01 Sep.

0

The MicroBuild Fund Story: Habitat for Humanity and Triple Jump on forming the first investment fund for housing microfinance

Author: Patrick Kelley - Steven Evers
A few weeks ago, headlines covered former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s health while building Habitat for Humanity Homes in Canada. For the 34th year, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter brought hundreds of volunteers to construction sites where donated materials and contributions from donors were used to build homes for low-income households.That image of volunteers coming together to build a home is what people expect from Habitat for Humanity. But some are surprised when they find out we also sponsor a US$100 million investment fund for housing microfinance that finances work around the globe. Why do we do that? Some of Habitat’s history with microfinance and markets traces back to an accidental discovery. Typically a Habitat for Humanity house comes with a zero percent home loan to the family. Nonetheless, regulations on non-profits in Egypt prevented Habitat from lending out any funds; and a microfinance institution (MFI) offered to help. So a partnership formed whereby our funding was lent to households via an MFI partnership. Soon after, the MFI began lending its own money for housing. At first Habitat did not pay much attention to this – it wasn’t our program nor was it being done with our funding, after all. But eventually we realized how powerful this was. The MFI went on to lend much more for housing than our program ever could, and competing financial institutions responded with similar products. This was the beginning of a change in the market that would result in much more widespread access to housing finance than any of our non-profit programs could have on their own. And, indeed, unmet demand for finance for housing is massive.
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18 Aug.

0

Student lending: too risky, or the right product for mature MFIs?

Author: Anais Concepción - Omtrix
In 2010, Omtrix, a microfinance fund manager based in Costa Rica, saw that the greatest barriers to higher education for low-income youths was lack of access to financing. Omtrix wondered if this need could be met by microfinance institutions. Serving this sector would certainly meet their mandates, and MFIs already knew how to reach and serve low-income people. Omtrix hypothesized that under the right conditions, and with the right approach, student loans could be a viable product for MFIs. They decided to create a new fund to promote higher education. The new fund, called The Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF), would lend to MFIs so that they could in turn on-lend to bright young people whose aspirations lay beyond their financial reach. HEFF’s funding would be accompanied by a technical assistance program to train MFI staff in how to appraise, monitor, and collect on student loans, as well as offer other tools to launch a new product. Additionally, HEFF would serve as a pilot program to be replicated by other MFIs or funds in the future and across the globe. Over the past six years, HEFF’s original assumptions have been tested, and the innovative program has experienced some growing pains. Omtrix has begun the process of capturing lessons learned and best practices to disseminate those lessons to anyone who may want to replicate or build on HEFF’s model.
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03 Aug.

0

Crossing Over: A natural transition from micro to SME loans?

Author: Georgina Vázquez - Calmeadow
Today, the microfinance industry is much more than microloans. New products have been included in microfinance’s offering of financial products. Complementary products such as savings, remittances, and insurance, among others, are commonly offered by microfinance institutions (MFIs), and give them comparative advantages allowing them to differentiate themselves, in order to retain their clients and ensure their own growth. As part of that change in the international microfinance scenery, we have witnessed many MFIs around the world expanding beyond micro loans to include SME loans. Such decision, many times deemed as a “natural growth path”, is caused by more competitive markets that make it more difficult for MFIs to retain traditional clients, higher costs for regulated MFIs, and a natural pursuit of continued growth. Under those circumstances, many MFIs have considered the possibility of “crossing over,” offering loans in higher amounts to their own clients and seeking to enter a new market segment: small and medium enterprise loans (SME loans).
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30 Jun.

0

DRR Matters for Financial Service Providers Too! Resources for FSP Resiliency in the Wake of Disaster

Author: Christopher Addison - Sonya Salanti of SEEP Network
Earthquakes. Fire. Floods. Chemical spills. Conflict. Impacts of these disasters bring to mind loss of lives and livelihoods, disruption to communities and vulnerable populations struggling to recover and cope. The impact of disasters on financial inclusion and the role financial service providers play—or don’t play—in disaster risk reduction is not an immediate consideration when preparing for or responding to such emergencies. However, disaster preparedness and response is exceptionally important in the context of financial inclusion. Countries with higher concentrations of poverty, weak infrastructure and poor public services are more at risk. Experience has shown that financial institutions serving at-risk populations are as vulnerable as their clients to these disasters and crises. While the initial humanitarian and emergency response to crisis is crucial, there is a growing recognition of the value of disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies in preparing for and thus reducing economic losses associated with disasters. In an effort to raise awareness around this important topic, the SEEP Network’s global Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program, funded by the Citi Foundation, seeks to promote more resilient financial services markets in which financial service providers (FSPs) and their clients have the capacity to better anticipate, cope and recover from the negative impacts of disasters.
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26 Jun.

0

Gender, Islamic microfinance, Fintech, research & the future of microfinance explored at the recent European Research Conference on Microfinance

Author: Michael O'Connor-Joana Afonso of Portsmouth Business School
Portsmouth Business School was delighted to host the recent 5th European Research Conference on Microfinance from 12th to 14th June in England. Thankfully the weather gods obliged with over 130 delegates attending the event over each of the three days. A mix of established researchers with a number of leading practitioners infused the financial inclusion debate with insights and thought-provoking panel presentations. Topical themes across gender, Islamic microfinance, Fintech, research and the future of microfinance were probed in wide-ranging panel discussions. The event was opened by Andy Thorpe (Portsmouth Business School) and Christoph Pausch (e-MFP) and commenced by asking whether microfinance would live to the year 2030, a chilling prospect in itself. If so, under what guise would it do so – is there still the well-trodden ‘promise’ of microfinance? What are the challenges to its realisation? In the opening session chaired by Dirk Zetzsche (University of Luxembourg) perspectives were shared by Marek Hudon (Université Libre de Bruxelles and CERMi), Annette Krauss (University of Zurich), Sam Mendelson (Financial Inclusion Forum UK and Arc Finance) and Kimanthi Mutua (Sidian Bank Kenya). The panellists set the tone for the ensuing debate across increasing risks and regulation in the sector, the likelihood or not of possible downscaling by commercial banks and upscaling by microfinance institutions and the growing need for institutions to have appropriate strategies to survive. The panel arrived at a broad consensus as to the requirement to adjust to increasingly emerging technology-driven solutions in the context of growing levels of private capital and related product solutions offered by new market participants.
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15 Jun.

1

Recipes for Inclusive, Sustainable Housing

Author: Jenny Line - Building and Social Housing Foundation
At BSHF we were very interested to learn about the European Microfinance Awards and really keen to hear more about some of the great practice being identified. We have been running the World Habitat Awards since 1985. In searching for and sharing the best examples, we have a lot in common with e-MFP. Our objective is to identify and highlight approaches to housing across the world which make outstanding contributions to people’s living conditions. As a minimum we believe everyone should be able to afford their home, have access to basic services, and be free from the threat of eviction or displacement. This might seem like stating the obvious, but it isn’t something that can be taken for granted. Over the years, a large range of excellent examples have been identified in the countries of the global North and the global South. From the very beginning, our focus has been not only on the identification of good housing practices but also in the sharing of knowledge and experience to others who can transfer them in their own situations. The first international peer exchange to a World Habitat Award project winner was in 1987 and the exchanges have continued ever since. Really great approaches recognise, provide and guarantee the right to safe and secure housing; treat people and the environment with dignity; and work collaboratively to get the best out of people and places. Contexts, actors and circumstances vary hugely, but everybody tackling housing faces three crucial ‘sustainability’ challenges – social, environmental and financial
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11 May.

0

Building a market for Housing Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Habitat for Humanity Europe Middle East and Africa
Housing plays an important role in household asset building – providing both a place of protection from vulnerabilities as well as a base from which to be economically productive. Even low-income people prioritize investment in improving their living conditions. The base of the pyramid is estimated to spend over $330bn annually on shelter. The question is why we lack financing for housing? In Sub-Saharan Africa, the shortage of financing for housing is even more acute. As a result, poor and even middle-class households in pursuit of better shelter are often driven into the informal financial sector. Banks generally fail or ignore the financing of low-cost shelter, as the perceived risks and costs outweigh benefits. This problem is further accentuated by ambiguous property rights and legal precedents that constrain conventional ways of financing shelter. Thus, mortgage markets in the region remain small, providing access to only a small, elite segment of the population.
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14 Apr.

0

e-MFP and Financial Inclusion Forum Host London Panel Session to launch "Investing in Tomorrow" and Call for Applications for Housing Award

Author: e-MFP
The second e-MFP ‘Offsite Session’ of the year took place in London on Monday 10th April, in partnership with the UK’s Financial Inclusion Forum – the leading British financial inclusion network. The session was entitled "The Role of MFIs in improving access to and quality of education: Perspectives on the 7th European Microfinance Award and the European Dialogue" and was timed to coincide both with the launch of "Investing in Tomorrow" (e-MFP’s latest Dialogue) and last week’s launch of the call for applications for the upcoming Award on Housing. The event brought together a panel including Arc Finance’s Sam Mendelson (who was the lead author of the paper, as well as a member of the Award Selection Committee), Kaspar Wansleben from Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (a supporter of two of the 2016 Award finalists and key investor in education finance) and Nathan Byrd from Opportunity International’s Education Finance team, along with e-MFP’s Daniel Rozas. Katy Jones from Big Issue Invest and the Financial Inclusion Forum chaired the packed out event, generously hosted by Allen & Overy. Daniel opened the session by outlining the importance of education – its primary importance to households at all income levels and in all places, and the obstacles to universal access in low-income countries. The failure or inability of governments to provide free or affordable quality education to its people is a key reason for the emergence of low-cost private schools in many countries (and the channel for several of the Award semi-finalists’ initiatives).
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04 Apr.

0

Launch of European Microfinance Award 2017 on Microfinance for Housing

Author: e-MFP
We are delighted to announce the launch of the European Microfinance Award 2017 with its €100,000 prize, this year on Microfinance for Housing, all details of which can be found on the Award website. Each year, e-MFP launches the European Microfinance Award, in conjunction with the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu). And like previous years with their focus on agriculture, social performance management, the environment, post-disaster and crisis contexts, or last year’s edition on Education, this year’s Award is looking for applications from financial institutions that are innovating, exploring and testing new ideas, that go beyond their core financial services, and exemplify the evolution of the microfinance sector beyond boilerplate microenterprise credit. Housing is a great example of how to do this. After the health and safety of children, there’s probably nothing more important to people everywhere than adequate housing. It is a core human need and a top investment priority for families anywhere. But 1.6 billion people live without adequate shelter. By 2030 this will have doubled and the need will be mostly in urban areas, where more than half of the world population lives today and where it is estimated that 2 billion people will be living in slums, where, almost by definition, substandard and unsafe housing is the norm.
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30 Mar.

0

European Dialogue “Investing in Tomorrow” Presents Best Practice from Around the World on Microfinance & Access to Education

Author: e-MFP
The European Microfinance Award 2016 addressed how the microfinance sector can increase access to education among children and young adults in low-income communities. Won by Kashf Foundation of Pakistan and presented at a ceremony in November during European Microfinance Week, the Award received applications from 19 countries, showing a broad range of interventions by MFIs to help increase access to education. As in previous years, all the semi-finalists’ outstanding interventions have been profiled in a European Dialogue publication, entitled "Investing in Tomorrow", written by Sam Mendelson, with support from Micol Guarneri, Francesca Agnello – the consultants who oversaw the Award application and analysis – and Gabriela Erice and Daniel Rozas from e-MFP. The European Microfinance Award is one of e-MFP’s most prominent activities. A prestigious annual €100,000 Award which attracts applications from financial institutions around the world, it serves two parallel goals: rewarding excellence, and collecting and disseminating the most relevant practices for replication by others. This second goal is where "Investing in Tomorrow" comes in – describing the challenges facing MFIs, the types of interventions that can increase access to education, practical case study examples of the finalists and semi-finalists – organisations which put these models into practice – and what these excellent initiatives have in common.
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