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Oct 2020
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Brazil Plans IPO of State-Owned Digital Bank
October, 30 2020
Brazil - After including millions of people in the financial system after the Covid-19 crisis through a mobile app, the Brazilian government is now considering the IPO of its own digital bank ...
Brunei: Strengthening MSMEs Key to Boosting National Productivity, Says ADB
October, 29 2020
Brunei - MSMEs’ innovation and internationalisation are keys to revitalising Southeast Asian economies including Brunei Darussalam devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the report stated ...
Philippines: Most Banks Now Pushing Microfinance, E-wallets
October, 29 2020
Philippines - A bank executive in Cebu said most banks are now geared toward microfinance and digital wallets to widen their reach among the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the unbanked sector ...
EBRD to Help Finance Wind Farm in Kazakhstan, Reduce CO2 Emissions
October, 28 2020
Kazakhstan - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on October 26 the bank and its partners are supporting the construction of a 100 MW wind farm near the town of Zhanatas in the south of Kazakhstan in an effort to promote the republic’s further transition from coal-fired power plants to renewable-energy power generation ...
Sri Lanka: HNB Secures US$ 60mn Funding from France’s Proparco for SMEs
October, 28 2020
Sri Lanka - Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) announced a landmark agreement with Proparco, the private sector funding arm of the French development bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), to secure US$ 60 million in funding ...
Apeel Gets More Cash to Fight Poverty and Food Insecurity in Emerging Markets with Its Food-Preserving Tech
October, 27 2020
Emerging Markets - To finance this international rollout, Apeel has raised another $30 million in funding from investors, including the International Finance Corp., Temasek and Astanor Ventures ...
A Software Provider for Africa’s “Pay-as-You-Go” Solar Industry Has Raised $13.5 Million
October, 27 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - Angaza — a software provider that enables solar power device makers and distributors offer pay-as-you-go consumer services has raised $13.5 million in a Series B funding round led by KawiSafi Ventures, an East Africa-based energy impact fund ...
China Issues AML/CTF Guidelines for Microfinance Institutions
October, 27 2020
China - The guidelines take immediate effect and require microfinance institutions to report any transaction worth more than CNY 50,000 within 5 working days ...
The Quest for Financial Inclusion in Sri Lanka
October, 25 2020
Sri Lanka - Financial Inclusion is essential for continuous and sustainable economic development, according to the IFC (International Finance Corporation). This is no exception for Sri Lanka despite showing strong numbers in bank penetration ...
Moratoria during COVID-19: How Are They Working Out?
October, 23 2020
Global - Our research so far suggests that while moratoria have helped financial institutions to stabilize their balance sheets, the benefits for borrowers are more equivocal ...
Manufacturing a COVID-19 Recovery: Why Building Local Manufacturing Capacity Is Key to Africa’s Pandemic Response
October, 23 2020
Africa - The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing sub-Saharan Africa into negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates unseen in more than two decades. The region is not alone in weathering the global pandemic’s economic fallout: Countries around the world are facing strained supply chains and other consequences of the virus and the lockdowns it has necessitated ...
Asia: Poor Access to Financing Hampers MSME Growth
October, 23 2020
Asia - The ADB said the share of MSME loans to banks’ total lending portfolio fell to 6.1% (P588.8 billion) last year from 11.7% in 2010 as more lenders did not comply with the mandatory credit allocation to the sector, preferring to just pay the penalty rather than take on the risks associated with lending to these firms ...
Montenegro: CBCG Announces New Bundle of Measures to Aid Vulnerable Groups
October, 23 2020
Montenegro - The Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro adopted the Decision Amending the Decision on interim measures to reduce the adverse effects of the new Coronavirus outbreak on the financial system following the mitigating measures to protect population against communicable diseases ...
TriLinc Global Impact Fund Approves New Trade Finance Sub-Advisor in Latin America and Africa
October, 22 2020
Global - TriLinc Global Impact Fund announced today that it recently approved a new trade finance sub-advisor for business expansion and socioeconomic development in Latin America and Africa ...
ESG Funds to Surge in the Next Five Years
October, 21 2020
Global - Entitled "The growth opportunity of the century", the report from PwC Luxembourg described ESG as representing a "paradigm shift", the largest fundamental change in the investment landscape since the introduction of exchange traded funds ...
Layering Evidence for Impact Investing Success
October, 21 2020
Global - How investors can gather more context and nuance about the social impact of their investments, and thus bridge the gap between impact investing theory and practice ...
LOLC Enters Zambia to Carry Out Finance Business
October, 20 2020
Zambia - Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group has commenced its operations in Zambia recently, with the official launch of its inaugural branch located in Lusaka. ...
To Promote SMEs Recovery IFC Announced Readiness to Invest up to $2 Billion Pesos in ABL Trust Mexico
October, 20 2020
Mexico - This initiative introduces a replicable, innovative funding instrument in the Mexican capital markets, which will channel capital to SMEs through asset-based lending,while tapping into stable sources of funding from domestic institutional investors ...
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Microfinance
October, 19 2020
Global - Several reports have emerged in recent weeks to suggest that MFIs have been forced to adapt in order to continue supporting their clients as effectively as possible ...
EBRD Lending $25 Mln to Turkey’s Alternatif Bank to Back Pandemic-Affected Firms
October, 19 2020
Turkey - Alternatif Bank will on-lend the funds to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates affected by the economic impact of the pandemic, the EBRD said in a statement ...
Investors Bet on the Resilience of India’s Rural Economy
October, 19 2020
India - Since the pandemic hit, India’s heartland economy has outshone urban areas thanks to everything from a good crop season to government stimulus ...
Desjardins Launches a New $50 Million Impact Fund for Developing Countries
October, 16 2020
Global - Managed by Fonidi Management inc., a subsidiary of Développement international Desjardins (DID), Aequitas will have an initial envelope of CAN$50 million coming from Desjardins Group. ...
I. Channy and K. Borann, Cambodia Microfinance Association: Microfinance in Cambodia Has Lifted Millions of People Out of Poverty
October, 16 2020
Cambodia - The Cambodian credit industry has been in the spotlight recently with several reports from NGOs and in the media highlighting issues of debt burdens on Cambodian borrowers, especially in light of the economic downturn brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic ...
A. Heyer, Senior Research Advisor, FSD Kenya: From Financial Inclusion to Inclusive Finance - The Power of Frameworks to Catalyse Change
October, 15 2020
Kenya - Below, we’ll discuss the power of frameworks in shaping research and providing insights for financial inclusion policy and investment. The central character in this story is the FinAccess survey, conducted approximately every three years through a collaborative partnership under the FinAccess Management team (FAM). ...
Ripple Announces $10 Million Contribution to Mercy Corps
October, 15 2020
Global - Ripple has announced a $10 million USD contribution to Mercy Corps to expand financial inclusion and increase economic empowerment on a global level ...
Experian Partners with Standard Chartered to Drive Financial Inclusion with Machine Learning, Powering the Next Generation of Decisioning
October, 15 2020
Global - Experian – a leading global information services company – has announced a partnership with leading international banking group Standard Chartered to drive financial access across key markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East by leveraging the latest technology innovation in credit decisioning ...
Tugende Helps Uganda’s Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Survive the Lockdown – and Raises $6 Million to Grow Again
October, 12 2020
Uganda - Tugende’s rebound, and its prospects for growth, provide a window into the full range of risks and opportunities facing small-business lenders and the micro- and small businesses they support, as emerging markets begin to emerge from COVID-caused disruptions. ...
Is World Bank Fast-Track COVID-19 Funding Reaching the Most Vulnerable?
October, 12 2020
Global - The World Bank’s efforts to move large amounts of funding quickly to help countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic have left some groups worried that marginalized populations might fall by the wayside when it comes to designing and implementing those projects ...
Funders Find Ways to Offer Capital in Emerging Markets, despite Covid
October, 12 2020
Global - Impact investors can only ever hope to make a small dent in emerging markets but they have created debt vehicles to support small and midsize groups, often by providing funds to companies that serve or invest in such businesses. ...
How Can Blended Finance Address the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change?
October, 08 2020
Global - Convergence’s latest Data Brief explores how blended finance has addressed the gender-climate change nexus to date, and presents insights drawn from interviews conducted with key stakeholders ...
Sub-Saharan Market Size for Electricity Mini-Grids Worth 3.6 Bln USD: AfDB
October, 08 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - The least-cost way for the continent to reach full electricity access by 2030 and to meet demand from newly connected households is to accelerate the deployment of mini-grids and standalone systems ...
B. Milder, CEO at Aceli Africa: When the Economics Don’t Work: Realigning Capital Markets with Development Impact
October, 08 2020
Africa - By drawing upon donor funding to offer lenders targeted financial incentives tied to specific objectives, Aceli aims to mobilize private capital for impact today – and generate competition that will reduce the amount required to incentivize new loans in the future ...
India: Nabard to Offer 18 Months Refinance to Smaller NBFC, MFIs under Special Liquidity Scheme
October, 08 2020
India - A four-fifth of the smaller microfinance firms will be eligible to get special refinance assistance through the Reserve Bank of India-created dedicated liquidity window. This would help them to bridge the cash flow mismatches they might have over the next 18 months ...
$5m Laos Forestry Investment Offered by Dutch Bank FMO
October, 07 2020
Laos - FMO said its funding of Mekong Timber Plantations (MTP) is an additional investment, following its investment in the company in 2018, and fills a need for long-term capital, the lack of which it said is a barrier to finance for the forestry sector ...
Blockchain Promised Democratization of Finance – Collaborating with Microfinance Can Make This a Reality
October, 07 2020
Global - By collaborating and working with microfinance organizations, blockchain applications can truly deliver on the promise of democratizing access to financial resources ...
Green Finance Recovery Mechanisms Needed to Meet Infrastructure Gap in Southeast Asia: ADB
October, 07 2020
Southeast Asia - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged policymakers in Southeast Asia to use green and innovative financing approaches to help catalyse the estimated 3.1 trillion dollar investments required for climate-adjusted infrastructure in the region by 2030 ...
Sri Lanka: ComBank Receives $ 50m Equity from IFC
October, 07 2020
Sri Lanka - This is the first foreign equity placement by Commercial Bank, the first post-pandemic equity placement by the IFC and is one of the largest foreign investments into Sri Lanka since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said ...
Africa: FMO Invests $5 Million in Mini-Grids Supplier Husk Power Systems
October, 06 2020
Africa - Mini-grid supplier Husk Power Systems has just been awarded $5 million by the Dutch development finance company Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). The company will use the funds to expand the installation of its clean energy mini-grids in rural areas in Africa and Asia ...
Latin America’s Micro-, Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Need Working Capital to Survive and Thrive
October, 05 2020
Global - Latin America’s annual small business financing gap stood at $1 trillion even before the COVID crisis. Now, the pandemic is exacerbating the capital gap and threatening to reverse recent advances in income and gender equality, economic growth, and employment ...
D. Collins and L. Larson: Measuring the Influence of Financial Services on Reaching the SDGs
October, 05 2020
Global - While no one impact evaluation method can capture every dynamic and change in the supportive system of financial services, the Impact Pathways method can illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of financial services and their role in helping households at the bottom of the pyramid ...
India: Microlenders See Light at End of Tunnel; Collection Rates Inch Back to Pre-COVID Levels
October, 05 2020
India - Collection rates are picking up, so are disbursements of small loans. Rural entrepreneurs, who suffered most due to COVID, are tweaking their small business strategies to adjust to the new normal ...
Egypt: EIB Invests $22m in First Closing of LCP Fund II
October, 03 2020
Egypt - LCP Fund II is a generalist private equity fund that primarily targets capital investments in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market companies in Egypt ...
Swedish PE Firm Launches Microfinance Strategy for EM and Frontier Markets
October, 02 2020
Global - Stockholm-based private equity firm Trill Impact has launched a new investment strategy which will focus on microfinance ...
Switzerland: How the Private Sector Finances Development Aid
October, 01 2020
Switzerland - With its new international cooperation strategy 2021–2024, Switzerland aims to involve the private sector more closely in development projects. The proportion of co-financed projects should double from the current 5% by 2024 ...
'A Complete Mental Shift': How Le Houérou Changed IFC
October, 01 2020
Global - Philippe Le Houérou’s “IFC 3.0” strategy sought to refocus the International Finance Corporation on delivering greater development impact in the world’s poorest countries ...
Central Bank Cuts Interest Rate to Aid Vietnamese Economy
October, 01 2020
Vietnam - The maximum short-term lending interest rate in dong at people’s credit funds and microfinance organisations for these capital needs is now down from 6 per cent per annum to 5.5 per cent. ...

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