The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced it will pay up to half of any losses that Union Bank of Nigeria may incur in lending the local-currency equivalent of USD 25 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. In particular, “the bank plans to offer more products and services to women-owned businesses, especially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ghana Increases Bailout of Financial Sector by $471m, Partly to Refund Deposits to Microfinance Institution Customers
The government of Ghana is increasing the total by which it is reimbursing parties impacted by the closure of some of the country’s financial institutions from GHS 2.4 billion (USD 434 million) to GHS 5 billion (USD 906 million), according to a statement attributed to President Nana Akufo-Addo. The new funding is for depositors and others involved with microfinance institutions and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Quona Capital Closes Accion Quona Inclusion Fund with $203m for Fintechs
Venture capital firm Quona Capital, which focuses on financial inclusion via technology in emerging markets, recently closed its second fund, the Accion Quona Inclusion Fund, at a volume of USD 203 million. Accion, a US-based nonprofit, is the anchor investor in the fund, which had an initial target of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lending $8.5m to Minsk Transit Bank (MTBank) for Microfinance, SME Finance in Belarus
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is lending BYB 20 million (USD 8.5 million) to Minsk Transit Bank (MTBank), Belarus’s “largest independent private bank,” for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The loan is denominated in local-currency to off-load the foreign-exchange risk that Belarusian businesses often take on when borrowing from foreign banks. The funding will also increase the time
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Experiences in Gender-sensitive Solutions to Collateral Constraints,” published by MEDA
By Allison Nafziger, published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates, January 2020, 18 pages, available at https://www.meda.org/innovate/innovate-resources/944-experiences-in-gender-sensitive-solutions-to-collateral-constraints-meda-innovate-learning-series-paper
Many financial institutions and regulatory systems in low-income countries impose strict collateral requirements on smallholder farmers as well as other micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the agricultural sector. These requirements especially are limiting to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas Loans $9.4m to CreditAccess Grameen of India for Microfinance
BNP Paribas, a bank based in France, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a two-year loan of INR 700 million (USD 9.4 million) to CreditAccess Grameen, the Indian member of CreditAccess Asia, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. CreditAccess Grameen, formerly known as Grameen Koota, offers group microenterprise loans of USD 1,150; individual small business loans of up to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Market Systems Symposium; June 15 – August 31, 2020; Online – NEW DATES & FORMAT
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this symposium is being converted into a series of online events.
The purpose of this event is to “provide the inspiration, capacity building, and connections you need to strengthen and transform your market systems development practice.” The symposium organizer, EcoVentures International, is a nonprofit supporting “the growth of sustainable local economies and empowered communities using systems-thinking approaches.”
The agenda includes session such as:
SPECIAL REPORT: Highlights of European Microfinance Week 2019
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): European Microfinance Week 2019 gathered 450 leading experts from 62 countries to showcase the most exciting innovations advancing sustainable and responsible financial
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $5.6m to Sparkasse Bank Makedonija for Housing, Energy-efficiency in North Macedonia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently issued two loans to Sparkasse Bank Makedonija, a unit of Austrian savings bank Steiermärkische Sparkasse, to promote investment in privately owned buildings in North Macedonia. The larger loan is in the amount of EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) and is to be used for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tarayana Foundation Offers Rural Microfinance, Mobile Repayments via B-Ngultrum of Bhutan Telecom
Tarayana Micro Finance recently became licensed as a microfinance institute (MFI), independent of its incubator, the Tarayana Foundation of Bhutan. The MFI provides individual and group loans in rural areas, with interest rates of 15 percent. Smaller “classic” loans support existing enterprises, while larger loans are available for “pre-selected livelihood models with a proven market and reliable value chain.” These larger “development” loans are disbursed in the form of “materials and
SPECIAL REPORT: $110k European Microfinance Award 2020 Accepting Applications Through April 15 for “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings”
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): The European Microfinance Award 2020 “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings” is now open to organisations and programmes active in the financial inclusion sector that are innovating in the encouragement and delivery of savings to low-income and excluded populations.
This year, the Award aims to highlight the crucial role that savings can play for low-income and excluded populations, and how financial providers can encourage their effective and widespread use. To learn more about the Award, eligibility criteria, the selection process and the benefits of taking part, please consult the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Considering $5m Equity Investment in Innoviti Payment Solutions, Provider of Loans, Cashless Payments to MSMEs, Consumers in India
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which is also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently expressed interest in the possibility of placing an equity investment in Innoviti Payment Solutions, a digital financial services provider in India. The transaction would be disbursed in the amount of
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Digital Lives of Refugees: How Displaced Populations Use Mobile Phones and What Gets in the Way,” Published by GSMA
This is a summary of a paper published by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), July 2019, 87 pages, available at https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Digital-Lives-of-Refugees.pdf
Mobile technology in general, as well as mobile network operators in particular, are becoming increasingly important to the delivery of aid to populations in crisis. This report addresses the access to, use of, and barriers to mobile technology among refugee populations.
The authors conducted 3,000 face-to-face and telephone interviews as well 55 focus group discussions with refugees from Jordan, Rwanda and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: VisionFund Uganda Opening Branches to Deliver Microfinance to Refugees from South Sudan
The Ugandan subsidiary of VisionFund International, which is owned by US-based NGO World Vision, recently opened a branch in the Moyo region of Uganda, serving refugees and local residents near the Palorinya settlement for refugees from South Sudan. About 121,000 refugees and 48,000 Ugandans live in the area. During 2020, VisionFund Uganda plans to open three more branches targeting areas with large numbers of refugees, including one branch serving the town of Yumbe and the nearby settlement Bidibidi, where 230,000
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MEDA Innovate Learning Event; March 17, 2020; Ottawa, Canada – CANCELED
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
Presenters at this event will share testimony on “designing, testing, and scaling non-traditional finance solutions and agricultural technologies for smallholder farmers.” Other topics will include
SPECIAL REPORT: Christoph Pausch on the $110k European Microfinance Award 2020: Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings – Application Period Opens March 9
MicroCapital: Why was “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings” chosen as the topic of the European Microfinance Award 2020?
Christoph Pausch: For much of the past 40 years, the microfinance sector has focused overwhelmingly on credit. Credit is easier to offer and more profitable for the provider. More often than not, this results in credit being provided as the default even when other financial products – such as savings – are better suited to the needs of the client. Moreover, these other options come at both lower cost and lower
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACEP International, BIO, I&P Creating ACEP Group to Help Microfinance Providers in Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Madagascar, Niger Transform into Digital Institutions
The recently formed ACEP Group has acquired controlling stakes in three microfinance institutions (MFIs), ACEP Burkina Faso, ACEP Madagascar and ACEP Niger; and ACEP Cameroun “is aiming to join” the group as well. The creators of ACEP Group are the Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) International, a private company whose ownership includes its co-founder Thierry Perreau; Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), a France-based investor in small and medium-sized enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa; and the government-owned Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, which is also known by its Dutch acronym BIO.
The goals of the group include to maintain the MFIs’ commitments to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nvio Pagos México Awarded 1st Fintech License from Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores
The Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), Mexico’s banking and securities commission, recently licensed Nvio Pagos México to operate as a fintech firm. While 85 firms have applied for such licenses, this is the first to have been awarded under the Mexican government’s Financial Technology (Fintech) Institution Law,