Mesofinance Media - News #Gender

USAID expands Feed the Future program to Guatemala in effort to boost incomes, food security, resilience in rural areas

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 15:01:41 -0500

The US government’s Agency for International Development recently announced it has budgeted USD 6 million to support the financial inclusion of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises owned by people in Guatemala who are members of one or more of the following groups: women, young people and indigenous citizens. Elements of the program are aimed at “enhancing financial literacy… and helping financial service providers reach underserved rural markets with better, tailored products.” The goals include to boost savings, investments in agriculture, food security and access to digital financial services. Another part of the program is to help people who receive remittances to leverage these funds to meet community goals. The effort is part of a project called Feed the Future, which is active in 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ghana Enterprises Agency, Mastercard Foundation Launch BizBox Program, Aiming to Help 250k Youth Acquire Employment

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:20:27 -0500

Ghana Enterprises Agency, through which the government of Ghana supports micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, recently partnered with the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation in an effort to support 250,000 young people in acquiring “dignified and fulfilling jobs.” Among the goals of the project is to serve 25,000 people with disabilities and 175,000 women. The program is called Business in a Box - or BizBox - and includes training in life skills and business skills along with access to technology, finance, markets and networking opportunities. The program has a local-currency budget equivalent to USD 55 million and runs until 2027.

EIB launches Women Climate Leaders Network

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:12:35 -0500

Forty-seven women who work for private companies, including representatives of all 27 countries of the EU, have joined the Women Climate Leaders Network, which the EIB Group recently convened. The goal of the network is to “share knowledge and best practices for accelerating climate action, and work on new business models and ways to enable the low-carbon and green transformation.” Among the motivations for creating the group is EIB research that indicates women-led firms perform better on ESG measures than do companies run by men.

16th Annual Sanabel Conference \ 14-15 May \ Dead Sea, Jordan

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 17:33:38 -0500

Originally scheduled to take place in November 2023, this event is centered on the effects of global trends on microfinance in Arab countries. Participants will discuss and build strategies on topics such as making microfinance less harmful to the environment, improving risk management, and expanding services to farmers as well as women in all sectors. The day before the main conference begins - May 13 - representatives of Sanad Fund for MSME and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation will offer training on agriculture and climate finance. Founded in 2002 to promote microfinance in Arab countries, Sanabel has since expanded to include 79 members from both Arab and European nations. Sanabel is an NGO headquartered in Egypt, and it is also registered in the US. The general participation fee is USD 1,000, but for Sanabel members and all attendees from Jordan, the fee is USD 800. A further discount of USD 50 per person is applicable for groups of five or more. For more information, you may email info@sanabelnetwork.org or call +20 2 2537 3170 or +20 10 0041 0458.

Sankalp Africa Summit \ 28-29 February \ Nairobi, Kenya

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 13:46:54 -0500

This year's Sankalp Africa Summit focuses on “sustainable” development in Africa, including via entrepreneurship and impact investing. Attendees will engage on themes such as renewable energy, gender issues, engaging youth, agriculture, health and sanitation. Sankalp events are held in various locations as part of Intellecap, which is a member of India's Aavishkaar Group. The cost to attend ranges from USD 229 to USD 1,199. For further information, you may contact the organizers at SankalpForum@intellecap.net or +91 022 6195 2700.

FinovateEurope \ 27-28 February \ London, UK

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 11:03:46 -0500

FinovateEurope is an annual conference promoting advances in fintech across Europe. The schedule includes sessions such as: (1) Women in Fintech: How Can We All Make Sure We Are Moving the Needle?; (2) The Global Economic and Geo-political Outlook: What Are the Five Things You Need to Know?; (3) Compliance As Leverage: How to Build Anti-Financial Crime Technology and Teams to Fast-Track Growth?; and (4) How Banks Can Embrace the Digital Lending Revolution to Safeguard Their Business and Better Serve Customers. Finovate events are produced by Informa, a firm established in 1998 that operates in the academic arena through its Taylor & Francis division and in the business-to-business sector via its Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech divisions. The firm’s products include events, media, research and lead-generation services. The general admission fee for FinovateEurope is equivalent to USD 1,700, but lower pricing is available for groups, investors, and representatives of government entities and financial institutions.
Author: Tiyasha Sarkar

19th Annual Global Microfinance Forum \ 14-15 March \ Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 14:26:04 -0500

This forum will bring stakeholders together to discuss topics such as: (1) Climate-Smart Financing for Smallholder Farmers; (2) Women’s Economic Empowerment by MFIs; and (3) Green & Sustainable Finance; Genuine Change from MFIs. The event is hosted by Uniglobal, a firm based in the Czech Republic that was established in 2002 and provides knowledge sharing and networking opportunities. The registration fee is EUR 1,500 (USD 1,633). For additional information, you may contact Oksana Zaleska at oksana@uni-global.eu or +420 226 220 450.
Author: Aarya Dhru

Pride Microfinance targets women, youth, FDPs, hosts in Uganda

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 12:58:38 -0500

Pride Microfinance, a deposit-taking institution in Uganda, recently partnered with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to fund a program called Tondeka, which can be translated as, “Don’t leave me behind.” Pride is accessing the local-currency equivalent of USD 290,000 to provide loans, guarantees, training and incubator services to micro- and small enterprises in the cities of Arua and Gulu. The goal is to reach 700 people who fall into one or more of the following categories: women, youth, forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and members of communities that are hosting FDPs. Pride has 44 service locations and reports total assets of USD 110 million.

Author: Yuchen Jin

SOCAP24 \ 28-30 October \ San Francisco, California, USA

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 10:38:27 -0500

The SOCAP24 conference is dedicated to solving global issues via market-based solutions, including by promoting partnerships for funding and technical assistance. It is arranged by SOCAP Global, whose name derives from the concept of “social capital.” SOCAP Global a part of the US-based Sorenson Impact Institute, which is housed at the University of Utah and has a total of four offices in Canada and the US. The conference agenda - which is still under development - is expected to cover topics such as Asia’s Net-Zero Transition, Blended Finance, Digitalisation in Finance and Sustainable Land Use. Tickets are on sale for USD 1,399 as of January, but the price is set to increase to USD 2,599 on an undisclosed date. For further information, you may email hello@socapglobal.com.

Authors: Courtney Huang and Tiyasha Sarkar

COFINA Côte d'Ivoire borrowing $15m from BII for MSMEs

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 10:57:20 -0500

The UK government’s British International Investment (BII) recently committed to issuing a senior loan equivalent to USD 15 million to benefit the Ivorian unit of Compagnie Financière Africaine (COFINA), a group that provides financing and incubation services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in seven countries in Central and West Africa. COFINA has agreed to channel at least 30% of the proceeds to woman-owned MSMEs. The lender has served 175,000 people of whom 45% are women.

Author: Courtney Huang