by Tejas Gumudavelly -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SunCulture of Kenya Receives $11m Line of Credit for Solar Irrigation of Farms in Africa from SunFunder, AfDB, AlphaMundi, NDF, Triodos Investment Management

Kenyan solar-irrigation company SunCulture recently received a credit facility of USD 11 million organized and led by SunFunder, a lender to solar energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. The other participating funders are the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) Energy Inclusion Facility, Switzerland-based AlphaMundi, the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and the Netherlands’ Triodos Investment Management. NDF is an institution of the governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The terms of the loan to SunCulture have not been released.

SunCulture utilizes solar technology “to provide customers with reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting and mobile charging.” Its products, such as solar pumps, lights and drip irrigation systems, are used by both farmers and non-farming households in Côte d’Ivoire,

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Google, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest $12m in Locfund Next to Support Small Businesses in Latin America, Caribbean in Responding to COVID-19

Locfund Next, a debt fund managed by BIM Asset Management, recently received an investment of USD 8 million from US-based technology firm Google as part of USD 200 million Google has committed to support organizations that

by Steffi Ong -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends $3m to Microfund for Women (MFW) for Entrepreneurs in Jordan

The European Investment Bank (EIB), an institution of the EU, recently lent EUR 2.7 million (USD 3.3 million) to Microfund for Women (MFW) to be on-lent for microenterprise in Jordan. These loans are intended to support 9,100 people, 90 percent of whom are women, whose livelihoods have been threatened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. EIB drew the funds from the Southern Neighborhood Microfinance

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard, Razorpay to Increase Access to Recurring Payments for Startups, SMEs in India

US-based company Mastercard and India-based financial technology firm (fintech) Razorpay recently partnered to increase access to mobile payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. The partnership will combine “Razorpay’s payment processing capabilities with Mastercard’s trusted and secure dig

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana Issues Crowdfunding Policy

Bank of Ghana (BOG), the central bank of the country, recently launched a policy aiming to promote and guide the use of crowdfunding, whereby people fundraise in small amounts from many individuals. Since long before it could be performed electronically, people have used the concept to raise funds from friends and family for purposes such as business, medical, education and funeral expenses. The new policy encourages users to crowdfund via financial institutions, with the goal of

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Switzerland Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) to Support Hapa Cash of Kuunda, Expanding Liquidity for FINCA, M-Pesa Agents in Tanzania

The government-funded Switzerland Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) recently agreed to disburse an unspecified amount of grant funds to Kuunda Digital, a financial services provider based in Mauritius, to help expand its Hapa Cash product, which supplies

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ESCAP, SHE Investments, UNCDF Build Bookkeeping App Kotra Riel to Assist Women Microentrepreneurs in Cambodia

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Cambodia’s SHE (Support Her Enterprise) Investments recently released a bookkeeping app, Kotra Riel,’ targeting

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Arohan of India Files for IPO, Early Investors to Exit, Deals May Total $247m

The microlender Arohan Financial Services recently filed with the Securities Exchange Board of India in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) through which it seeks to raise INR

by Tejas Gumudavelly -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SarvaGram Raises $10m from Elevation Capital, Elevar Equity for Microfinance in India

SarvaGram, a microlender in India, recently secured equity investments totaling USD 10.5 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from Elevar Equity. The terms of the investments have not been released. Elevar Equity previously invested USD 3.5 million in SarvaGram, which offers

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Huruma Loans $8m to Microfinance Institutions INSOTEC, FACES; Aiming to Increase Productivity of Farmers in Rural Ecuador

The Huruma Fund, an impact investment vehicle with commitments of EUR 120 million (USD 145 million), recently issued three-year loans to two microlenders in Ecuador: EUR 4 million (USD 4.8 million) to the Instituto de Investigaciones Socioeconómicas y Tecnol

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Launches Debt Fund in India to Focus on Microfinance, SMEs, Housing, Education

Creation Investments Capital Management, which is based in the US city of Chicago, recently opened an office in the Indian city of Bengaluru and launched a fund for lending to non-banking financial companies in the country. The target firms are those that

by Tejas Gumudavelly -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jordan Trade Facilities Company Borrows $5m for MSMEs from Sanad Fund

Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investor in organizations serving micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently agreed to loan the equivalent of USD 5 million in Jordanian dinar to the Jordan Trade Facilities Company (JoTF). The investment is intended to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASA Mourns Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, Pioneer in Microfinance

Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, who founded the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), an NGO in Bangladesh, and co-founded the Netherlands-based ASA International, recently died. He launched ASA in 1978 to promote civil rights and social development in rural Bangladesh. In 1992, ASA transformed into

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Iran Planning NFC System to Allow Retail Payments via Mobile Devices in Lieu of Cards

The Central Bank of Iran reportedly is developing a contactless payment system using near-field communication (NFC) technology that will allow customers to make retail payments using mobile phones. Among the goals of the effort is to reduce: (1) costs for banks and their customers; (2) the use of payment cards, which are gene

by Tejas Gumudavelly -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ecom Borrows $200m for Agricultural Value Chains from DFIs, Arranged by FMO

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently arranged a 7-year financing deal of USD 200 million for Ecom, a corporation based in Switzerland that specializes in the trading and processing of coffee, cocoa and cotton. The deal is 30-percent funded by FMO, with the remainder coming from

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FIE NGO of Bolivia Buys Back Equity Stake in Its Spanish Subsidiary CONFIE from Impact Investor Bamboo Capital

Bamboo Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based impact fund manager, recently announced its exit from Spain-based Corporación para el Fomento a Iniciativas Económicas (CONFIE), whose holdings include Banco FIE, a microfinance institution in Bolivia. Bolivia-based Fomento a Iniciativas Económ

by Bradley Shulman -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “COVID-19 and Cyber Risk in the Financial Sector;” by Iñaki Aldasoro, Jon Frost, Leonardo Gambacorta, David Whyte; Published by BIS

To protect the health of their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial institutions have largely shifted their employees to working from home (WFH), increasing various cyber risks. During a two-month period early in the pandemic, “the use of remote access technologies such as the remote desktop protocol (RDP) and virtual private network (VPN)” increased by 41 percent and 33 percent, respectively. The authors posit

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Satya of India Raises $20m in Equity from Impact Investor Gojo for Microfinance for Rural Women

Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Satya MicroCapital Limited recently raised an additional INR 1.53 billion (USD 20 million) in equity from Japanese microfinance investor Gojo & Company. The investment takes the total funds raised by the company to INR 2.6 billion (USD 36 million).