion Week 2022 Offers 180 Virtual Sessions, October 17-20
For the eighth year, the Center for Financial Inclusion, a program of the US-based NGO Accion, is organizing Financial Inclusion Week, an opportunity for all stakeholders to attend virtual sessions – both live and on-demand – at no charge. The theme for 2022 is “Inclusive Growth in a Digital Era,” with sessions covering 14 topics such as Climate Change, Client Protection,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: To Fund Biogas Digesters, Cookstoves in Kenya, Sumac Microfinance Bank Borrows $2m from Spark+ Africa
Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank recently secured a three-year loan of USD 2 million from Spark+ Africa Fund, an investor in “modern energy solutions.” Sumac is to use the funds to expand its Kawi product, which funds solar panels, fuel-efficient stoves and biogas digesters. Sumac’s partners include Kenya’s Burn Manufacturing and Mexico-based
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sonata Borrows $6m from MicroVest for Group Microlending to Women in Rural India
Sonata Finance, a provider of loans and insurance to women in India, recently borrowed USD 6 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global. Founded in 2006, Sonata serves 700,000 borrowers on a cash-free basis via 460 branches. While most of the microfinance institution’s loans are to groups of women conducting rural enterprise, the institution also offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.9m to ACF for Microfinance in Kazakhstan
Asian Credit Fund (ACF), a rural microfinance institution (MFI) in Kazakhstan, recently borrowed approximately USD 2 million from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Founded in 1997 by the US-based NGO Mercy Corps, ACF provides
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 2-4, 2022; Cape Town, South Africa
The eighth edition of this event offers attendees 21 sessions presented by stakeholders representing fintech [financial technology] firms and investors overseeing total capital of USD 4.5 billion. The detailed event program is yet to be announced, but it is to include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Funding Societies Inks $50m Line of Credit from HSBC to Bolster Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia
Funding Societies, a Singapore-based platform using crowdfunding and other sources of investment to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recently agreed to borrow up to USD 50 million from the local unit of UK-based HSBC. Funding Societies is active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, offering products
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Columbia University Social Enterprise Conference; October 14, 2022; New York, USA
Themed “Capital for Good,” this conference focuses on the role of capital in solving global issues. The program includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.9m to Mikra for Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, has reported issuing a loan of EUR 1.9 million (USD 1.9 million) to the microfinance institution (MFI) Mikra of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mikra, whose head office is in the city of Sarajevo, seeks to
SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week 2022, Luxembourg & Virtual, November 16-18
MicroCapital: European Microfinance Week (EMW) 2022 will be in-person for the first time in 3 years. What can we expect?
Christoph Pausch (pictured): We’re very excited to be going back to an in-person conference at the beautiful Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg. For the last two years, EMW has been virtual, and we are very proud of how both editions went, but – as I think everyone agrees – an online conference, however professional and comprehensive, can never entirely substitute for meeting in-person. You cannot fully replicate the richness of discussion within a room or the opportunities for exchange, debate and networking that gathering face-to-face allows.
You’ll see some innovations at EMW2022, as we’re taking much of what worked over the last couple of years and incorporating it into the in-person event. Among other things, that means some sessions will be in a hybrid format, so attendees and speakers who cannot come to Luxembourg can take part. Also this year, the conference proper starts on Wednesday at lunchtime, so that our opening will be timezone-suitable for more remote participants.
MC: What range of sessions can attendees choose from?
CP: As always, EMW sessions have been put forward largely by our members and organised across several thematic streams, such as “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” (the topic of the European Microfinance Award), climate-smart finance, digitalisation and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Lends $1.2m to Microfinance Institution Microinvest of Moldova
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg,
has recently announced it has provided a loan of EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.2 million) to Microinvest, a Moldova-based microfinance institution. Established in 2003 and majority-held by the Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund, Microinvest offers
SPECIAL REPORT: Agents for Impact Sustainability Alignment Rating (AFISAR©): Applying a Gender-smart Approach in the Microfinance Sector
UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls,” is not only a standalone goal but is inextricably linked to the other SDGs. Though moving toward gender equality has long been associated with achieving social or political goals, its proven economic benefits remain under-appreciated. According to the World Bank’s 2021 Global Findex Database, more than 1 billion women worldwide still lack access to the financial system. In fact, women make up the largest unbanked population in the world, with more than 70 percent of woman-owned small and medium-sized enterprises estimated to have inadequate or no access to financial services. The financial gap just for women-owned formal small businesses is estimated to be USD 300 billion.
In the absence of financial tools, women face difficulty generating income, boosting savings, growing businesses and improving the living conditions of their families. If the ambitious targets set within the SDGs are to be achieved, then a concerted effort is required to