The 12th edition of this event is themed “inequalities – transitions – solutions.” The program will focus on six of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): quality education; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequalities; climate action; peace, justice and quality institutions; and
SPECIAL REPORT: The “Financial Inclusion Compass 2019”: e-MFP to Launch 2nd Annual Survey of Financial Inclusion Trends
Trends
trends, trends, everywhere. Discussions about the trends underway in the financial inclusion sector dominate workshops and panel debates at all major conferences, as experts peer into crystal balls and extrapolate from what is currently happening in the sector to predict what will change in the years to come.
But too often, this sort of discussion just exists in that moment, for an audience in the room, and then vanishes into the ether. What if there was a more structured way to ask stakeholders what they see as the current and future trends, capture those responses and track them over time?
The 
inaugural European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) survey of financial inclusion trends was launched as a response to this question during the summer of 2018. The Financial Inclusion Compass 2018 – the paper that presented the findings from that survey of e-MFP members and other financial inclusion stakeholders – was released during European Microfinance Week (EMW) 2018 last November.
The Compass was conceived as a way to leverage e-MFP’s unique position as a knowledge hub within the sector, including by distilling some of the best debate from the annual EMW workshops. It gave a wide array of practitioners, investors, donors, academics and support service providers the opportunity – via a mixed-methodology online survey – to: (1) score and describe the importance of various Trends; (2) evaluate and give opinions on New Areas of Focus; and (3) provide open-ended qualitative input on sector challenges, opportunities, medium-term forecasts, financial service providers of the future, a policy-making “wish list” and longer-term hopes.
The results of the survey are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Erste Bank Serbia Opens $45m Credit Line from EBRD to Increase Financing to SMEs
The UK-headquartered European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently issued a loan to the Serbian unit of Austria-based Erste Group Bank in the amount of EUR 40 million (USD 45 million) with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia. As of year-end 2018
SPECIAL REPORT: BNP Paribas to Prep MFIs to Win Over Investors at SAM
BNP Paribas is 
celebrating the 30th anniversary of its microfinance activity this year. The bank’s contribution to the sector has evolved greatly over this time, as has the microfinance ecosystem itself. While the need for financial inclusion continues to be critical, BNP Paribas is proud of its track record of support for MFIs. After 30 years, the bank continues to finance more than 30 MFIs directly, with close to EUR 300 million (USD 340 million) deployed.
We are celebrating this landmark in several parts of the world, and it quickly became obvious that the SAM would be the best event to partner with in showcasing our activities in Africa.
During our long history, we often have been disappointed to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $13m to China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) for Microfinance Lending
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of USD 13 million to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that is active in developing countries. CFPA, an NGO in China, was established in 1989 and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Egypt Doubling Microloan Cap to $12k
Egypt is in the process of increasing the maximum loan size that microfinance institutions (MFIs) may disburse from EGP 100,000 (USD 6,000) to EGP 200,000 (USD 12,000). The goal of the change reportedly is to help microenterprises grow, thus “creating
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Guarantees $1.5m in Microlending by Tamweelcom of Jordan to Refugees from Syria via Nasira Program
The Dutch development bank, which is known by the acronym FMO, recently committed to a risk-sharing facility of up to USD 1.5 million to support Tamweelcom, a Jordan-based microfinance organization, in funding entrepreneurship among refugees from Syria. Tamweelcom will make loans of JOD 1,000 (USD 1,440) to JOD 7,000 (USD 9,900) to the refugees to put towards income-generating businesses. To be eligible, borrowers must hold identification from both the UN High
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women’s World Banking (WWB): Making Finance Work for Women Summit; October 22 – 23, 2019; Singapore
This summit will address barriers to making financial services meet the needs of women and the opportunities that exist to achieve the same. Representatives from the financial services, philanthropy, and technology sectors will discuss topics such as the role of financial and digital literacy in making finance work for women, gender-lens investing and
MICROFINANCE EVENT: IAMTN (International Association of Money Transfer Networks) Global Summit; October 2-3, 2019; London, UK
Event Summary: This summit offers those in the cross-border payments industry opportunities to discuss topics such as distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence, regulations and new products while also providing
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Global Payment Summit; August 27 – 28, 2019; Johannesburg, South Africa
The 2019 Africa Global Payment Summit will cover “developments in payments and wallets as well as the larger, cross-border regional platforms that are transforming the African payments landscape.” Sessions with address regulatory best practices, bringing together the 16 central banks of the Southern African Development Community to identify what an enhanced global payment system for the region
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Asia Pacific Housing Forum 7: Powering Collaboration; July 18-19, 2019; New Delhi, India
Event Summary: The theme of the 2019 edition of this biennial forum is “powering collaboration for [the] housing ecosystem” in India, including addressing the changes to the housing market brought about by urbanization. Conference sessions will revolve around
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Business Fights Poverty; July 11, 2019; Oxford, England
Event Summary: This event will cover ways to “embed purpose authentically within business,” which the organizer describes as incorporating societal objectives within organizational goals.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WWB, Gates Foundation Issue FinTech Innovation Challenge to Promote Financial Inclusion for Unbanked, Underserved Women via Technology
Women’s World Banking (WWB), a US-based charitable organization, has called on organizations to partake in its FinTech Innovation Challenge, which seeks to identify financial technology (fintech) solutions that address the needs of women, 1 billion of whom do not have access to financial services. The competition is co-sponsored by the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Launches Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility in Effort to Bring 332m People – Mostly Women – into Formal Economy
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent, recently announced the launch of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion (ADFI) facility, a “financing facility designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion across Africa, with a goal of ensuring that 332 million more Africans, of whom 60 percent
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Commits $10m to Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, Managed by Deetken Impact and Pro Mujer, for Entrepreneurship, Housing, Leadership, Microfinance, Value Chains
The Overseas Private Investment Cooperation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that promotes economic partnerships in countries deemed important to US interests, recently announced that it has committed senior debt totaling USD 10 million to the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, an investment vehicle managed by Canada-based private equity firm Deetken Impact and US-based nonprofit Pro Mujer. Various Canadian foundations, credit unions and other investors, which have not been identified publicly, previously invested USD 15 million in the fund. Of the USD 25 million now committed to the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Majuven, Bod Tech Ventures Invest Equity in Motorbike, Payroll Lender Daung Capital of Myanmar
Singapore-based venture capital firms Majuven and Bod Tech Ventures recently invested unspecified amounts of equity in Myanmar-based financial technology (fintech) lender Daung Capital as part of its Series A funding round, valuing the company at SGD 16.5 million (USD 12 million). Founded in 2018, Daung Capital lends to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bamboo Capital to Invest $112m in Bloc Fund for Fintech Investing with Support from Smart Africa Alliance
Bamboo Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based private equity firm focused on impact investing, recently announced plans to invest EUR 100 million (USD 112 million) in “businesses and scalable technology-led solutions that create opportunities and services for underserved communities” in the 26 member states of the Rwanda-based Smart Africa Alliance. Bamboo Capital will place these investments via the Bloc fund, which it established in March 2019 as a “blended
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lends $125m to Banco Familiar, Banco Continental of Paraguay for MSMEs, Agribusiness
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced agreements to issue loans to two commercial banks in Paraguay, USD 100 million to Banco Continental and USD 25 million to Banco Familiar. Banco Continental has agreed to use its funding to