David Satterthwaite Articles

Ugandan Government Initiative to Subsidise Solar Power Equipment by 45% to be Implemented by Rural Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) - Click To Read Article
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Uganda, a semi-autonomous public-private partnership created by the Ugandan Government, has announced a 45% subsidy, up from the current 14%, on all solar power equipment. The subsidy will be will be promoted through a network of rural microfinance institutions (MFIs), and non-government organisations (NGOs), who will be providing a cash payout to those who install the solar systems, or a loan or a loan-offset.

Ugandan Government to Set up Laws for Regulating its Microfinance Sector - Click To Read Article
During the 2007 Citigroup Micro-entrepreneurship awards ceremony in Kampala on January 10, 2008, State Minister for Microfinance, Caleb Akandwanaho announced that a new law regulating the activities of microfinance institutions will take effect in June 2008. The law is meant to bring an end to corruption in Uganda’s savings and co-operative organizations (SACCOs) following dozens of complaints from customers claiming to have been fleeced of their savings, and police investigations in September 2007 of four savings and co-operative organizations (SACCOs) suspected of fraud, including the suspension of The Support Uganda Savings and Cooperative Society, and arrests of SACCO heads.

The National Microfinance Bank of Tanzania helps Bail out the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) with a USD 56million Loan - Click To Read Article
The National Microfinance Bank of Tanzania has joined a syndicate of local banks and pension funds to lend USD 238million to Tanesco, the parastatal electricity company, wholly owned by the Tanzanian government, money which will be used to pay off debts to suppliers and invest in new equipment. The National Microfinance Bank was founded in 1997, and is the third most profitable bank in Tanzania, holding USD 430million in deposits and assets. The loan to Tanesco supports NMB’s business interests, as well as those of its customers, as it organises collection services for the electricity firm via its network. Currently the Tanzanian government owns 51% of the bank, having sold off the remainder of its stake in 2005. The loan syndicate involved in the bail out includes five banks and four pension funds all from Tanzania.

The Citi Foundation Citigroups GrantMaking Arm Pledges USD 100000 to PlanetFinances Microfinance Training Programme in Middle East and North Africa - Click To Read Article
The Citi Foundation, the grant-making foundation of international financial services firm Citigroup, has pledged a USD 100,000 grant to PlaNet Finance, the French non-profit company that assists microfinance institutions (MFIs), towards the development of a microfinance training curriculum in Arabic. This will be aimed at MFIs in seven Arab countries and delivered through 50 course modules designed to provide them with skills in human resources, planning and strategy, products, accounting, supervision and finance. There will be five-day training sessions in Casablanca, Cairo, Beirut, Amman, Ramallah, Damascus and Sana’a over the next three years.

South African Microfinance Institution (MFI) Blue Financial Services and Nigeria’s Intercontinental Bank to Launch $25.9m Microfinance Bank - Click To Read Article
Blue Financial Services (BFS), a South African microfinance institution (MFI), and Intercontinental Bank Plc, Nigeria’s largest commercial and retail bank by assets, are collaborating to launch a Nigerian microfinance bank capitalized at NGN 3 billion (USD 25.9 million), the largest such institution in the country.

Police in Uganda Investigate Front Page Micro Finance and Three Other Microfinance Firms - Click To Read Article
Ugandan Police are investigating four savings and co-operative credit organisations (SACCOs) suspected of fraud. They are alleged to be cheating their clients and making withdrawal of deposit money very difficult. The organisations are Front Page Micro Finance, Faster Micro Finance, Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Support Uganda Finance Limited and Stade Rugando Finance, all based in Kampala. According to the police up to 50 people have made complaints against the firms, accusing them of refusing to fulfill withdrawal requests completely and offering high-value loans against low-value collateral.

PAPER WRAP-UP: Beware of Bad Microcredit by Steve Beck and Tim Ogden - Click To Read Article
In their short article published in the Harvard Business Review, Steve Beck and Tim Ogden warn that, though microcredit programs can be highly effective, companies need to exercise caution before investing in them because of the risk for such investments to backfire, both from a social development and a public relations standpoint.

Old Mutual (OM) Supports Expansion of Women’s Development Bank (WDB) Microfinance into KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with USD 710,000 - Click To Read Article
Old Mutual (OM), the largest financial services provider in South Africa, recently released a press release announcing a donation of ZAR 5 million (USD 710,000) to the Women’s Development Bank (WDB) Microfinance, a South African non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides micro-loans and training for poor, rural women.

Nigerian Government Creates $426m Microcredit Development Fund - Click To Read Article
Nigerian President Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua announced the creation of an N50 billion (the equivalent of over USD 426 million) microcredit development fund to be administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The new fund will be used to provide existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) with funding for credit creation and operational expenses.

Not Just Treasure in Heaven Alliance for Christians in Development ACID to Grant Micro Loans to Benefit Ugandan Schoolchildren - Click To Read Article
The Alliance for Christians in Development (ACID) Trust, a non-governmental development organization based in Uganda which, among other projects, provides microfinance services to rural women and youth, will be extending micro loans to parents who cannot afford to pay their children’s school fees. Typically, fees cost about USD 35 per term. A September 2006 report (pg 4) by Save the Children indicated that 1.1 million primary-aged children in Uganda are out of school, the majority because they cannot afford uniforms, books, and basic supplies. Under ACID Trust’s program, the plan is that parents will borrow from the trust interest-free, invest the money to make a profit, pay back the loan and save the remainder to put toward their children’s education.

Old Mutual and South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Launch USD 12.9M Microfinance Initiative, Isivande Women’s Fund (IWF) - Click To Read Article
The Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa (previously reported) has teamed with Old Mutual Group’s Masisizane Fund to launch the Isivande Women’s Fund (IWF), financing women-run enterprises in the country.

Old Mutual and South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Launch $12.9m Microfinance Initiative, Isivande Women’s Fund (IWF) - Click To Read Article
The Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa has teamed with Old Mutual Group’s Masisizane Fund to launch the Isivande Women’s Fund (IWF), financing women-run enterprises in the country. The new fund is the result of a 2006 study conducted by the DTI’s Gender and Women Empowerment Unit, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and FinMark. The study found that although women are more responsible managers of credit than men, they only receive 30 percent of loans, with black women receiving the least funding.

Lonrho to Acquire 51% Stake and Control of Mozambican Microfinance Bank, Socremo Banco de Microfinancas - Click To Read Article
Lonrho, the British conglomerate that is rapidly growing a portfolio of investments in Africa, has announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire 51% and board control of the second largest bank in Mozambique, Socremo Banco de Microfinancas (Socremo). The transaction is subject to Reserve Bank of Mozambique approval.

Kinnevik Invests $14m in African Microfinance Institution Bayport Financial Services - Click To Read Article
Investment AB Kinnevik, a Stockholm-based international investment firm, announced that it has invested USD 14 million in the African microfinance institution (MFI) Bayport Financial Services. The financing is provided as a combination of debt and equity.

JPMorgan Launches Social Sector Finance Unit to Bring Financial Services to Microfinance and Social Enterprises - Click To Read Article
JPMorgan, a US-based global financial services firm with assets of USD 1.5 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries, has announced the launch of a Social Sector Finance (SSF) unit within its Investment Bank.

KfW Entwicklungsbank, Development Arm of German Bank, Lends $14.7m to Moroccan Microfinance Institution (MFI) Fondation pour le Développement Local et le Partenariat (FONDEP) - Click To Read Article
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported that KfW Entwicklungsbank, the emerging-economy financing arm of a German banking group, issued a loan of EUR 10 million (USD 14.7 million) to the Fondation pour le Développement Local et le Partenariat (FONDEP), a Morocco-based non-governmental organization (NGO). The loan accompanies a convention of partnership signed by both parties that aims to establish a basis for future collaborations. The loan is refundable over eight years with a grace period of two years.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Blue Financial Services Group to Integrate HIV/AIDS Prevention with Microfinance - Click To Read Article
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced plans to work with Blue Financial Services Group, a publicly traded African financial services company with over 100 branches in seven countries, on a pilot HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention program in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. A statement released by the IFC explained that the program will target small companies and local communities, seeking to preserve jobs and businesses by integrating traditional financial services with HIV/AIDS prevention.

IMAGE Project in South Africa Proposes Use of Microfinance in Struggle Against HIV/AIDS Infection - Click To Read Article
IMAGE provides women with short term business loans of up to USD 1,300 operating on the presumption that an increase in earning power will encourage women to be more vocal at home, confronting unfaithful husbands about issues such as condom usage.

Grameen Foundation partners with local Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda to Relaunch Village Phone Initiative - Click To Read Article
The Grameen Foundation, a non-profit organization that tries to replicate the Grameen Bank microfinance model around the world through a global network of partner microfinance institutions, is relaunching its Village Phone initiative in Rwanda in collaboration with MTN Rwanda (a telecommunications company). The project, called Village Phone Rwanda Tel’imbere has four local microfinance institutions (MFIs) as partners. The project was initially launched in 2006, after a successful pilot scheme had run for a year.

Globalization of Microfinance Markets: an Overview and Some Conditions for Success by Dr. Jairo Morales-Nieto - Click To Read Article
Written by Dr. Jairo Morales-Nieto, Executive Director of local economic development consultants InterAfrica Corporate Ltd, this 10-page discussion on the necessary steps to transition from local to global microfinance markets was published in January 2008.

Five Talents Joins a Consortium of Fellow Christian NGOs to Support Microfinance Program in Sudan - Click To Read Article
Five Talents, a Christian development organisation supporting microfinance, has joined a consortium of organisations from the Christian micro-enterprise development (CMED) industry to fund a micro-credit program in Southern Sudan. The village banking initiative in the Wau Diocese was started in 2005, providing adult education, local savings mobilization, business development training, small business development investing and rural micro-credit provision.

Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria Approves $27.2m Loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for Rural Microfinance - Click To Read Article
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria, presided over by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, approved a USD 27.2 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as reported by AllAfrica.com. The loan, along with a USD 400,000 grant from IFAD, will constitute the core financing of IFAD’s Rural Finance Institution-Building Programme (RFIBP), a seven-year plan to strengthen rural microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nigeria as well as establish increased linkages between MFIs and mainstream financial institutions.

Compassion International Invests USD 5 Million in Opportunity International to Develop Microfinance in Africa - Click To Read Article
Compassion International, one of the world’s largest Christian child development organizations, will invest USD 5 million over the next five years in fellow Christian microfinance institution (MFI) Opportunity International. With this funding Opportunity International will expand its microfinance operations in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, offering microloans, savings accounts, insurance and business training to the families of Compassion-sponsored children and other community members.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Approves Conversion of Community Bank into Microfinance Institution (MFI) - Click To Read Article
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the conversion of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Community Bank Limited into a microfinance bank. The community bank has operated on the campus of Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria since March of 2003, and the majority of its shareholders are affiliated with the university. One source reports that, in its first year in business, the bank made a surplus that was “far in excess of its total paid up capital,” but no other sources were found to corroborate this information and no further information was found on the OOU Community Bank.

Citi Foundation Creates $11.2m Program with SEEP Network to Strengthen Trade Associations - Click To Read Article
The Citi Foundation will work with the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network (SEEP) to create the 3-year USD 11.2 million Citi Network Strengthening Program. The program will include 12 major microfinance trade associations and their members. The program’s goal will be to improve the integration of microfinance into the mainstream economies of developing countries. This includes improving participating trade associations’ ability to develop products and services which meet their clients’ needs. In addition, the program seeks to “enhance the industry’s infrastructure, introduce higher standards of management and governance, and promote the vital role of microfinance in providing the poor with access to financial services.”

Black Investors PLC of Britain Lends $13m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) Kagisano of South Africa - Click To Read Article
Black Investors PLC, a British investment company, has granted a ZAR 100 million (USD 13 million) long-term loan facility to Kagisano Financial Enterprises, a South African mass market credit provider. The loan will be earmarked for Kagisano’s advances book, bringing its value to over ZAR 300 million (USD 39.1 million). It comes during a period of brisk growth for the company, which has been opening about three new outlets a month as it offers new products and its customer base becomes more affluent. According to CEO Eugene van Niekerk, demand for Kagisano’s products has remained strong in spite of a high interest-rate environment. Black Investors PLC does not appear to have an Internet presence, and further information about the firm could not be ascertained.

Another Microfinance Institution (MFI) Closes in Uganda as Chaos Continues in the Sector - Click To Read Article
The Support Organisation for Micro Enterprises Development (SOMED), a microfinance firm in the Kibaale District of Uganda was shut down in December last year while police claim they are investigating allegations of extortion, embezzlement and fraud. The company had been offering low-interest loans since 2004.

AfriCap Microfinance Fund Attracts Notable Investors Including Nordic MicroCap, BlueOrchard and Gray Ghost, Raises Capital to $50m - Click To Read Article
AfriCap Microfinance Fund, established in 2001 as the first African private equity fund dedicated to the microfinance industry, has closed a second round of investment, raising its capital from USD 14 million (Sh 910 million) to USD 50 million (Sh 3.25 billion).


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