During today’s case study presentation on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Loise Mwangi of Kenya’s Sidian Bank shared her institution’s success in providing pandemic-relief loans for WASH equipment. Sidian lent about half of the funds, which total the equivalent of USD 4.7 million, to small and medium-sized WASH re-sellers, and the other half to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFS Africa Acquiring Baxi to Expand Digital Payment Network for SMEs into Nigeria
Mobile Financial Solutions (MFS) Africa, a digital payments network based in South Africa, recently announced it will acquire Baxi, a platform facilitating online payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in underserved communities in Nigeria. Verdant Capital, a corporate finance firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions,
SPECIAL REPORT: Private, Public Funders on Green Microfinance, Climate Adaptation, Biodiversity
Today, at the first plenary of European Microfinance Week 2021, climate adaptation was the hot topic – in contrast to climate mitigation, which is more of a preventative measure. The panelists argued that the scale of funding for climate adaptation is much too small and that many of those most in need still lack access to funding. These groups include smallholder farmers, women, youth and members of indigenous groups. Meanwhile, financial services providers (FSPs) are reporting that
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Opens with Daniela Konietzko of Fundación WWB Colombia Arguing Business Leaders Must Fight Gender Inequality
As part of the first day of European Microfinance Week 2021, Daniela Konietzko of Fundación WWB Colombia today discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brunt of which have fallen on women. There has been more domestic violence, neighbors have quarreled more over land disputes, and pregnant women and children have suffered the worst increases in malnutrition. Meanwhile children have missed school, and women have taken on greater unpaid caregiving responsibilities.
As COVID-19 threatens to undo the gains made against poverty in recent years, Ms Konietzko argued that we need to address development with a gender lens for many reasons. Women invest triple
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Emerging Markets Renewable Energy Fund Debuts with $29m in Commitments
Triodos Investment Management, an impact investing unit of the Netherlands’ Triodos Bank, has announced the launch of the Triodos Emerging Markets Renewable Energy Fund. The fund will deploy senior debt in low- and middle-income countries to support:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Terabank Georgia Borrowing $7m from EIB to Aid MSMEs in Adjusting to COVID-19 Pandemic
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently opened a credit line of EUR 6 million (USD 6.8 million) – usable in synthetic Georgian lari – for Terabank Georgia, which is owned by the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group. Terabank, which focuses on retail customers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), seeks to use the credit line to help
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: HDFC Bank to Lend $100m to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in India – Half Led by Women – with Support from DFC, Mastercard, USAID
HDFC Bank, an affiliate of India’s Housing Development Finance Corporation, recently agreed to lend USD 100 million to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India to support their usage of digital payments, including to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of the credit facility is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BFIU, IFC to Develop e-KYC Infrastructure to Expand Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), a government agency responsible for preventing and investigating financial crimes, and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to collaborate to establish an electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) system to “fast-track financial inclusion” in Bangladesh. By allowing financial services providers (FSPs) to compile and certify customer data online, the e-KYC system is expected to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Launches Emprende Platform to Incubate Women-owned Microenterprises in Latin America
The US-based social enterprise Pro Mujer today launched the pilot phase of its Emprende platform, a Spanish-language resource for women running “subsistence” enterprises. Pro Mujer chose 600 women from 3,000 applicants to participate in the three-month pilot, which offers “pre-incubation” and incubation services in three categories:
Skills – Based on the idea of lifelong learning, Emprende offers learning opportunities, including via “edutainment,” with new content to be developed based on customer requests.
Collaboration – The platform includes a “collaborative hub,” with content partners such as the US-based technology firms Microsoft and Platsi. Platsi is a trilingual
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trafficking Survivors to Access Microfinance from NAPTIP of Nigeria
Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) recently announced it is planning to offer microfinance to survivors of human trafficking as part of a set of “sustainable and evidence-based rehabilitation, reintegration and empowerment programs.” These programs also will include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Acquires 40% Equity Stake in Asset Manager Adobe Capital, Seeking to Boost Social, Environmental Returns in Latin America
Deetken Impact, a Canada-based asset manager, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire 40 percent of the shares of Adobe Capital, a Mexico-based manager of investments intended to create positive social and environmental impact. The goal of the partnership is to increase the availability of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Moneylenders Arrested for Extortion, Impersonating Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority Staff
Police in the Buikwe district of Uganda recently arrested six employees of Moskal Enterprises Uganda Limited, a moneylending firm based in the Luwero district, for impersonating staff of the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Capital Bank’s National Bank of Iraq to Borrow $10m from IFC for SMEs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to loan the National Bank of Iraq (NBI) USD 10 million for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and related advisory services. NBI is a commercial bank owned by Jordan’s Capital Bank Group.
NBI Chairman Bassem Khalil Al-Salem stated the loan will help his institution
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation, Norwest, IIFL Place $200m in Equity in Vastu Platform Offering Housing Loans via Alternative Credit Scoring in India
Two US-based firms, Creation Investments and Norwest Venture Partners, recently co-led a Series C financing round of USD 200 million for Vastu Housing Finance of India. Each investor committed USD 75 million to Vastu, with India’s IIFL Finance investing the remaining USD 50 million. Vastu plans to use the financing to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agents for Impact Disburses $1.5m from IIV to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan for Microfinance
Agents for Impact (AFI), a Germany-based impact investing company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued USD 1.5 million to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan, a unit of US-based FINCA Impact Finance, on behalf of Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV). FINCA Kyrgyzstan serves 155,000 customers – half women – with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit, Opportunity International Commit $100m to Education Finance in Low-income Countries
Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance and other services in 30 countries, and Oikocredit, a Netherlands-based impact investor, recently announced a three-year partnership valued at USD 100 million. Through increased funding of financial institutions partnered with Opportunity International’s EduFinance program, Opportunity International and Oikocredit aim to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Determinants of Financial Well-Being: Evidence from Latin America,” by Sebastián Cárdenas, Published by CAF
This paper addresses the measurement and causes of financial well-being in Latin America with the aim of encouraging the deployment of optimal policies and practices by both private institutions and governments. To define the term, Mr Cárdenas cites the US-based Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which considers a high level of financial well-being to mean individuals can “meet their financial obligations successfully, can feel secure about their financial future and are able to make decisions
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Donates $8.9m to Huruma Fund for Technical Assistance Facility Promoting Agricultural Microfinance, Market Development
Huruma Fund, a Spain-based vehicle supporting rural financial services providers in low- and moderate-income countries, recently received a donation of EUR 7.7 million (USD 8.9 million) from the EU for a technical assistance facility (TAF) set up by the two primary entities behind Huruma, Gawa Capital Partners and Compañia Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES), both of Spain. The TAF will support companies, such as