MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Sava Raises $1.8m in Equity to Launch Spending Management Platform in South Africa 

Sava, a firm in South Africa, recently raised USD 1.8 million in “pre-seed funding” for its digital platform focused on “expenditure management and reconciliations” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. The company plans to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIC-BRED, FMO Commit $30m in Working Capital for Sucafina to Expand Coffee Purchases from Smallholder Farmers in Africa, Colombia

Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently agreed to fund half of a USD 30 million facility provided by the Swiss bank Banque Internationale de Commerce-Banque Régionale d’Escompte et de Dépôt (BIC-BRED) to Sucafina, a Switzerland-based coffee trader. The deal is meant to support Sucafina’s origination activities in East Africa and Colombia and in this way

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CAURIE-MF Borrows $2.6m from Huruma Fund to Expand Agricultural Microfinance in Senegal

Spain’s Gawa Capital, the manager of the public-private partnership Huruma Fund, recently disbursed a loan of EUR 2.5 million (USD 2.6 million) from the fund to Coopérative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Économiques par la Micro finance (CAURIE-MF), a microfinance institution in Senegal, with the objective of creating employment opportunities by expanding

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Oko Secures $500k in Equity from Katapult, Individual Investors to Expand Agricultural Insurance to Cote d’Ivoire

Oko Finance, an agricultural insurance company active in Mali and Uganda, recently raised USD 500,000 in equity to expand its operations to Cote d’Ivoire. Founded in 2017 and based in Mali, Oko insures 15,000 farmers growing cotton, grains and coffee in partnership with local insurers, using

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion, BAC Credomatic, Genesis, Mastercard Move to Expand Digital Financial Inclusion as Part of Call to Action for Northern Central America

US-based payment technology firm Mastercard recently announced plans to further financial inclusion in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras through the development of digital financial services that bring “5 million people in northern Central America into the financial system and digitalize 1 million micro- and small businesses,” with a focus on woman-owned businesses. The financial services include

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baobab+ Borrows $5.1m from Symbiotics to Boost Solar Electrification in 6 Countries in Africa

Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investor focused on small businesses in low- and middle- income countries, recently extended a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 5.1 million) to Baobab+, a French energy and technology company, with the objective of increasing electrification rates in Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Founded in 2015, Baobab+ provides access to solar energy and digital technology with the goal of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Vista Bank Launch $24m Partnership to Increase Access to Trade Finance in Burkina Faso, Guinea

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to enroll Guinea-based Vista Bank Group in its Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), giving the bank’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Guinea access to USD 12 million each to facilitate imports of essential goods such as “foodstuffs, raw materials, refined oil products, equipment [and] consumer goods….” IFC will also provide technical assistance to Vista Bank regarding governance and risk management. This follows a 2020 project through which IFC advised Vista Bank on

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Invests $6m in Peer-to-peer Lender Amartha from Inclusive Finance Fund, Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Increase Group Lending to Female Entrepreneurs in Rural Indonesia

Amartha, a firm offering peer-to-peer lending and other services in Indonesia, recently gained access to USD 6 million in debt financing from the Belgian impact investing firm Incofin Investment Management in an attempt to boost access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. Two thirds of the total invested comes from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), and the remainder is sourced from

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobilink Microfinance Offering Loans to “Home-based Restaurants” Using Foodpanda to Take Online Orders, Offer Delivery in Pakistan

Mobilink Microfinance Bank, a Pakistani digital financial services provider, recently initiated a collaboration with foodpanda home chefs, a division of Singapore-based “online food and grocery delivery platform” foodpanda. The objective is to extend weekly microloans of up to PKR 50,000 (USD 247) to home-based restaurant owners in order to “help resolve supply chain, marketing, and food quality issues” thus “empowering

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC, Gazelle Finance Announce Technical Assistance Funding for SMEs Displaced from Ukraine to Georgia by War

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Georgia-based Gazelle Finance recently launched a facility to assist Ukrainian enterprises that have been displaced to Georgia as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In particular, the funding is for technical assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). DFC CEO Scott Nathan noted the intent of the facility to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADEL, CGF Bourse, UNCDF Announce First Disbursement from Fonds d’Investissement Territorial (FIT), Harnessing Diaspora to Invest in SMEs in Senegal

Two Senegalese investment firms, Alliance Diaspora Economies Locales (ADEL) and CGF Bourse, have partnered with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to create an investment fund intended to generate both profits and social returns. The fund, Fonds d’Investissement Territorial (FIT), is enlisting

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fido of Ghana Attracts $30m Equity Package Led by Fortissimo to Expand Fintech in Africa

Ghana’s Fido Micro Credit, with the aim of expanding across Africa, recently obtained USD 30 million in Series A funding. Israel’s Fortissimo Capital led the funding round, while US-based Yard Ventures also participated, along with other unspecified private investors. Fido previously had raised

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Value of Pay-as-you-go Solar for Mobile Operators: Insights from Customer Journeys in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire,” Published by GSMA

This analysis of data from Benin and Côte d’Ivoire addressed “the impact of mobile consumers adopting pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar on their mobile usage.” Based on 120 interviews with end-users of PAYG technologies, the authors found that access to energy via solar home systems resulted in:

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Savings and Retail Banking in Africa: Unpacking the Customer Through Demand Side Data,” published by World Retail Savings and Banking Institute, MasterCard Foundation

This report offers three case studies on how financial services providers (FSPs) may expand and improve their usage of data to devise client-centric services and minimise account dormancy. The first case study is on the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Grameen Seeking $50m in Debt from IFC for Financial Inclusion of Women in India 

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently moved to lend as much as USD 50 million in the form of a three-year senior loan to CreditAccess Grameen, a unit of CreditAccess India. The objective of the loan is to boost enterprise lending to women who live in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aman for Microfinance Targets Unbanked in Egypt via Youm-B-Youm Savings Fund, Target Return Is 8%

Aman for Microfinance, a member of the Egypt-based Aman Group, in partnership with the asset management unit of Egypt’s Prime Holding, recently announced an investment fund called Aman Youm-B-Youm, whose name can be translated as Aman Day-by-Day. Aman for Microfinance anticipates the fund will generate returns of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanmeyah for Microenterprise Buys B2B Platform Fatura to Bolster Online Capacity in Egypt

Tanmeyah for Microenterprise Services, a subsidiary of Egypt-based EFG Hermes Holding, recently acquired Netherlands-domiciled Fatura, a “tech-driven business-to-business (B2B) platform” active in Egypt. Tanmeyah CEO Hossam AlNaggar said the acquisition will provide “the company a faster route to digitally transform and develop.” The terms of the transaction