The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Canadian government’s FinDev Canada recently announced a partnership to support projects in Asia and the Pacific that further FinDev Canada’s priority areas of “women’s economic empowerment, climate action and local market development.” In addition to identifying deals to co-finance, the organizations plan
Tag: East Asia and Pacific
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Potential Response to the Financial Inclusion Challenges of the Pacific;” by Anton Didenko, Ross Buckley; Published by ADB
This paper explores how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) might promote financial inclusion in the Pacific Islands. The Pacific includes countries that are “among the world’s most remote and geographically dispersed,” with great variability in access to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Invests $24m in Evolving Europe Principal Investments Fund (EEPIF) to Boost SME Finance
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently invested EUR 20 million (USD 24.2 million) in the Evolving Europe Principal Investments Fund (EEPIF), which is managed by UK-based private equity firm Integral Venture Partners, with the goal of improving the financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 14 countries. Among the countries to receive investment are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loan to Regional Development Bank of Sri Lanka to Leverage Up to $533m for Rural Microfinance, SME Lending
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution based in the Philippines, recently loaned USD 50 million to Sri Lanka’s state-owned Regional Development Bank (RDB) for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises outside the city of Colombo. These enterprises are to include 500 led by women.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: UNCDF: “Youth Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion: Outlook for ASEAN and SAARC;” by Mayank Jain, Dr Robin Gravesteijn, Zamid Aligishiev, Richard Last
This is a summary of a paper by Mayank Jain, Dr Robin Gravesteijn, Zamid Aligishiev and Richard Last; published by the UN Capital Development Fund; August 2018; 23 pages; available at http://www.uncdf.org/article/3890/.
This working paper identifies factors restricting the level of financial inclusion of youth in South and Southeast Asia, with a focus on Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. The authors assert that these barriers to financial access hinder
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility, Prudential Foundation to Develop Microinsurance Services in Asia; Provide Technical Support for Insurers in Latin America
The Impact Insurance Facility (IIF) of the UN’s International Labour Office (ILO) and the Prudential Financial Incorporated (PFI) Foundation, a unit of the US-based financial services company PFI, recently announced a program intended to: (1) develop microinsurance products for low-income households as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in Asia; and (2) provide technical support to four financial service providers operating in Latin American countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $7.1m to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK); Advans Group to Refinance in DRC, Myanmar
The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing loans to: (1) Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) in the amount of EUR 1.4 million (USD 1.6 million),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: With Delinquency Up 24%, Sri Lanka Paying Off Women’s Microfinance Loans, Capping Microloan Interest Rates
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance recently announced that it has placed a cap on the interest rate microfinance institutions (MFIs) can charge borrowers at 30 percent per year. This comes as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has found the microfinance sector’s gross non-performing loan account
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues Financial, Social, Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Ratings; Client Protection Certifications in Burkina Faso, France, Asia, Latin America
Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) recently informed MicroCapital that during June it issued three Social Ratings, 11 Financial Ratings and two Client Protection Certifications to 13 microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Supports $100m IFC Loan to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) to Boost Digital Financial Services in Vietnam
With funds from the government-backed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) and other sources, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently loaned USD 100 million to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) of Vietnam. TPBank plans to use the proceeds of the five-year loan to expand its lending via its website and mobile app.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Asian Development Bank (ADB): “Embracing the E-commerce Revolution in Asia and the Pacific”
This is a summary of a paper published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), June 2018, 101 pages, available at:
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/430401/embracing-e-commerce-revolution.pdf.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alipay, GCash Upgrade AlipayHK App for Users in Hong Kong to Send Remittances to the Philippines Using Blockchain
Mobile payment platforms Alipay, a unit of the China-based Ant Financial, and GCash, a unit of the Philippines-based Globe Telecom, recently partnered to extend the reach of AlipayHK, a mobile app that allows users in Hong Kong to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woori Bank of South Korea Acquires VisionFund Cambodia from Microfinance Subsidiary of US-based World Vision
VisionFund International, a UK-based NGO that offers microfinance services for World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization, recently sold VisionFund Cambodia, a microfinance institution (MFI) serving rural
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Raises $105m from DNB, Ferd, IFU, KLP, Norfund for Fund IV for MFIs in Africa, Asia
The Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, recently debuted its fourth fund with a total of USD 105 million in commitments from the following organizations: Norway’s Den Norske Bank;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indonesia’s PT Veritra Sentosa Internasional (Treni) Launches Mobile Money App Paytren eMoney
PT Veritra Sentosa Internasional (Treni), an Indonesia-based digital financial service provider, recently debuted Paytren eMoney, a mobile application that allows users to pay bills, purchase travel, transfer money, and access the deposit and microinsurance services of multiple banks. Rudiantara,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Local Governments in the Philippines Support Smart Communications’ Fintq in Rolling Out KasamaKA to Enable Sari-sari Stores to Act as Mobile-money Agents
KasamaKA, a program of the Philippines’ Fintqnologies (Fintq), recently won a vote of support from the National Executive Board of the League of Provinces in the Philippines (LPP), an association of municipal officials, for its work to help financial institutions deliver services such as
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) Conference; June 4 – 7, 2018; Singapore
Summary of Event: This sixth iteration of this event centers on maximizing social impact in Asia through investing and philanthropy. The topics are to include “strategic philanthropy,” investing in education and healthcare, investing with a gender lens, government policy implications, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP, Citi Foundation Launch Digital Financial Inclusion Policy Program in China, Indonesia, Philippines
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit research center that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and the Citi Foundation, the charitable arm of US-based financial services firm Citigroup, recently launched the “East Asia Digital Financial Inclusion Program”.