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May 2016
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Incofin IM and DWM Take a Joint 51% Stake in JSC Microfinance Organization Crystal, Georgia
May, 31 2016
Georgia - Incofin IM’s agRIF (agRIF) and DWM’s Inclusive Finance Equity Fund II (IFEF) have together subscribed to a 9m GEL capital increase of JSC Microfinance Organization Crystal (Crystal). ...
Nigeria: N500 Billion Social Investment Scheme
May, 31 2016
Nigeria - The scheme is meant to pay N5,000 monthly to one million poor and vulnerable Nigerians, with N$68.7 billion allocated to this in the 2016 budget ...
T. Ehrbeck, Omidyar Network: Financial Inclusion - What's Next for Regulators?
May, 26 2016
Global - During last month’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde emerged as a powerful supporter of financial inclusion ...
Y. Barq, Jordan Loan Guarantee Facility: Gender & Geography, Women-Owned SMEs in the Middle East
May, 26 2016
MENA - Women entrepreneurs in the Middle East face far greater challenges than men when trying to access financial services. This is especially concerning, as many of the sectors that are critical for economic growth in the region rely heavily on women ...
Mobile Financial Services and MSMEs: What Are the Benefits of Encouraging the Use of Mobile Financial Services Among MSMEs?
May, 26 2016
Global - In developing markets, formal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) [1] contribute up to 45% of employment and 33% of GDP according to the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). As such, the broad MSMEs segment has a significant role in overall economic growth, economic stability, employment and job creation, as well as addressing inequality and poverty reduction in the regions of the world that need sustainable inclusive development the most. ...
Listening to Tunisian Civil Society: Economic Reforms to Unlock Credit and Innovation
May, 26 2016
Tunisia - Tunisia has yet to reform laws that tightly control the flow of money—into, out of, and around Tunisia—and until it does, things will not get easier for Tunisians wanting to trade online, or even to borrow money for business or personal reasons inside the country ...
S. Burns, Finance for Change: PRI Calls for Systematic Integration of ESG in Credit Ratings
May, 25 2016
Global - This new PRI initiative will go a long way toward increasing the systematic and transparent integration of ESG factors into credit ratings ...
India: An Economist Who Helps Women Help Themselves
May, 25 2016
India - Despite the creation of self-help groups and microfinance schemes, Hemlata Manglani’s case studies reveal that the social environment for women’s enterprises in Haryana has not improved ...
Cambodia: Sathapana Bank Gets $35 Million from Taiwan Lenders
May, 25 2016
Cambodia - Facilitated by Taiwan’s First Commercial Bank, seven foreign banks provided $35 million in a syndicated loan to Sathapana Bank Plc, a newly formed Cambodian commercial bank, to expand its existing microfinance operations and broaden its commercial lending portfolio ...
IFC Report Shows Indonesia’s Women-owned SMEs Need $6 billion in Financing
May, 24 2016
Indonesia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on May 24 released a report showing women-owned small and medium sized enterprises in Indonesia face a $6 billion financing shortfall to build their businesses, hampering their ability to contribute to the country’s economic growth. ...
More Reforms Needed to Improve Financial Capability and Inclusion in Azerbaijan
May, 24 2016
Azerbaijan - Development of the financial sector and raising financial literacy over the past several years have improved the financial inclusion in Azerbaijan, but it is still significantly lower than in many comparator countries, finds the new World Bank report Enhancing Financial Capability and Inclusion in Azerbaijan ...
The Unbanked Population: Missing Links in the Fintech Ecosystem
May, 24 2016
Asia - While microcredit shows great promise, it is paramount to avoid conflating tools with solutions ...
To Invest in the Future Of Coffee, Starbucks Turns to the Capital Markets
May, 23 2016
Global - Here, again, is where these rural businesses are critical. They serve as central gathering points for otherwise disaggregated smallholder farmers, making the disbursement, monitoring, and collection of credit in small amounts more feasible and usually more cost-effective for rural borrowers. ...
Burundi: Tackling Poverty and Conflict Through Microfinance
May, 23 2016
Burundi - A partnership between the Anglican Church of Burundi and the United Nations’ children’s agency Unicef is helping to tackle poverty and strengthen peace by financing small-scale cross-community agricultural projects. ...
A. Naqvi, Founder and CEO, Abraaj Group: Partnership Capital Can Solve Global Development Challenges
May, 20 2016
Global - Put simply, private and institutional investors have the capital; donor governments do not, especially as they grapple with fiscal constraints and the burgeoning costs of supporting aging domestic populations ...
Nordic Millions to Help World’s Poor Micro-finance a Better Future
May, 19 2016
Norway - A new Nordic co-operation between private investors and public development funds is helping Denmark provide the less fortunate in the world access to micro-financing to the tune of over 500 million kroner ...
India: MFIs Raised Rs11,500 Crore through Securitization: Crisil
May, 18 2016
India - Microfinance institutions (MFIs) raised an estimated Rs.11,500 crore through the sale of asset-backed securities in the year ended 31 December, double the amount they raised in 2014, according to Crisil Ratings ...
India: IFC to Invest $20 mn in Microlender Grameen Koota
May, 18 2016
India - International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector lending arm, will invest up to Rs 135 crore ($20 million) in microlender Grameen Koota Financial Services Pvt Ltd via debt. ...
Impact Investing a Bright Spot in Emerging Markets Private Equity
May, 18 2016
Global - If the art of politics starts with building movements from shared interests and values, the art of deal making is about creating convergence and opportunity from a set of different interests. Investors and the populations of emerging markets alike stand to benefit from continued convergence of emerging markets private equity and impact investing ...
C. Juhasz, CIO, Women’s World Banking Asset Management: Behind the Most Successful Microfinance IPO in India’s History: What Does Gender Lens Investing Have to Do With It?
May, 17 2016
Global - The success of Ujjivan is a powerful statement about the value of serving low-income women with financial services, and the ability of mission-aligned investors such as Women’s World Banking’s Capital Partners LP to help them achieve impressive returns, from both a social and financial perspective ...
Ugandan Farmers Put Savings in a Digital Wallet
May, 17 2016
Uganda - The key to developing a mobile application for savings and lending groups is to preserve the same model of accountability and transparency the groups use with the physical cash boxes ...
Philippines: Microfinance Loans Hit P11.3B in 2015 – BSP
May, 17 2016
Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cites better coordination among banks, government agencies, and the private sector for the surge in microfinance loans. ...
Fintech Takes Off in Africa as Lenders Tap Mobile Technology
May, 17 2016
East Africa - Finca, a US microfinance organisation, and First Access, a New York-based data analytics company, have formed a partnership to start making loans over east Africa using credit scores derived from mobile phone data ...
Ericsson and Rwanda Partner to Address Financial Inclusion
May, 16 2016
Rwanda - Fredrik Jedjling, President and Regional Head of Sub- Saharan Africa, Ericsson told CNBC Africa that the move would help improve the country’s drive towards financial inclusion ...
A. Balooni: Uncovering Gold at the Bottom of the Pyramid - 4 Trends Shaping Grassroots Banking in India
May, 16 2016
India - With such a large potential market at the grassroots, it was never a question of ‘whether’ but ‘how’ and ‘when’ ...
India: Bandhan Bank Sold Rs 3,200 Crore Priority Loans to Bigger Lenders
May, 16 2016
India - Bandhan Bank, one of new entrants in the banking field, sold Rs 3,200 crore worth of priority sector loans to more experienced private sector rivals to help them meet lending targets ...
Uganda: Islamic Banking Cleared for Business, Says Regulator
May, 16 2016
Uganda - Almost eight years since the discussion started, commercial banks in Uganda can now offer Islamic banking products ...
B. L. Armenion, Director, SGV & Co.: Philippines - Role of Financial Inclusion in Poverty Reduction
May, 15 2016
Philippines - Based on a March 18, 2016 report from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s 2015 poverty incidence (the proportion of people below the poverty line versus the total population) is at 26.3% while the subsistence incidence (the proportion of Filipinos in extreme or subsistence poverty) is at 12.1%. ...
'Ground Breaking' Mobile Payments Ecosystem to Boost Financial Inclusion in South Africa
May, 14 2016
South Africa - In keeping with the concept of 'Connecting Africa's Resources through Digital Transformation' at today's World Economic Forum on Africa, Patrick Ngabonziza, the Chairman and Founder of MobiCash, announced a game-changing approach to financial inclusion in Africa ...
Nigeria: CBN Unveils Guidelines for Non-interest Microfinance Banks
May, 12 2016
Nigeria - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Wednesday released a draft guidelines on the regulation and supervision of non-interest (Islamic) microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country ...
IFC Extends $60 Million to Burgan Bank to Boost Access to Finance for Small Businesses in Turkey
May, 12 2016
Turkey - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing $60 million to Burgan Bank, the subsidiary bank of Kuwait’s Burgan Bank Group in Turkey, to expand access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the driving source of growth and job creation in the country ...
Sierra Leone Solar Push Aims to Bring Electricity to All by 2025
May, 11 2016
Sierra Leone - The initiative with Britain's development aid ministry (DFID) is part of the UK Energy Africa campaign, which aims to help African countries reach a global development goal agreed by U.N. member states to ensure access to energy for all by 2030 ...
TriLinc Global Impact Fund Makes Impact Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America
May, 11 2016
Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America - TriLinc Global Impact Fund announced today that it has approved an additional $28.5 million in trade finance facilities to companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, bringing total financing commitments as of April 30, 2016 to $153.5 million for business expansion and socioeconomic development through its holdings in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. ...
Kenya: Safaricom Banks Strong Growth as Mobiles Become Tool of Life
May, 11 2016
Kenya - Mobile money and data services drove strong profit growth over the past year at Safaricom, Kenya’s dominant telecoms operator, as mobile phones increasingly become essential to people’s livelihoods. ...
Chile to Improve and Increase Productive Financing for MSMEs with IDB Help
May, 11 2016
Chile - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $120 million loan to help Chile improve and increase its supply of productive financing instruments for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) ...
E. Lahaye, Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP: Can Equity Investors Contribute to Building Inclusive Markets?
May, 10 2016
Global - Isn’t equity investing about building institutions instead of markets? By purchasing shares in individual businesses, the nature of equity investing may indeed appear to contradict this broader perspective. However, a new CGAP paper argues it can play a broader role in building inclusive financial markets ...
S. Olsen, K. Ruff: The Next Frontier in Social Impact Measurement Isn’t Measurement at All
May, 10 2016
Global - When initiatives and enterprises differ in mission; theory of change; or socio-economic, cultural or geographic context—common measures don’t work as well. ...
Brazil Announces R$5B Credit for Small and Micro Business
May, 10 2016
Brazil - The Conselho Deliberativo do Fundo de Amparo ao Trabalhador (CODEFAT, Deliberative Council of the Worker Support Fund) approved yesterday (May 9th) the creation of a $5 billion line of credit to finance working capital for micro and small businesses. The new credit line will be available to micro and small companies with annual gross revenues of up to R$3.6 million ...
Tanzania: NMB Bond Goes on Offer Today
May, 10 2016
Tanzania - Three-year 20bn/- National Microfinance Bank retail bond goes on sale on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange today amid huge appetite shown by debt investors. The bond, with green shoe option of 5bn/-, offers a 13 per cent interest rate payable half yearly for its term of three years ...
India: JM Financial Picks up 9.84% Stake in P2P Lender Faircent
May, 10 2016
India - The move comes just a month after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated steps to regulate the nascent and unregulated P2P lending sector in the country ...
IFC Supports Vietnam’s Small and Medium Enterprises by Helping Them Gain Access to Finance
May, 10 2016
Vietnam - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting the growth of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises by promoting factoring services as a means of access to critical finance. ...
Vodacom Pulls Plug on Mobile Money Service M-Pesa in South Africa
May, 09 2016
South Africa - Vodacom will discontinue its mobile money service M-Pesa in South Africa after it failed to attract enough support in its slow-growing home market, the telecommunications firm said on Monday ...
Colombia’s Recipe for 100% Agent Coverage: Aggregation & Sharing
May, 09 2016
Colombia - Last year Colombia announced that all of its more than 1,100 municipalities had at least one banking agent, or corresponsal bancario, serving customers in need of financial services. Universal coverage is a fundamental building block toward universal financial access. How did Colombia do it ...
Foundations Tap into Endowments to Make ‘Mission Investments’
May, 06 2016
Global - Rather than focusing on divestment, some foundations are introducing into their portfolio impact investments, which generate social as well as financial returns. For a foundation combating poverty, this might mean investing in companies that are creating jobs, building affordable housing or providing financial services to low-income communities ...
J.D. Cahn, A.A. Ibrahim: A New Digital Currency for Sustainable Development
May, 06 2016
Global - An innovative digital currency could help harness and unleash more private capital to alleviate poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals ...
Being a Woman Business Owner Offers Unusual Challenges but Great Reward
May, 05 2016
Global - But while gender-based targets are not necessarily important, all agree that mainstreaming inclusive business can be instrumental in advancing women’s empowerment and equity ...
India: Cost of Microcredit Set to Decline in Next Five Years
May, 05 2016
India - The Past models of microfinance companies were all brick and mortar based on branches and self help groups. The future could be disruptive with past success being no guarantee of future survival ...
IFC Supports FNB Zambia to Increase Lending to Small-Scale Businesses and Agriculture
May, 05 2016
Zambia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on May 3 announced an investment of $25 million in First National Bank Zambia to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and the agriculture sector in support of inclusive economic growth ...
Cambodia: MFI Lending Continues to Skyrocket in 2016
May, 05 2016
Cambodia - Cambodia's microfinance sector shows no signs of slowing down as the sector posted a staggering 41 per cent year-on-year increase in the size of its loan portfolio, and a similar increase in deposits, by the end of the first quarter in 2016, figures released yesterday by the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA) show ...
India: SKS Loses its Final Connection with the Microfinance Crisis—its Name
May, 05 2016
India - SKS Microfinance on Thursday decided to change its name to Bharat Financial Inclusion, snapping its last link to the 2010 microfinance crisis that originated in Andhra Pradesh ...
Kenya: Mobile Money Interoperability Inevitable - Expert
May, 04 2016
Kenya - “It seems inevitable nonetheless, that operator resistance to interoperability has a limited shelf life. The rise of the cheap Smartphone in Kenya, as in the rest of the Africa, seems likely to ensure that in the not-too-distant future, MNOs with leading mobile money market share will be willing to cede some of their own ground in order to grow the addressable market,” Peric explained ...
Nigeria: Fortis MFB Gets Client Protection Certification, Disburses N15bn Credit
May, 04 2016
Nigeria - The award means that Fortis is currently the only institution to be so honoured in the continent ...
Tanzania: NMB Seeks to Raise Sh20bn in Retail Bond for More Lending
May, 04 2016
Tanzania - “With the bond in question, we will be in position to strengthen our deposit base so that we can issue more loans to customers,” the bank’s investor relations manager, Ms Anna Mwasha, said yesterday. The bond will start trading Tuesday next week ...
MoneyGram and Millicom Launch Mobile Wallet Service in El Salvador
May, 03 2016
El Salvador - As part of its continued commitment to making money transfers easier for customers, MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) has signed an agreement with Millicom, the parent company of Tigo Money, to launch mobile cash receive services into more than 1 million Tigo Money mobile wallets in El Salvador ...
Want To Serve The World's Poorest Citizens? Take Your Company Public in India
May, 03 2016
India - Given that this “customer” makes only $1.25 a day, the motivation for these entrepreneurs and investors is certainly not a quick exit. They have big ideas for solving big problems, and have little faith that large government programs or multinational NGO’s can do it. So they are looking for scalable solutions, innovation and patient capital to build companies that can ...
IFC Supports FNB Zambia to Increase Lending to Small-Scale Businesses and Agriculture
May, 03 2016
Zambia - The IFC loan will enhance FNB Zambia's capacity to significantly increase its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and export-oriented agribusinesses, in support of the bank's strategy to become the country's leading bank for SMEs and the agribusiness sector ...
EIB Supporting Venture Capital to Boost Private-sector Jobs in Southern Mediterranean
May, 03 2016
MENA - Financiers operating in the Mediterranean countries want to push young people to set up their own businesses and offer them something other than a government job. To this end, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission are setting up a venture capital scheme for the neighbouring southern countries ...
Pakistan's Underbanked Get Evolved Mobile Money Services from Easypaisa and Ericsson
May, 03 2016
Pakistan - To accelerate the uptake of mobile money services among the underbanked in Pakistan, Ericsson (ERIC) announces that Easypaisa, Pakistan`s first and largest branchless banking solution, is deploying Ericsson Wallet Platform to replace its existing platform. ...
First ADB Private Sector-CNBC Awards Honor Innovative, Impactful Financial Institution in Georgia, Company in Bhutan
May, 03 2016
Georgia - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and CNBC on May 2 presented best transaction awards for 2015 to Credo LLC, a microfinance organization based in the Republic of Georgia, and Mountain Hazelnuts, an agribusiness company from Bhutan. ...
R. Fracassi and H. Hummels: The Institutional Impact Investing Revolution
May, 02 2016
Global - Looking at the gigantic efforts required to solve global problems, institutional investors tend to think big, differently, and historically. And their efforts will redefine how we view finance for societal purposes—slowly, but gradually. ...

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