by Ben Barba -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 10th African Islamic Finance Summit; May 3, 2023; Serrekunda, The Gambia – NEW DATE

Originally scheduled to take place during February, this event is structured as a one-day summit followed by a two-day workshop, all focusing on Islamic finance, which refers to financial services that comply with Shariah principles, such as the use of profit sharing in lieu of charging interest. The event is themed “Evidence of Impact – Financial Inclusion,” with the first day’s session titles include Islamic Banking, Finance, FinTech [Financial Technology]

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; October 9-11, 2023; Cairo, Egypt – NEW DATES

This event, which originally was set to begin on May 7, 2023, will focus on the importance of financial literacy and long-term savings in improving household financial stability. It offers in-person and remote access to sessions such as: (1) Reconciling the

by Renata Samadova -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Robos, General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) Partner on Events Promoting Financial Literacy, Savings, Social Insurance, Pensions

The Egypt-based General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) recently agreed to support Bahrain-based Fintech Robos in its production of the following annual events: (1) Arab Savings & Financial Literacy Conference; (2) the Arab Pension & Social Insurance Conference; and (3) the Arab Actuarial Conference. Fintech Robos CEO Ebrahim K Ebrahim noted that one of the goals of the partnership is

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future of Fintech; June 14-15, 2023; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place starting March 1, this event will focus on “disruptive ideas from across the fintech ecosystem.” The two-day event offers online and in-person sessions including: (1) Evaluating Saudi Arabia’s FinTech [Financial Technology] Venture Activity – Key Drivers and Factors; (2) Offering Financial Flexibility to

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Islamic Finance & Banking Summit; September 27-28, 2023; Dubai, UAE – NEW DATES

Originally scheduled to take place beginning February 27 in Saudi Arabia (and then May 31 in UAE), this two-day event is organized with the goal of developing strategies for elevating the Islamic finance industry. The agenda offers sessions – in-person and on-line – such as: (1) Economic Growth, FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] & Islamic Banking Developments; (2) Leveraging

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CCAF-World Bank Study Finds Regulators in Africa Tops for Increasing Focus on Fintech, Cybersecurity Main Concern Worldwide

A recent survey of 128 financial regulators and supervisors worldwide found that just over half of respondents in low- and middle-income countries have been increasing their focus on financial technology (fintech) firms. The figure is about one out of three in

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Fintechs vs MFIs – a Debate at European Microfinance Week

e-MFP logoAt Thursday’s debate on “high-tech” versus “high-touch” financial services at European Microfinance Week, Dorcas Thorpe of Nigeria’s LAPO Microfinance Bank argued that customers in rural areas are more likely to access financial services via high-touch channels such as branches and agents rather than mobile money because they have – on average – lower levels of digital literacy and trust in digital financial services. Gregoire Lecomte of

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Quona Capital Closes Fund III with $332m for Fintech in Africa, Asia, Latin America

Quona Capital, an investor in financial inclusion that has offices in 10 countries, recently announced the close of its Fund III, with this latest fundraising round engaging most of Fund III’s ongoing investors and 20 new ones. As a result, the fund has a total of USD 332 million in commitments, and the firm has USD

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Buying Maritime Microfinance, Fintech Lender Payhippo Gains Deposit License, Access to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System

Payhippo, a financial technology (fintech) lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, recently agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to acquire Maritime Microfinance Bank. Maritime was founded in 2014 and provides in-person loans and savings services to enterprises in Nigeria that have zero to 500 employees, mainly in the shipping and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prophius, Mastercard Enable SMEs in Africa to Accept “Tap-on-phone” Payments

Prophius, a Nigeria-based financial technology (fintech) firm, recently entered a partnership with US-based technology provider Mastercard, to equip its PayContactless service to allow its users to accept payments on their Android mobile phones from customers’ payment cards, e-wallets and

by Saulius Ramanauskas -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana, Emtech Solutions Launch Regulatory Sandbox to Encourage Innovation in Finance, Financial Inclusion

The Bank of Ghana (BoG), the country’s central bank, recently launched a regulatory sandbox – a mechanism for testing business models not covered by existing regulations, in partnership with the US-based financial technology (fintech) firm Emtech Solutions. Following a successful pilot phase, BoG adopted Emtech’s digital regulatory review and reporting platform, through which financial service providers can

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) Accepting Applications from Fintechs for “Catapult: Inclusion Africa” Through September 15

The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology Foundation (LHoFT), a public-private partnership, is hosting the fifth iteration of its Catapult: Inclusion Africa event. The aim is to support financial inclusion in Africa through financial technology (fintech) by connecting 10 winning companies to “microfinance institutions, investors and industry experts….” To be eligible,

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citibank Pakistan, National Institutional Facilitation Technologies Partner on Digital Financial Services for Retailers in Pakistan

National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), a Pakistani payment system operator, and the local arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, recently announced a “referral arrangement” under which Citibank Pakistan will refer its clients to NIFT’s infrastructure for processing digital payment services. The deal will allow corporations to

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Sava Raises $1.8m in Equity to Launch Spending Management Platform in South Africa 

Sava, a firm in South Africa, recently raised USD 1.8 million in “pre-seed funding” for its digital platform focused on “expenditure management and reconciliations” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. The company plans to

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fido of Ghana Attracts $30m Equity Package Led by Fortissimo to Expand Fintech in Africa

Ghana’s Fido Micro Credit, with the aim of expanding across Africa, recently obtained USD 30 million in Series A funding. Israel’s Fortissimo Capital led the funding round, while US-based Yard Ventures also participated, along with other unspecified private investors. Fido previously had raised