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<p>African leaders gathered recently at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook. This year, a dominating theme was the emergence of the digital economy.</p>


Over a billion people lack identification, here’s how the World Bank is addressing this

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<p>The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced new financing of R1.2 billion to support FNB’s lending to small and medium enterprises, with a focus on women-owned businesses.</p>


IFC earmarks R1.2bn for women businesses

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<p>Stephanie Von Friedeburg, Chief Operating Officer at the IFC speaks to CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop at WEF 2108 about how to bridge the energy divide in Africa.</p>


How IFC plans to accelerate energy access in Africa

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<p>At the SME and Banking Africa forum, CNBC Africa spoke to Manoj Prashar, from IFC to help us understand how IFC is tackling Africa&#8217;s access to finance woes.</p>


IFC spearheading SME funding

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<p>The International Finance Corporation lent a record $19.3bn to developing nations this year. The funds are directed to the private sector are intended to help end poverty and boost inclusive growth.</p>


IFC lend record $19bn to developing nations in 2017

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<p>IFC has announced a loan of up to R2.6 billion to First Rand Bank Limited. This is aimed at expanding SME lending and strengthening support for small and medium enterprises by the formal banking sector.</p>


IFC initiates push to support SA SMEs with FirstRand Bank

<p>IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with The MasterCard Foundation, today announced a cooperation agreement valued at $1 million with microfinance institution FINCA in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the agreement, FINCA will expand access to credit and digital financial services for low-income people and small-scale entrepreneurs.</p>
<p> The Democratic Republic of Congo has made great strides in increasing financial inclusion in recent years, yet less than 11 percent of adults in the DRC have an account with a formal financial institution, and only 2 percent have access to formal and regulated credit services. Such financial exclusion can be a significant constraint on individual and overall economic development.</p>
<p> While mainstream commercial banks in the DRC almost exclusively serve large corporate clients, FINCA DRC focuses on providing financial services to small-scale entrepreneurs that constitute the largest part of the informal economy. FINCA DRC currently is the largest microfinance institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo, operating in four regions of the country through a network of 20 branches and 900 FINCA eXpress agents. About half of its 256,000 customers are women.</p>
<p> Andrée Simon, CEO of FINCA Microfinance Holding Company, said, “FINCA is dedicated to providing access to responsible and affordable financial services to low-income Congolese. This initiative will propel FINCA to better leverage the power of digital technology and put banking in the hands of our customers, no matter where they live.”</p>
<p> IFC will provide advisory services for two years to help FINCA DRC strengthen its ability to offer access to credit for customers and to expand its mobile banking operations to increase its reach by 200,000 new clients. The project is part of the Partnership for Financial Inclusion, a joint initiative of IFC and The MasterCard Foundation to expand microfinance and advance digital financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p> Riadh Naouar, head of IFC Financial Industry Group Advisory Services in Africa, said, “It is exciting to see how FINCA has already begun to transform the financial landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a ground-breaking mobile banking solution. Access to financial services for all is a cornerstone of inclusive economic growth and development.”<br /> ﻿</p>
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IFC, MasterCard Foundation & FINCA support financial inclusion in DRC

<p>African financial technology company Zoona has successfully raised $15 million in a Series B round of financing, showing an improvement from the first round of investment which was for $4 million. International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the lead investor.</p>
<p>“This investment round marks a key milestone in our journey to build a billion-dollar business that helps communities thrive,” says Mike Quinn, CEO of Zoona.</p>
<p>With the IFC only investing up to 50% of any given round of investment, it is joined in this investment round by first round investors Accion, Omidyar Network and Lundin Foundation.</p>
<p>Omidyar Network, which was founded by Pierre Omidyar, doubles its investment in the Series B round. The round also includes investment from 4Di Capital, a venture capital firm based in South Africa’s “Silicon Cape”, headed up by entrepreneur, investor and Zoona non-executive director Justin Stanford. Another investor, Lundin Foundation, provides capital to high potential businesses to create wealth and alleviate poverty, increased its investment in Zoona during this round. Only MEDA is not investing in the second round because its mandate is for early stage SEED investment and not for organisations seeking to upscale.</p>
<p>“Our existing Series A investors increased their investment to make up the remainder of the investment round. They did this because they share our values, back the leadership team and are as passionate as Zoona is about helping communities thrive,” says Quinn.</p>
<p>Zoona’s mobile money platform has already enabled more than 1,000 entrepreneurs to become Zoona Agents, creating over 2,500 jobs at 1,500 agent outlets in the process. It aims to reach 10 markets and 30 million active consumers across Africa by 2020.</p>
<p> “Zoona has made this possible in Zambia and Malawi and is planning to do the same in many other markets in Africa. Whether in the form of a money transfer or a cash collection network, these retail footprints play an important role in acceptance and adoption of the new form of money and will be critical for the financial service industry as it transforms itself,” says Andi Dervishi, Global Head of IFC’s Fintech Investment Group.</p>
<p>Zoona uses technology to provide financial services to underserved and financially excluded communities across Africa. It has over 1.5 million active users with its system and has processed over $1 billion in mobile money transactions since its founding 2009.﻿</p>


IFC

Over a billion people lack identification, here’s how the World Bank is addressing this

IFC earmarks R1.2bn for women businesses

How IFC plans to accelerate energy access in Africa

IFC spearheading SME funding

IFC lend record $19bn to developing nations in 2017

IFC initiates push to support SA SMEs with FirstRand Bank

IFC, MasterCard Foundation & FINCA support financial inclusion in DRC

Zambia’s Zoona raises $15 mln to reach 10 markets by 2020

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IFC

Over a billion people lack identification, here’s how the World Bank is addressing this

IFC earmarks R1.2bn for women businesses

How IFC plans to accelerate energy access in Africa

IFC spearheading SME funding

IFC lend record $19bn to developing nations in 2017

IFC initiates push to support SA SMEs with FirstRand Bank

IFC, MasterCard Foundation & FINCA support financial inclusion in DRC

Zambia’s Zoona raises $15 mln to reach 10 markets by 2020

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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