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May 2020
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Nigeria: CBN Disburses N50 Billion Loans through MFBs’ IT Platform
May, 31 2020
Nigeria - It aims to enhance financial access, inclusion and sustainability of the microfinance institutions on value chain financing and ensure the growth of the small and medium scale enterprises ...
South America: CAF Sells First Social Bonds in Euros
May, 28 2020
South America - Latin American development bank CAF said on Wednesday it sold €700 million ($771 million) worth of five-year social bonds to finance coronavirus-related healthcare spending and emergency economic support to its member countries ...
India: Suryoday Small Finance Bank Raises INR 62.14 Cr for Expansion
May, 28 2020
India - Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SSFB), a scheduled commercial bank, has raised ₹62.14 crore through a private placement from six existing investors, which it intends to use for expansion plans ...
E. McGuinness, Evidence and Impact Consultant at CGAP: Financial Services Build Resilience in Face of Crises like COVID-19
May, 27 2020
Global - When financial services contribute to poor people’s resilience, they create an opening for poor people to invest in their own and their family’s future. But what happens when a severe systemic shock, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, erodes resilience ...
EIB Provides Financing for 65.6 MW of Small-Scale PV in Poland
May, 27 2020
Poland - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a PLN-82-million (USD 22.2m/EUR 18.5m) loan to support the construction and operation of 65.6 MW of small-scale, independent solar photovoltaic (PV) parks in Poland ...
A.F. Alothman, Founder and Co-Chairman, Geidea Financial Tech and AO Holdings: How Fintech Can Help Ensure the Survival of SMEs in the Middle East
May, 27 2020
Middle East - Improving financial inclusion for SMEs could boost annual economic growth by 1%, and also lead to a potential 16 million jobs by 2025 in the Middle East and Central Asia regions. However, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, this is not only a question of growth for SMEs in the Middle East- it is a question of survival ...
T. Bruett and G. Bull: Stronger Together - Why MIX and the Center for Financial Inclusion Are Joining Forces
May, 27 2020
Global - Yesterday came news that two key players in the inclusive finance space are joining forces: MIX, for nearly 20 years the chief data resource for inclusive finance, and the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), a leading independent think tank housed at Accion ...
IFC Funds Small Business Leases in Mexico
May, 26 2020
Mexico - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it arranged $117 million in long-term financing for the local branch of Spanish bank BBVA to provide vehicle and machinery leases to small businesses in Mexico ...
Proof of Impact Launches B2B Platform to Help Enterprises Prove Their Impact
May, 26 2020
Global - Proof of Impact, a blockchain technology company revolutionizing the way people fund and experience impact, recently announced the launch of their new platform, which tracks, verifies, and transacts impact at the unit-level for businesses, entities and individuals across the globe ...
India: Satya Microcapital Raises INR 105 Crore Equity Funding from Japan-Based Gojo & Company Inc.
May, 26 2020
India - The recent capital infusion will be trajected in a diversified manner for employment generation and livelihood rehabilitation across terrestrial footprints in the country ...
P. Thiruppathy, Principal at KOIS Mumbai - How Impact Finance Can Alleviate COVID-19's Economic Symptoms
May, 26 2020
Global - In a post-coronavirus world, the private sector will face completely new challenges and emergency trends across the healthcare journey, and impact finance can help manage these strategically ...
M. Van Den Berg, Banking and Capital Markets Advisory Leader at EY Africa: South Africa - Banks Need to Continue to Respond in Unchartered Territory Due to Covid-19
May, 26 2020
South Africa - Covid-19 continues to demand changes to banks’ established ways of working, as not only do they have an instrumental role in supporting all sectors of the economy through the crisis, but they are also at the epicentre of the new demands of a more virtual world. ...
Responsible Companies Are Outperforming amid COVID-19. Why?
May, 25 2020
Global - The sustainable funds weathered the changes relatively well compared to their traditional counterparts. According to data from Morningstar, 10 out of 12 sustainable funds found in the large-blend category — selected to reflect the overall market — lost less over the first quarter of 2020 than iShares Core S&P 500 Exchange Traded Fund, which also reflects patterns in the overall market ...
In Pakistan, Credit Firms Fail to Collect Reliable Data
May, 24 2020
Pakistan - Some gaps in the law governing the establishment and operation of private credit bureaus in Pakistan are hampering the bureaus’ efforts to collect information for building a reliable repository of credit information data of both individuals and corporate entities ...
M. K. Nambiar, Chair of MFIN: India - Will Microfinance Survive the Covid-19 Crisis? Yes, It Will Thrive
May, 23 2020
India - The Indian microfinance sector can and will play a major role in ensuring confidence and credit at the grassroots when it is needed the most to rebuild our country ...
Ant Financial Invests in Myanmar's Wave Money
May, 21 2020
Myanmar - Ant Financial, the Chinese operator of Alipay, announced its plans to invest US$73.5 million for a minority stake in Digital Money Myanmar Limited, a fintech company based in Myanmar locally known as Wave Money, the companies announced in a press release ...
93% of Rwandans Financially Included, Study Shows
May, 21 2020
Rwanda - Over the years, financial inclusion has been informal (non-banking institutions) through innovative products and technologies. However, informal inclusion does not always provide a wholesome inclusion as it often lacks aspects such as access to credit ...
B. Buruku, CGAP: Ghana Launches World’s First Digital Finance Policy Amid COVID-19
May, 21 2020
Ghana - Earlier this week, Ghana became the first country CGAP is aware of to launch a digital financial services (DFS) policy. While the policy has been years in the making, the government hopes the policy will support various measures it is taking to leverage DFS in its COVID-19 response ...
IFC Invests in Private Equity Fund to Support Consumer and Women-Led Companies in Latin America
May, 21 2020
Latin America - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing US $ 26 million in the private equity fund L Catterton Latin America III (LCLA III), which will provide capital to medium-sized companies focused on the consumer sector in Latin America ...
The Central Bank of Brazil Will Roll Out Open Banking Implementation
May, 21 2020
Brazil - Open banking regulations can stimulate competition for neobanks while promoting greater financial inclusion ...
HSBC and IFC Close USD 474m Bond Fund for Climate Action in Emerging Markets
May, 20 2020
Global - HSBC Global Asset Management and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have closed the HSBC Real Economy Green Investment Opportunity GEM Bond Fund, which has raised USD474 million of new financing to support climate risk-mitigation investments across emerging markets ...
EBRD Approves 5mln Euro Loan to Bosnian Microfinance Firm Partner MKF Tuzla
May, 20 2020
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Partner MKF Tuzla, Bosnia's third largest non-deposit microfinance institution, will receive the seniour unsecured loan in two equal tranches of 2.5 million euro, with the second tranche being still uncommitted, the EBRD said in a statement ...
EBRD Approves 5mln Euro Loan to Bosnia's Mikrofin for On-Lending to Micro, Small Clients
May, 19 2020
Bosnia and Herzegovina - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it has approved a 5 million euro ($5.5 million) loan to Bosnia's Mikrofin for on-lending to local coronavirus-hit businesses ...
West Africa: FMO Invests €12.5m in COFINA
May, 18 2020
West Africa - The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, has announced the recent closing of multiple transactions to microfinance group Compagnie Financiere Africaine (COFINA) ...
Impact Investing and COVID-19: A Moment for Growth or a Flight from Risk?
May, 18 2020
Global - The impact investing community is grappling with how the coronavirus crisis will affect growth and how entrepreneurs searching for capital in low-income countries will fare ...
India: MFI Industry Hopes Repayments to Start from June
May, 15 2020
India - The micro-finance institutions (MFIs), which have been hit severely in the wake of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, are expecting that the repayments of loans given to the borrowers will actually start from June, an official of the industry body said on Friday ...
COVID-19 Underlines the Importance of Fintech in Emerging Markets
May, 15 2020
Global - Fintech firms can use this opportunity to build their reputations and emerge stronger once the crisis has passed ...
Cambodia: MFIs Restructure $488m in Loans
May, 14 2020
Cambodia - Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia have restructured almost $500 million in loans for nearly 120,000 borrowers, a move the banks claim helped ease the burden on clients facing Covid-19 financial pressures ...
India: Govt Provides Additional Liquidity Boost to NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs
May, 14 2020
India - Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced further liquidity support to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies (HFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) by way of a ₹30,000 crore liquidity scheme and a partial credit guarantee scheme of ₹45,000 crore ...
Emerging Economies Hold Back on Asking Creditors for Debt Relief
May, 13 2020
Global - Emerging economies grappling with a debt crisis are resisting calls to renegotiate what they owe to private creditors, for fear it will damage their access to financial markets in future, lenders and borrowers have warned ...
ABN Amro and Symbiotics Unveil EM Impact Private Debt Fund
May, 13 2020
Global - ABN Amro Investment Solutions has collaborated with impact investment platform Symbiotics to build a ‘feeder’ fund that invests in emerging and frontier microfinance credits, while also expanding the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) impact themes ...
Emerging Market Green Bond Issuances Rise 21%
May, 13 2020
Global - Green bond issuance in emerging markets saw a sharp increase in 2019, rising to US$52 billion – a 21% increase, according to a joint report published by Amundi and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) ...
A. Lazarow, Cathay Innovation: Venture Capital Has a Lot to Learn from Fintech - Data-Driven, New Products, and More Access to a Broader Set of Companies
May, 13 2020
Global - This brings us back to the point that VC model is right for certain companies with typical growth trajectories in well-known markets. But with such a diverse group of entrepreneurs and business models, VC will need to find ways to open themselves to new markets. A huge, and incredibly impactful opportunity is waiting for them ...
Impact Investor Networks Collaborate to Tackle Covid-19 Fallout
May, 13 2020
Global - The Response, Recovery, and Resilience Investment Coalition (R3 Coalition), will “drive collaboration” among impact investors, and will seek to “identify opportunities where investment capital can be put to work,” says Amit Bouri, co-founder and CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), which is managing the coalition ...
Fintech Offers Lifeline for Crisis-Hit Mexican Businesses
May, 12 2020
Mexico - Konfío — a play on the Spanish word for trust — has become a rising star in the booming Mexican fintech sector and has found itself perfectly placed for the pandemic ...
SME Financing Platform Validus Raises $20m in Series B Extension Round
May, 12 2020
East Asia & Pacific - Southeast Asian SME financing platform Validus has raised $20 million in an extended Series B funding co-led by Vertex Growth Fund and Kuok Group’s Orion Fund managed by K3 Venture Partners ...
Impact Investing in Unflashy Causes Gains Ground in the Pandemic Era
May, 11 2020
Global - They may not be flashy, but projects to upgrade creaky infrastructure and achieve environmental gains are emerging as top investments for funds that have built strategies on the United Nations sustainable development goals ...
Norway’s NMI, Carpediem Invest in Delhi-Based Sindhuja Microcredit
May, 11 2020
India - Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Carpediem Capital have agreed to invest Rs 67.5 crore in Sindhuja Microcredit, a New Delhi-based rural focused micro finance institution ...
Major Step Forward to Improve Access to Finance in Pakistan amid COVID-19
May, 10 2020
Pakistan - Pakistan’s micro, small and medium sized enterprises and individual consumers are set to benefit from the creation of an electronic registry that allows for the country’s financial institutions to use moveable assets such as agricultural produce as collateral for loans ...
India: Caspian Debt Receives $20 MN from US Govt Agency as Long-Term Debt
May, 08 2020
India - The new facility, which is a combination of subordinated and senior debt will support Caspian Debt in providing customised, collateral free loans digitally to professionally managed enterprises operating in high impact sectors in India ...
Asia and Africa: Gojo & Company − Completion of USD 22 Million Series D First Close and Capital Infusion in Group Companies
May, 08 2020
Asia, Africa - Continuing from the USD 40 million Series C round announced in October 2019, the newly raised funds will be mainly used for further growth of its existing group companies in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India apart from future expansion to new markets in Asia and Africa ...
In Nigeria, a Revised MFB Licence Could Spur Fintech Mergers and Acquisitions
May, 07 2020
Nigeria - COVID-19 forces CBN to postpone plans to make the Microfinance Bank licence more expensive. Fintech insiders believe the revised licence could lead to mergers and acquisitions in the industry ...
Google and Gates Foundation to Help Spread Digital Payments in Developing Countries
May, 06 2020
Global - The initiative would help tie together a growing array of digital financial services. M-Pesa, which has expanded from Kenya to countries including Ghana, Egypt, and India, has inspired hundreds of imitators worldwide. But these largely privately-run systems are fragmented ...
Asia: MSMEs in Waste Management Find a Savior; This Singapore Investor to Back Ideas in Plastic Pollution
May, 06 2020
Asia - For MSMEs addressing plastic solution, funding is not easy to obtain as financial institutions may not necessarily understand the sector well enough. This white space has been tapped by impact investment firm Circulate Capital that invests in waste, recycling and circular economy spaces. ...
Colombia: IFC Gives $100m Loan to Davivienda for Support of Women-Owned SMEs, Housing, Agribusiness
May, 06 2020
Colombia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has provided a $100 million loan to Banco Davivienda, boosting the bank’s ability to increase its lending for low-income housing, women-owned small and medium enterprises, and sustainable agribusiness projects in Colombia. ...
M. Mattern, CGAP: Asset Finance Innovations Can Advance SDGs – If They Scale Responsibly
May, 05 2020
Global - Despite the rapid pace of innovation and a proliferation of inclusive asset finance business models, few have seen widespread uptake. This raises an important question: Can these models scale sustainably while continuing to serve low-income customers ...
India: MFIs See Demand Picking Up Soon Due to Emergency Loan Requirement, Kharif Cultivation
May, 05 2020
India - Microfinance institutions (MFIs) believe the industry will bounce back in no time as they see demand for microcredit rising soon because of emergency loan requirements of their customers to restart businesses ...
Myanmar Govt Extends Temporary Suspension of Microfinance Operations to May 15
May, 04 2020
Myanmar - The temporary suspension of microfinance activities aligns with government efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through mass gatherings and close contact, said U Thant Sin, director of the Financial Regulatory Department ...
India: MFIs Set to Resume Operations in Orange, Green Zones
May, 04 2020
India - Nearly 88 lenders belonging to the micro-finance industry are making preparations to resume operations in green and orange zones, the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) said on Monday ...
Olam International Secures IFC, JICA Loan Facilities
May, 04 2020
Global - Global food and agri-business Olam International and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Olam Treasury, have secured multi-tranche financing facilities totalling US$176 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ...
Morgan Stanley IM Launches Global Climate Impact Fund
May, 04 2020
Global - Morgan Stanley Investment Management's Alternative Investment Partners Private Markets business (AIP Private Markets) has launched a $110m AuM Global Climate Impact fund, which seeks to "address critical climate issues. ...
Which Emerging Markets Are in Most Financial Peril?
May, 02 2020
Global - Our ranking examines 66 economies across four potential sources of peril. These include public debt, foreign debt (both public and private) and borrowing costs (proxied where possible by the yield on a government’s dollar bonds). ...
K. Peters, D. Waldron, and J. Winiecki: Keeping the Lights On - How PAYGo Solar Can Offer Customer Relief During COVID-19
May, 01 2020
Global - The inherent flexibility of the PAYGo business model and technology is already proving its worth in enhancing affordability during this crisis. Companies have the tools to offer additional forms of customer relief – but they cannot do it alone: Solidarity and support from investors, donors and governments is needed to strengthen their hand ...

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