by Jolene Khor -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Toward Better Resilience During the War Crisis: Case Study of Three Microfinance Institutions in Yemen,” Published by the Macrothink Institute

By Nashwan Sabrah and Nabeel T Alsohybe, published by the Macrothink Institute, June 2019, 17 pages, available at http://www.findevgateway.org/library/toward-better-resilience-during-war-crisis-case-study-three-microfinance-institutions-yemen

Since 2015, conflict in Yemen has impacted businesses in the country, driving actors in the microfinance industry to adapt the services they provide. Based on interviews with 11 individuals working at three microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country, this study describes some of the challenges confronted by the MFIs and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Securitizes $175m for 26 Microfinance Institutions, SME Lenders from Investors Including Alecta, Calvert, OPIC

A Switzerland-based “impact asset manager,” responsAbility Investments, recently securitized USD 175 million for lending to 26 funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The three-year securitization offers listed bonds at senior and mezzanine levels with unspecified “commercial” fixed rates of return, as well as a junior level with

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution VisionFund, UK Department for International Development (DFID) to Expand Mobile Banking in Rural Myanmar

VisionFund Myanmar, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating within the nonprofit VisionFund International, is partnering with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) on a USD 1.7 million project to expand mobile banking in Myanmar. The effort is intended to provide

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $225m to Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (BAM) to Expand Lending for Housing; Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently disbursed a loan of USD 225 million to Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (BAM), a subsidiary of Colombia-based Grupo Bancolombia. The loan is for on-lending by BAM for housing as well as

by Soham Mehta -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 9th Annual Uniglobal Central Asian and Caucasus Microfinance Forum; October 3 – 4, 2019; Tbilisi, Georgia

This conference will focus on “transparency, regulations, transformation of [the] microfinance industry, social reporting standards, investment, risk and asset management, and innovation” in the Central and Western Asia. Sessions will cover topics including

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Launches Equity Sub-Fund II with $23m from BMZ, EU to Invest in Financial Inclusion, Job Creation in Middle East, North Africa

The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched its Equity Sub-Fund (ESF) II, to invest in financial intermediaries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. The sub-fund’s mandate includes

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $15m in Local Currency to Stanbic Bank Zambia to Expand Financing to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of ZMK 200 million (USD 15 million) to Stanbic Bank Zambia, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group. Commenting on the transaction, Stanbic Bank Zambia CEO Leina Gabaraane said

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $2.6m in Local Currency to VisionFund Microfinance Institution SEF International to Support Rural MSEs in Armenia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently announced that it has lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.58 million to SEF International, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Armenia, to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas. Commenting on the transaction, SEF CEO Garegin Gevorgyan said

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Practitioners, Researchers Among Those Sought to Participate in 2019 “Financial Inclusion Compass” Survey of Microfinance Trends

TheEuropean Microfinance Platform European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP), an NGO in Luxembourg with over 130 members, recently began accepting responses to the survey from which it will build second annual Financial Inclusion Compass. The 2018 edition of the Compass identified the following as the most important trends: Client Protection; Regulatory Environment; Governance; Outreach to Low-Income Segments; and Technology & New Delivery Channels. In the New Areas of Focus section

by Soham Mehta -

MICROFINANCE EVENT : Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investor Forum 2019; October 2-3, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

This summit provides impact investors opportunities to attend seminars and discussions on the following themes: Market Development, Product Development, Environment, Integrating Impact and Inclusion & Diversity. Sample session topics include the role of “aggregate data” in impact investing, sustainable housing and the future of impact investing in China. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) defines impact investing as “investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact

by Jolene Khor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, FinDev Canada, Mastercard Foundation, OPIC, PROPARCO Sponsoring 2X Invest2Impact Competition, Offering $1m to “High-potential” Women Entrepreneurs in East Africa

A group of development finance institutions (DFIs), along with the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation, recently announced they will sponsor the 2X Invest2Impact business competition with the aim of supporting “the growth of high-potential, women-owned businesses [in East Africa] to increase their commerciality and impact.” The DFIs co-sponsoring the competition include the following government-backed institutions: CDC Group, a UK-based organization formerly known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation; FinDev Canada; the US government’s

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $2m to Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP) Trust for Microfinance Lending

Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.26 million) to the Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP) Trust from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that is active in developing countries. During June 2019, IIV also invested in

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inclusivity Solutions, Provider of Insurance Technology (Insurtech) in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda, Raises Equity Investments from Goodwell, Allan Gray, RGAx

Inclusivity Solutions, a South Africa-based provider of digital insurance services, recently raised USD 1.5 million in an equity round led by Goodwell Investments, a Netherlands-based investor in “inclusive growth” in Africa and India. Inclusivity has distributed insurance policies to 530,000 people via wireless service providers Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda. The firm plans to use its new cash to grow in these markets as well as to expand to other countries.

The managing partner of Goodwell Investments, Wim van der Beek, said, “…we believe that collaborative insurtech solutions like Inclusivity Solutions are best positioned to reach large numbers of underserved consumers” because of

by Daena McClintock -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: MENA Financial Institutions Forum (MENAFIF); September 24-25, 2019; Dubai, UAE

The goal of the MENA Financial Institutions Forum (MENAFIF) is to connect investors and financial institutions to “catalyze debt raising, equity investments and technical assistance programs” to support private sector growth and increase financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The forum offers sessions on

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woman-owned Fintech Tez of Pakistan, Green Girls Organization of Cameroon Win $200k in Visa Everywhere Initiative

Tez Financial Services, a private firm in Pakistan, and Green Girls Organization, an NGO in Cameroon, each recently won prizes of USD 100,000 in the inaugural iteration of the Women’s Global Edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative, a program of US-based payments technology company Visa that is intended to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PBU Invests $15m in Nordic Microfinance Initiative’s NMI Fund IV to Invest in Women in Africa, Asia

Paedagogernes Pension (PBU), Denmark’s Pension Fund of Early Childhood Teachers, recently invested approximately USD 15 million, denominated in kroner, in NMI Fund IV, which is managed by the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that supports microfinance institutions in developing countries.

The goal of the investment is

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IsDB Group’s Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) to Assist Kapitalbank in Developing Shariah-compliant Financial Services in Uzbekistan

The Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a Saudi Arabia-based multilateral institution, recently announced an agreement with Kapitalbank, an Uzbek commercial bank, to provide the bank with technical support in developing Islamic financial services in Uzbekistan. One aspect of Islamic lending is that

by Jolene Khor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IndusInd Bank Merges with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), Provider of Microfinance to Women in Rural India

IndusInd Bank, an India-based bank offering commercial and personal banking services, recently merged with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), an India-based, for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) formerly known as SKS Microfinance. IndusInd is assuming the assets and liabilities of BFIL, the