From March 11 to March 19, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, collected observations from 56 microfinance institutions (MFIs) regarding the effects of COVID-19. Markets are closed, putting traders out of work; and group borrowers’ meetings are canceled. While these are replaced in some instances with door-to-door transactions, other MFIs are reducing in-person transactions to minimize virus transmission. Remittance inflows are down. Tourism enterprises are being asked to return deposits for canceled
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: How to Cope With the Effects of the Pandemic on your Business: Examples from the Field, a Webinar from MFC
This webinar is full of ideas to help mange the impacts of CIVOD-19. The presenters are Laure Coussirat-Coustère of Adie, Roxane Lemercier of microStart, Mirjana Panin of Opportunity Bank Serbia and Kinga Dabrowska of the Microfinance Centre.
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
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MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “What Does the Clean Cooking Market Look Like in the DRC?”, published by UNCDF
Published by the UN Capital Development Fund, February 2020, available for online viewing at
https://www.uncdf.org/article/5341/what-does-the-clean-cooking-market-look-like-in-the-drc
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is undergoing deforestation and forest degradation, a significant portion of which is to provide biomass energy for cooking. This assessment of the “clean cooking” market included
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Her Home: Housing Finance for Women,” published by IFC
By Henriette Kolb et al, published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), November 2019, 68 pages, available at https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/financial+institutions/resources/her+home+-+housing+finance+for+women
The authors of this paper analysed the housing finance markets in Colombia, India and Kenya, identifying barriers that women face in accessing loans for purchases, construction and improvements of housing. The authors observed that the rate of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, MTN, UNCDF Partner to Boost Digital Financial Services Ensibuuko Tech, Mobipay Agrosys in Rural Uganda
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced a set of partnerships to boost financial inclusion in the Northern and West Nile regions of Uganda. UNCDF will work with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Refinances $26m in Microloans for MFIs in Cambodia, Ecuador, Georgia
During February 2020, IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV), refinanced microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador, Georgia and Cambodia by purchasing non-securitized loan claims totaling USD 26 million. While the names of the other MFIs remain confidential,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Credijusto Secures $100m in Debt Financing from Credit Suisse for Online Lending to SMEs in Mexico
Mexican financial technology (fintech) firm Credijusto recently borrowed USD 100 million from Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based financial firm, to help Credijusto become “better equipped to help close the financial gap for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]”. Founded in 2015 and based in Mexico City, Credijusto offers collateral-based loans ranging in size from MXN 200,000 (USD 8,200) to MXN 30 million (USD 1.25 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Guaranteeing $3.3m Loan to Tasaheel for Microfinance in Egypt
Crédit Agricole Egypt (CA Egypt), a unit of France’s Crédit Agricole Group, recently partnered with the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is Luxembourg, to provide funding to Tasaheel for Microfinance Foundation, a microfinance institution in Egypt, “in the form of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Boosts COVID-19 Response to $8b for Working Capital, Risk-sharing, Trade Finance, “Real Sector” Finance Worldwide; Including $294m Deployed to Target SMEs in Vietnam
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently increased to USD 8 billion its financial commitment to counter the effects of COVID-19. David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, said, “It’s essential that we shorten the time to recovery.” He added, “Support operations are already underway, and the expanding funding tools…will help sustain economies, companies and jobs.”
The funding package is divided into four categories, with USD 2 billion allocated each to: (1) cash for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: To Reduce Spread of COVID-19 in Kenya, Safaricom Suspends Fees for Smaller M-Pesa Mobile Money Transactions, Boosts Maximum Balance, Opens Toll-free Call Center to Answer Coronavirus Questions
At the urging of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the mobile network operator Safaricom has loosened the terms for Kenyans using its M-Pesa mobile money product for at least the next 90 days. This is intended “to reduce the risk of spreading the [COVID-19] virus through the physical handling of cash.” Customers will pay nothing to send amounts of up to KES 1,000 (USD 9.40). In addition, the Central Bank of Kenya is allowing for a daily M-Pesa transaction limit of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Liwwa Raises $21m in Debt, Equity for SME Lending Platform in Egypt, Jordan from Investors Including FMO, 500 Startups, Edgo, EFG-EV, Chris Larsen, Wamda
Jordan-based financial technology (fintech) firm Liwwa recently borrowed USD 15 million to expand its facilitation of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt and Jordan. Liwwa also raised equity totaling USD 6 million from its previous investors Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), the Netherlands Development Finance Company; Jordan-based Bank al Etihad; Jordan-based Dash Ventures; and US-based VC firm
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Loans $30m to SEWA’s Sitara for Housing Microfinance for Women in India
The government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which recently took over the work of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has loaned USD 30 million to Sitara, an initiative of India’s SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), for on-lending to improve the housing conditions of poor women in urban areas. Formerly known as SEWA Grih Rin, Sitara offers loans for housing, business, education and other purposes in amounts from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $2.2m to NLB Banka Podgorica for Women-led SMEs in Montenegro
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral investor, recently agreed to loan EUR 2 million (USD 2.18 million) to NLB Banka Podgorica, a Montenegro-based bank named for its Slovenian affiliate Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). As part of EBRD’s Women in Business Programme, the loan is to be used to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Development Finance Institutions Collaborate to Add Gender Metrics to Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) IRIS+ System
A group of development finance institutions (DFIs) recently collaborated with the US-based nonprofit Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to improve the way they track the results of their investments in women in developing countries. The outcome is an expansion of GIIN’s Impact Reporting and Investment Standards Plus (IRIS+), which provides a framework to “identify, measure and manage the social and environmental impact of investors’ actions and report their impact” as well as provide investors with “impact data” that can inform their investment decisions.
The new metrics are grouped into approaches such as gender-specific services; increasing equality through financial inclusion; and
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women’s World Banking: Making Finance Work for Women; October 20-21, 2020; Virtual; NEW DATES AND FORMAT
Originally scheduled to take place in the US city of San Francisco, this online event will concentrate on innovations and issues related to the financial inclusion of women, including through financial technology (fintech). A Fintech Innovation Challenge will offer presenters of new ideas the chance to win access to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day, whose winners get cash awards of USD 50,000 each. Although additional details
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Commits $1.1b as “First Step” in Response to Coronavirus; Targets Include SMEs, Women-owned businesses
The UK-based multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently allocated EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) to provide “immediate support” as a “first step” to addressing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The targets include boosting trade finance, particularly as it can assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and providing crisis-management advice to SMEs, especially those led by women. For borrowers experiencing difficulty with repayment, EBRD will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Northern Arc Raises $23m for India Impact Fund to Invest in SMEs
India-based Northern Arc Investments recently completed the first close of its eighth fund, the Northern Arc India Impact Fund, which is its first fund to accept investments from outside the country. The firm plans to use the five-year debt fund to support Indian lenders for microenterprise, small business, agri-business and vehicles. Northern Arc Investments has raised USD 23 million for the India Impact Fund and will look to increase this to a total of USD 100 million to USD 150 million. By 2021, the company plans to execute
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mercy Corps’ AgriFin, UNCDF, Zanaco Bank Roll Out AgriPay Digital Financial Services for Rural Farmers in Zambia
The AgriFin program of US-based NGO Mercy Corps, the UN Capital Development Fund and Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) recently partnered to create a digital financial services product in Zambia. Within four months, 3,000 farmers – just over half of them women – had enrolled to access the savings and remittances services of the program, dubbed AgriPay. About of a third of the users are