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Jan 2020
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Blockchain Microfinance System for Kenyan Food Vendors to Launch Soon
January, 31 2020
Kenya - With the introduction of a blockchain microfinance system for the Kenyan food vendors, the food vendors will be able to focus more on the operations part and enhance the overall performance rather than bothering just about finance ...
IFC Lending $16mln to BT Mic to Support Romanian MSEs
January, 31 2020
Romania - International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it is providing $16 million (14.5 million euro) to Romania's BT Mic to improve access to finance for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and toward financial inclusion of women-owned small businesses in the country ...
How Digital Financial Services Can Prey upon the Poor
January, 30 2020
Global - For those seeking to help the worst-off in poor countries, the mobile phone has been a magic wand. Mobile-money accounts have helped deliver “financial inclusion” — making financial services accessible to the tens of millions with a phone but no bank account. But they have downsides too ...
P.Horrocks, P.Boiardi, V.Bellesi, OECD: Aligning Public and Private Finance with the SDGs - A Three-step Approach
January, 29 2020
Global - The greatest potential we have of achieving the SDGs is by aligning public and private resources with them. All actors that finance sustainable development must agree on a common framework around alignment and redefine business as usual in the context of sustainable development ...
How Latin America Can Make Fintech a Priority
January, 29 2020
Latin America - The landscape is improving, but Latin American regulators need to speed up in promoting financial technology ...
The Power of AI in Emerging Markets
January, 28 2020
Global - Artificial intelligence is forecast to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, delivering socioeconomic value to all sections of society over the coming years. And a substantial share of this total will accrue to emerging economies ...
Imaginable Futures, New Global Philanthropic Investment Firm Focused on Learning, Spins Off from Omidyar Network
January, 27 2020
Global - Founded and funded by philanthropists and entrepreneurs Pam and Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, Imaginable Futures begins with $200 million of capital invested, and an additional $150 million for operations and investment over the next four years ...
Nigeria: Baobab Microfinance Bank Raises Shareholders Fund to N3.9b
January, 27 2020
Nigeria - The increase followed the directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that all microfinance banks shore up their capital to N3.5 billion by April ...
India: Budget 2020 - Microfinance Institutions Seek More Refinance from Development Financial Institutions
January, 27 2020
India - The industry has also sought withdrawal of GST on credit disbursements by banking correspondents (BC), which the micro-lenders do on behalf of banks ...
Alphacredit Enters into an Agreement to Raise Up to USD$125 Million from an Investor Group Led by Softbank's Latin America Fund
January, 26 2020
Latin America - AlphaCredit, a Latin American-focused FinTech platform that specializes in consumer lending and financial solutions for SMEs, has signed an equity round for up to USD$125 million led by SoftBank's Latin America Fund, one of the leading technology investors in the world. ...
Denmark: PKA Combines ‘Important Values’ with New €44m Microfinance Investment
January, 24 2020
Denmark - Danish labour-market pensions provider PKA is investing DKK330m (€44m) in a new microfinance fund run by Danish manager Maj Invest, which is aiming to raise DKK1.3bn of investor capital for the fund over the next 12 months ...
Mozambique’s Financial Sector Receives Support from the United Kingdom
January, 23 2020
Mozambique - The aim is to cover the entire financial system, including, among others, savings and capital market groups, creating a greater alignment between the financial sector and the key sectors of the economy, thus responding to the basic needs of the population ...
BlackRock, Partners Unveil USD-500m Climate Fund
January, 22 2020
Global - A group of private firms, charities and national government has committed to raising at least USD 500 million (EUR 451m) for a new fund that will target climate-related infrastructure investments in emerging markets ...
Davos 2020: Companies Sign Up to Environmental Disclosure Scheme
January, 22 2020
Global - The Big Four accounting groups and scores of the world’s largest companies have signed up to the most comprehensive effort yet to account for businesses’ social and environmental impact ...
New Impact Fund Could Put Smallholder Finance on Path to Asset Class
January, 22 2020
Global - The IDH Farmfit Fund will work to support food security and climate protection by taking on most of the risk in deals aimed at improving smallholder livelihoods in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. ...
SDG500: New Platform Plans to Pump $500m into Action on the Sustainable Development Goals
January, 22 2020
Global - A new investment platform launched today in Davos is set to invest $500m in businesses working to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG500, backed by a coalition of public and private organisations, NGOs and a private equity firm, is billed as a "first-of-its-kind" platform dedicated to the SDGs ...
CDC Adds $400 Million of Investments in Africa Push
January, 21 2020
Africa - UK government-owned finance agency the CDC Group has signed $400 million (£308.1 million) worth of African investment deals, part of a wider drive by Britain to develop new trade ties as it prepares to leave the European Union ...
Catalyst Fund Secures $15m Commitment from UK Aid, JP Morgan
January, 21 2020
Global - Global fintech accelerator Catalyst Fund, managed by BFA Global and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), Monday announced a new $15 million commitment from UK Aid and JP Morgan ...
JP Morgan Announces New Division to Fund at Least $100 Billion in Emerging-Market Projects
January, 21 2020
Global - Development finance — which funds projects to boost economic growth and quality of life in emerging economies — will be a major topic as world leaders and CEOs gather this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland ...
Kenya: The Country Impact Investors Cannot Afford to Ignore
January, 20 2020
Kenya - Kenya is in the sweet spot now. It is still eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA), as a lower middle-income country. Yet it has been progressing fast towards middle-income country status. It is vital that Kenya takes advantage of this to leverage more private sector investment ...
World Bank Issues First Bond Denominated in Rwandan Franc
January, 20 2020
Rwanda - With this transaction, the World Bank is contributing to the development of the country's local capital market and providing an opportunity for international investors to purchase a World Bank bond while gaining exposure to the growing Rwandan economy through the currency ...
Opinion: Don’t Expect the Earth from Fund Managers on Climate Change
January, 19 2020
Global - Governments may like the idea of subcontracting decarbonisation to financial markets. But in practice, it is the politicians who must take the lead. They alone can mandate the necessary regulatory changes, encourage new technologies, and establish the fiscal framework from which a new energy system can emerge ...
EIB Lending 15 Mln Euro to Back Bulgarian SMEs, Foster Climate Action
January, 17 2020
Bulgaria - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Friday it will expand support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria by providing a 15 million euro ($16.7 million) loan to ProCredit Bank Bulgaria, a unit of Germany's ProCredit Holding ...
Developing Economies Reliant on Agriculture Are More Exposed to Climate Risks, McKinsey Finds
January, 17 2020
Global - Key adaptation measures include protecting people and assets, building resilience, reducing exposure, and ensuring that appropriate financing and insurance are in place, the director of the McKinsey Global Institute said ...
Ukraine: Financial Market Regulators Sign Financial Sector Development Strategy until 2025
January, 16 2020
Ukraine - “The goal of the Strategy is to ensure that the reform and development of Ukraine’s financial sector moves forward in line with international best practices and that the actions envisaged by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and Ukraine’s other international commitments are implemented,” the NBU said on its website ...
AIIB and Singapore Build for Project Finance
January, 15 2020
Asia - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Clifford Capital have launched a new financing platform to remove some of the pressure on banks. It will also position Singapore as a leader in the sector ...
BlackRock Shakes Up Business to Focus on Sustainable Investing
January, 14 2020
Global - BlackRock has unveiled sweeping changes in an effort to position itself as a leader in sustainable investing after criticism that the company has failed to use its clout to combat climate change ...
Romania's Banca Transilvania to Acquire 100% of Moldova's Microinvest
January, 14 2020
Romania - Romanian lender Banca Transilvania said on Tuesday that it intends to acquire 100% of Microinvest, a company specialised in the financing of small businesses in neighbouring Moldova ...
IFC Extends $213m Debt Financing for Vietnam’s VPBank
January, 14 2020
Vietnam - International Finance Corporation (IFC) is extending a $212.5-million financing package for Vietnam-based VPBank to expand the latter’s lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as financing for climate-related projects ...
India: Ankur Capital Announces First Close of Its Second Fund at INR 240 Crore
January, 13 2020
India - Increasing digitization in the country has seen a significant rise in launch of technology start-ups and venture capitalists (VCs) play a significant role in helping these start-ups scale up ...
India: Microfinance Industry Needs This Much Money to Maintain Growth, and Be Cautious of This Pitfall
January, 13 2020
India - The microfinance industry in India, which has helped bring financial inclusion to millions of rural families and women, will need an additional capital of up to over Rs 5,000 crore to meet the target of 25-30 per cent growth per year for the next three years. ...
Egypt Launches Microfinance Incentives to Contain Informal Economy
January, 12 2020
Egypt - The Egyptian government has begun a microfinancing programme called “Nano Finance” to integrate the informal economy in the formal sector and empower economically marginalised people through financing mechanisms that improve their living conditions ...
Predicting a ‘Kilo of Impact’
January, 10 2020
Global - Instead of relying on measurement to prove the value of a past investment, determining the value of an intervention before it has even started allows investors to factor in social impact alongside calculations of financial value ...
Could Innovative Finance Help Climate-Vulnerable Nations Build Resilience?
January, 09 2020
Global - A number of innovative financing mechanisms present an opportunity for small island developing states to fund climate resilience efforts, but challenges remain ...
Pakistan: Microfinance - The Next 8 Million
January, 09 2020
Pakistan - Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), the national association of microfinance providers, expects coverage to reach 8 million active borrowers by this year's end. PMN estimates addressable market at almost 41 million active borrowers and 6 million micro enterprises ...
ASA International India Microfinance Raises EUR 10 Mn Foreign Currency Funding from German Impact Investor - Invest in Visions (IIV).
January, 08 2020
India - The deal marks the first foreign currency transaction under the ECB Route for ASAI India Microfinance. The facility was structured to disburse in EUR and then hedged completely into INR eliminating any foreign currency risk for ASAI’s balance sheet ...
Metier Sustainable Capital Fund Receives $20mn from AfDB for Developing Renewable Energy
January, 07 2020
Global - This will reportedly channel the funds to renewable energy and resource-efficient infrastructure projects across Sub-Saharan Africa ...
India: Fusion Microfinance Gets INR 500 Crore from Warburg Pincus, Others
January, 07 2020
India - Delhi-based Fusion Microfinance Pvt Ltd, on Tuesday, said it has received an investment worth ₹500 crore from existing investors Warburg Pincus and Chicago-based Creation Investments Capital Management Llc ...
Crezcamos’s Acquisition of Opportunity International Colombia, Compañía de Financiamiento
January, 07 2020
Colombia - Opportunity International and Opportunity International Canada finalized the sale of Opportunity International Colombia S.A. Compañía de Financiamiento (OICCF), the global organizations’ banking operations in Colombia, to IMF Crezcamos S.A. ...
I. Boggild-Jones , E. Gustafsson-Wright and O. Nwabunnia, Center for Universal Education: The Global Impact Bond Market in 2019 - A Year in Review
January, 06 2020
Global - 2019 marked another eventful year for the impact bond market, with 18 new deals contracted. After nearly a decade since the first social impact bond (SIB) launched in the U.K., there is still much to learn about this innovative financing tool—particularly in identifying the circumstances when impact bonds add the most value ...
African Digital Credit Goes West
January, 06 2020
West Africa - The age of digital credit has arrived in West Africa. Customers from Abuja to Accra are increasingly turning to their mobile phones for quick access to funds, and digital lenders are pointing to growing portfolios and relatively low default rates ...
ImpactAlpha 2020: Capital Sets Sail for the Inclusive and Sustainable Future
January, 06 2020
Global - ImpactAlpha is on the lookout for signals that global and local capital markets are shifting from exclusion and extraction to inclusion and regeneration. Long-term value creation may be the watchwords of this new capitalism. What’s really at stake is power ...
Sri Lanka’s LOLC Inks Deal to Sell Cambodian Unit to Korea’s Kookmin
January, 06 2020
Cambodia - Sri Lanka’s LOLC Holdings said it has signed two agreements to sell its Cambodian sub-subsidiary PRASAC to Korea’s Kookmin Bank for 603 million US dollars ...
Mexico Is a Top Neobank Market to Watch in 2020
January, 06 2020
Mexico - In addition to its underbanked conditions, Mexico is a prime market for neobanks due to its favorable regulatory landscape and consumer demographics ...
I. Utoyo, Director of Digital Technology and Operations, Bank BRI: How to Bring Indonesia’s Great Unbanked Masses into the Fold of Financial Inclusion
January, 05 2020
Indonesia - When getting to the nearest bank branch can be a perilous journey, and where more people have smartphones than bank accounts, digital banking is clearly the solution. But rural customers also want the human touch. Enter agent banking ...
India: Microlender Satin Creditcare Raises Debt Capital from Development Bank of Austria
January, 03 2020
India - Microfinance firm Satin Creditcare Network Ltd has raised $15 million (Rs 107.6 crore at current exchange rate) in debt from Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG or OeEB) ...
Start-up Uses Mobile Data as a Credit Score for the Global Unbanked
January, 03 2020
Global - The world’s 1.7 billion people without access to banks do not have credit scores, but a Santa Monica, California-based start-up has developed a way to lend money to the unbanked based on smartphone data ...
S. Verghese, Co-founder, CEO, Olam International Ltd & Chair, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development : To Achieve the SDGs in a Warming Climate We Will Have to Change How We Produce Our Food
January, 03 2020
Global - Olam’s Sunny Verghese says a global food and agricultural system in line with the Global Goals would unlock economic value of more than $2tn by 2030 ...
A. Mittal, CEO and Founder, Indifi Technologies: India - From Small to Big: The Evolution of MSME Lending in 2020 and the Role of Fintech
January, 01 2020
India - The Union Minister for MSME, Nitin Gadkari, has outlined a plan to increase the sector’s GDP contribution to 50% from the current 29%, as India works towards the ambitious $5- trillion target that it has set for its economy. ...
Pakistan: Microenterprises Availing Financing Witness 25pc Growth in Revenue
January, 01 2020
Pakistan - Pakistan’s microenterprises have witnessed at least 25 percent growth in their revenues during a year after availing financing facilities, a not-for-profit company said on Tuesday ...
French Development Agency Supports African SMEs with USD30 Million
January, 01 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - The French Development Agency (AFD) is to provide about USD30 Million through the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (AGF), to improve access to credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout Africa. ...

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