MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seedstars Accepting Applications from Fintechs Offering “Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration” Through July 30

Seedstars, a Switzerland-based investment and education firm, is accepting applications from financial technology (fintech) startups looking to scale up their services to women in Africa and Asia who have migrated from their homes or whose family members have done so. Seedstars is offering this support through its Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) programme, which includes

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Raises $26m from ASN Bank, Calvert Impact to Boost Financial Inclusion, Resilience in MENA

The Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME recently agreed to borrow EUR 15 million (USD 16.5 million) from Algemene Spaarbank voor Nederland (ASN) Bank, a retail banking member of the Netherlands’ de Volksbank, and USD 10 million from the US-based NGO Calvert Impact Capital. Sanad intends to use the fresh funds to facilitate

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foodics Buys Equity Stake in POSRocket from Sanad Fund for MSME, Linking Providers of Financial, Business Technology to Restaurants in MENA

Foodics, a technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, recently bought an equity stake of unspecified size in POSRocket, a point-of-sale (POS) platform supporting businesses in the food, beverage and other industries. Foodics purchased the holding from the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which Sanad had held it through its second equity sub-fund (ESF II). Subsequent to the deal, POSRocket’s customers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: POSRocket Raises $5m to Expand Point-of-sale Payment Systems, Related Technology for Small Businesses in MENA

POSRocket, a Jordan-based provider of point-of-sale (POS) technology, recently raised USD 5.1 million in an equity round led by Algebra Ventures, an Egypt-based firm that invests in technology, and Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based vehicle targeting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The other participating investors are

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Al Hussein Fund, Sanad Fund for MSME Offer Online Curriculum for Young Owners of Small Businesses in MENA

The Jordan-based, nonprofit Al Hussein Fund for Excellence and the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently partnered to give young business owners in the Middle East and North Africa no-cost access to a course called “How to Start and Manage a Successful Business.” The course, which was delivered in Arabic on the Edraak online education platform, “comprises

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Transition Fund Grants $11m to Moroccan Youth Microentrepreneurship Projects

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Transition Fund, a financial intermediary fund established by the US-based World Bank in 2012 that provides grants to help countries implement social reforms, has sponsored a total of USD 11 million in grants for two projects that will aim to assist approximately 5,000 Moroccan youths with starting their own businesses and micro-enterprises [1].