MicroVest, an asset manager and subsidiary of US-based DAI Global, has reported lending USD 10 million to CreditAccess Philippines Financing Company, also known as OnePuhunan, a microfinance institution (MFI) that primarily lends to low-income female entrepreneurs and artisans. The MFI was founded in 2014 and is a
Tag: Philippines
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management (I-AM) Loans $35m in 8 Countries via Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it has disbursed a total of USD 35 million to microfinance institutions in Armenia, El Salvador, Panama, Uzbekistan and four other countries. While I-AM has not released the names of the latter countries or any of the borrowers, it did announce a recent local-currency loan to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SIG Venture Capital Leads $210m Investment in Fintech Voyager of the Philippines
Voyager Innovations, a Philippine provider of digital financial services tools such as Fintq, PayMaya and Smart Padala, recently secured an investment package totaling USD 210 million. The fresh capital is slated for developing the company’s “digital banking venture and other services like cryptocurrency and micro-investments.” Voyager was established in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippines Looking to Satellites to Improve Access to Finance, Internet, Disaster Response
The government of the Philippines recently acted to reduce regulatory barriers to companies such as internet service providers and financial technology (fintech) firms looking to use satellite systems to reach customers and their own staff in rural areas and during natural disasters. Benjamin Diokno, Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), reportedly said, “With enhanced access to satellite broadband services, financial institutions can improve their disaster recovery plans as part of their resilience strategy…. They will also be able to set up more access points, such as branch lite operations, ATMs [automated teller machines], and cash agents in underserved areas.” For example,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CIMB Bank Philippines, Zoloz Partner on e-KYC in Effort to Boost Digital Financial Services, Inclusion
CIMB Bank Philippines, a digital banking unit of Malaysia-based CIMB Group Holdings, recently announced a partnership with China-based Zoloz to leverage its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) technology to simplify the bank’s verification of customers’ identities and otherwise create an “enhanced payment experience.” Zoloz, which is owned by China’s Ant Group, offers products that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: One World Connect, Philippine National Bank (PNB) Partner on Online Remittances
One World Connect, a UK-based company that facilitates remittances from the UK and Australia to the Philippines, recently announced a partnership with Philippine National Bank (PNB) to expand the options the firms offer recipients in the Philippines. Users can now receive money transfers in cash at 700 PNB branches or directly into their PNB accounts, whether denominated in pesos or US dollars. For example,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Western Union, Microfinance Institution Cebuana Luhillier to Introduce Online Money Transfer Service in the Philippines
The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services and communications firm, recently partnered with Cebuana Luhillier, a microfinance services provider in the Philippines, to allow
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), RAFI Micro-finance Boost Access for Food Retailers to Online Sales, Deliveries to Aid in COVID-19 Adjustment
A unit of Philippines-based Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI), RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated (RMF), recently began a partnership with Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), an online delivery and advertising service in the Philippine city of Cebu. RMF has linked the Facebook group it has developed for its clients, Tindahan Ni Nanay (TNN), with LEB to provide
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated Expanding Branch Network in 9 Provinces in the Philippines in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
A unit of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI) reportedly is planning to expand its branch network as part of its efforts to help microentrepreneurs in the Philippines adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. The entity, RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated (RMF), provides loans of up to PHP 300,000 (USD 6,277) as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Beneficial Returns Invests in Ananas Anam, Buyer of Agricultural Waste from Farmers in the Philippines for Faux-leather Textile Pinatex
Beneficial Returns, a US-based investor, recently lent UK-based textile manufacturer Ananas Anam an undisclosed amount of capital to install five decorticators for “extracting the cellulose fibers from leaves” that pineapple farmers would otherwise burn as waste. Once extracted, the farmers “with a little training… can process tons of these fibers [thus] generating substantial additional income” by selling them to Ananas Anam. The firm further processes the fiber
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cybercrime Up During Pandemic As FSP Clients, Staff Increase Usage of Digital Payments, Remote Technologies
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital payment services has risen, leading to an increase in fraud and thus a renewed urgency to educate and otherwise protect consumers of these services. Financial services providers also are boosting their vigilance in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hatton National Bank (HNB) Secures Partial Guarantee from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for $20m in Lending to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) recently entered an agreement with the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enable up to USD 20 million in lending by HNB to Sri Lanka’s microfinance sector. The deal is part of ADB’s Microfinance Risk Participation and Guarantee Program, a “credit enhancement program
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Lending $300m to Filipino Government for Infrastructure Supporting Financial Services in the Philippines
The board of directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently approved a loan of USD 300 million to the government of the Philippines