Return to top
NewsWatch:
This page will stop being updated shortly. You can subscribe to Tameo’s NewsWatch
here
to keep yourself informed about recent industry happenings.
Learn more about Tameo.
Archives:
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
Mercy Corps and Mastercard Take Fintech to Farmers
January, 31 2018
Global - Humanitarian agency Mercy Corps is partnering with Mastercard Foundation to push for adoption of technology to benefit millions of small-scale Kenyan farmers for better food production and ending perennial shortages
...
Indonesia's Fintech Lending Boom Exploits Shortfall in Bank Loans
January, 30 2018
Indonesia - Fintech firms, offering loans of as little as a few hundred dollars, are seeing a spike in lending in Indonesia where tens of millions of people have little or no access to bank credit - helping alleviate a financing shortfall estimated at more than $73 billion
...
15 States Receive a Boost as CBN Grants 28 New Licences to Microfinance Banks
January, 27 2018
Nigeria - The financial sectors of 15 states in Nigeria received a boost in 2017 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted 28 new licences to microfinance banks (MfBs), a development that increased the number of microfinance banks in the country to 1,008, an increase of 3 percent over 980 MfBs in the country in 2016
...
India: Create Bonds for Social, Environmental Impact Investing
January, 26 2018
India - Davos, Jan 26 (PTI) Social entrepreneur Chetna Sinha today mooted the idea of bonds for raising funds to be invested in human capital specially focused on social and environmental issues.
“Why can’t we have bonds that will raise capital for training people learn about soil and water conservation and all other such things,” she said
...
Is Now the Right Time to Head to Frontier Markets?
January, 26 2018
Global - After several tough years, things have been looking more positive for investors in emerging markets over the last couple of years, with the region outperforming its developed market peers in both 2016 and 2017
...
How Microcredit Can Help Poor Countries After Natural Disasters
January, 25 2018
Global - But the biggest difficulty is in raising finance for recovery lending. Grants may not be available. This month’s initiative will give MFIs prompt access to liquidity after a disaster, helping them meet increased demand, for an annual premium of about 0.5% of the value of their portfolios, in addition to the normal cost of funds
...
Egypt’s Fintech Startups Are Growing in Number, Value, and Specialization
January, 24 2018
Egypt - Financial inclusion is critical in reducing poverty and achieving shared economic growth, as mentioned ‘The Global Findex Database 2014: Measuring Financial Inclusion around the World’: When people can participate in the financial system, they are better able to start and expand businesses, invest in their children’s education, and absorb financial shocks.
This approach is increasingly adopted in Egypt where fintech startups are proliferating and engaging citizens in a ‘neo’ formal financial system.
According to figures shared with Wamda by the World Bank Global Findex database, only 14 percent of adults in Egypt have an account as of 2014, and eight percent use an account to make digital financial payments. The Findex said that about 86 percent of adults in the country do not have an account and are therefore considered unbanked
...
Union Investment Unveils Sustainable Development Goals Fund
January, 24 2018
Global - Union Investment has launched a fund focusing on the UN sustainable development goals, the firm has announced.
The new strategy, which is called the UniInstitutional SDG Equities fund, invests in the universe of 1,200 companies, with 60 names making it to the final portfolio.
Some of the sectors the fund allocates to are water management, healthcare, renewable energies and green transport
...
Microfinancing: From Being a Sidekick to Being a Lead
January, 24 2018
Global - Microfinancing has become mainstream today. But just a while ago, microfinancing did not enjoy the status it enjoys today. This could be attributed to the growing pressure on banks to looks for new streams of revenue backed by government’s will to go in for social inclusion and the developing regulatory framework
...
Impact Funding for Kenyan Firms Set to Hit Sh123 Billion
January, 23 2018
Kenya - The amount committed by impact investors into Kenyan enterprises is expected to double to Sh123 billion ($1.2 billion) within the next five years, a new study by US-based consultancy FR LLC and University of Virginia Business School shows
...
Why Poverty Hasn’t Reduced Significantly in Pakistan
January, 22 2018
Pakistan - Poverty is one of the least discussed issues in Pakistan. While many debates centre around different economic issues, poverty is mostly left out. It is quite odd that local discourse on such a serious issue is very elusive in our country
...
EBRD Deepens Green Investments in Kosovo
January, 21 2018
Kosovo - The EBRD is providing a loan of up to €1.5 million to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK), the fourth largest microfinance institution in the country, to increase the financing of the green economy
...
IFC Raises $2 B for Investments in Emerging Markets
January, 20 2018
Global - The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, has raised over $2 billion from the global bond market to support its investments in emerging and developing markets
...
Investing’s New Frontier: Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya
January, 20 2018
Global - It wasn’t too long ago when small, frontier markets like Pakistan’s and Egypt’s were the hottest thing since ghost peppers. From the start of 2010 through the end of 2014, the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index trounced the MSCI Emerging Markets Index each calendar year, and the frontier index produced a cumulative 43% return compared with emerging’s 11%
...
WEF Tackles Financial Inclusion
January, 19 2018
Global - The World Economic Forum (WEF) and 15 of its partners have launched a financial inclusion measurement framework in an effort to assist the world's "unbanked", including through leveraging digital financial services
...
IFC Supports Jordan’s Largest Renewable Energy Project with Landmark Financing Package
January, 17 2018
Jordan - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has arranged a financing package of up to $188 million for the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Jordan to date—the latest in a series of efforts to boost renewable energy investments in a country faced with increased energy demand, in part driven by the growing refugee crisis
...
Blockchain Is Revolutionizing the Loan Industry - a Look at Valorem...
January, 17 2018
Global - One huge advantage of taking traditional banking out of the picture and utilizing a token in the loan process - the entire world opens up. People and businesses in developing nations that may never get the ear of a banker can give their proposal, and find funding on the Volerem platform
...
Financial Inclusion Could Unlock US$200bn: EY
January, 17 2018
Global - A new report by EY titled Innovation in financial inclusion has revealed a “potentially significant growth opportunity for banks” within emerging markets by servicing financially excluded individuals and enterprises
...
Fintech Startups Took Nearly a Third of all African Venture Funding in 2017
January, 17 2018
Global - Almost a third of funding raised by African startups in 2017 was in the fintech sector as investors bet on consumers turning to more formal financial services in a region where just 17% of the population have banking accounts. Venture funding for African startups jumped by 51% to $195 million in 2017, according to a report from Disrupt Africa
...
TriLinc Global Impact Fund Makes Impact Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
January, 16 2018
Global - TriLinc Global Impact Fund announced today that it has approved an additional $22.7 million in term loans and trade finance facilities to companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, bringing total financing commitments as of December 31, 2017 to $380 million for business expansion and socioeconomic development through its holdings in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
...
D. Lennox, Partner, MFX: Consumer Protection in Digital Financial Services – Core not Compliance
January, 16 2018
Global - Consumer protection is no longer in my compliance box, it’s now firmly in the revenue sustainability driver box: a significant part of any DFS business strategy to drive scale and higher customer activity rates. To share what I have learnt about consumer protection and how it relates to DFS business strategies, DFI is offering my four-week online course on Consumer Protection as a Business Strategy, which will first be available in February 2018 and then again later in the year
...
Ten Years Later: What Has Digital Technology Done for Women’s Financial Inclusion?
January, 15 2018
Global - The future of women’s financial inclusion is inextricably linked to the potential of digital technology to break down barriers to women’s access to and usage of financial products.
When it comes to financial inclusion for women, “digital financial services” (DFS) means different things in different markets. In some, DFS means the booming mobile money sector that is opening up unprecedented access to formal banking. In others, DFS is still just another unreachable tool for those without access to mobile phones where cash is still king
...
Improved Financial Inclusion Could Boost Global Bank Revenues by US$200b
January, 12 2018
Global - Banks could generate incremental global annual revenue of US$200b – equivalent to 20% of emerging market banks’ 2016 revenues – by better serving financially excluded individuals and small businesses in 60 emerging countries, according to the EY report Innovation in financial inclusion: revenue growth through innovative inclusion
...
New GIIN Report Helps Investors Ensure Sustainable Impact After Exit
January, 12 2018
Global - With impact investing on the rise, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) has published a new report highlighting a range of strategies investors can employ to strengthen their ability to exit impact investments in a way that meets liquidity objectives while continuing to promote positive, sustainable outcomes
...
Zimbabwe: EcoCash Sells Micro-finance Bonds from Untu Capital
January, 12 2018
Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean money transfer service EcoCash has partnered a local micro-finance company to allow the public to participate in the purchase of tradeable bonds, set to raise USD 1 million in debt financing for start-ups and small businesses.
...
Philippines: More Towns Get Access to Financial Services
January, 09 2018
Philippines - Over a third of towns in the Philippines remained unbanked as of June 2017, although more areas gained access to formal financial channels compared to a year ago, results of a recent central bank survey showed
...
Jack Ma Debt Giant Grinds to Halt as China Curbs Micro-Loans
January, 08 2018
China -
After selling billions of dollars of debt backed by consumer loans last year, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial is pausing such fundraising as the government steps up curbs on micro lending.
The company hasn’t sold any asset-backed securities since early December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and China Securitization Analytics. That marks an abrupt shift after it issued a record 238 billion yuan ($37 billion) in 2017 of such securities backed by consumer loans
...
Netherlands’ FMO Syndicates $220m Loan for Togo-based Ecobank, with Participation from BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund, Symbiotics, Oikocredit, DEG, Proparco, OeEB, BIO
January, 07 2018
Global - The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan in the amount of USD 220 million for Togo-based Ecobank Transnational Incorporated to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 36 African countries
...
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
January, 05 2018
Bangladesh - Social and cultural constructs create economic barriers for women, more so in emerging economies. In Bangladesh, access to finance remains the greatest hurdle for women entrepreneurs. Although women make up half of the labor force aged 15-49, they represent only 17 percent of those employed by cottage, micro, and small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) that account for 99.93 percent out of 7.8 million businesses in the country
...
Sexual Harassment Screens Making it Into ETF ESG World
January, 05 2018
Global - But while 43 ETFs totaling $4.7 billion are labeled as socially conscious, 55% of those are focused on environmental issues and only five ETFs with less than $1 billion in assets combined are considered thematic socially conscious, according to data from Impact Shares and Morningstar Direct
...
Consumer Loan Securitization Boom Put on Hold as China Clamps Down on Leverage
January, 05 2018
China - A boom in asset-backed securities issued by micro-lenders aiming to expand in China’s fast-growing online credit market looks set to slow this year amid growing regulatory scrutiny.
Micro-lenders have raised billions of dollars packaging consumer loans into securities for sale to institutional investors on China’s nascent market for asset-backed securities in order to rapidly expand their loan books
...
Peru Fin Min Confirms Poverty Reduction in 2017
January, 04 2018
Peru - Poverty was reduced in Peru last year due to economic growth (2.8% according to official forecasts) and government-run social programs, Economy and Finance Minister Claudia Cooper affirmed on Thursday
...
Thitsar Ooyin Microfinance Company Launches in Myanmar
January, 04 2018
Myanmar - Founded by international development NGO GRET, Thitsar Ooyin is governed by Myanmar law. It aims to provide loans to poor disadvantaged populations in rural areas with a view to funding income-generating activities
...
Cambodia: Central Bank Revokes the Licences of 11 MFIs
January, 04 2018
Cambodia - The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has revoked the licenses of 11 microfinance institutions operating outside the capital, arguing they have failed to abide by the law and the regulations set by the central banking authority
...
Confidence, but Some Uncertainty Remains: Islamic Finance Trends
January, 02 2018
Global - As we enter 2018, it is time to watch out for determining trends to expect in Islamic finance this year. Looking back, 2017 saw considerable expansion of the industry into new markets, notably in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, and many efforts to create regulatory environments in various jurisdictions to make it easier and more convenient for investors to participate in the industry.
...
J. Lumberg, Co-Founder, Executive Vice President, Envestnet: The Growth of Impact Investing
January, 02 2018
Global - Impact Investing is not only in the institutional and high-net-worth mainstream—it’s undergoing exponential growth. From 1995 (when research within this space began) to 2014, socially responsible investing (SRI) assets under management exhibited a 929% increase—a 13.1% compounded annual growth rate—according to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment Foundation (US SIF)
...
Why Microfinance Sector Registered a Decline in Non-Performing Loans
January, 02 2018
Rwanda - Measures introduced by the micro-finance body to reduce the growing non-performing loans in the sector seem to be, finally, paying off. According to National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), bad loans in the sector dropped by 4.3 percentage points in the third quarter of 2017 to 8 per cent
...
Adhil Shetty, CEO of Bankbazaar.com: Dial D for Digital
January, 01 2018
India - A cashless economy is not an impractical proposition anymore, thanks to the phenomenal rate at which digital payments have picked up in the country. But why should it be restricted to just payments and retail transactions?
...
2.55% · 
4.46% · 
-1.88% · 
product.
