GIIN – Impact Investing Network: an analysis of 300 impact investing funds

Posted on 22. March 2015 by hannah

GIIN blog3In my last blog “Practicing what you preach!? Social performance of 5 social investors” last week, I told you about social performance of 5 microfinance investors. I though we could broaden the subject a little by looking at impact investors.

More and more investors and fund managers do not only want to receive a return on their investment, but they also want to “do good”, or “have an impact.” In October 2007, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) was launched when the Rockefeller Foundation gathered a small group of investors to discuss the needs of the emergent impact investing industry.  The GIIN is dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing and addresses systemic barriers to effective impact investing by building critical infrastructure and developing activities, education, and research that attract more investment capital to poverty alleviation and environmental solutions. Continue reading →

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Practicing what you preach!? Social performance of 5 social investors

Posted on 17. March 2015 by hannah

SPOn March 11 and 12, the Social Investor and DFI Meeting on Responsible Finance 2015 is taking place in Luxembourg at the European Investment Bank. I thought this might be a good reason to actually look at some of the social performance reports these “social investors” publish.

For example, The Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (LMDF) recently published its very first social performance report. While reading it I became even more and more convinced that I would like to – if not compare – at least to understand better the content of these reports. Initially I thought it would be best to look at… Continue reading →

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What everybody should know about social performance in microfinance!?!

Posted on 11. March 2015 by hannah

SPOn March 11 and 12, the Social Investor and DFI Meeting on Responsible Finance 2015 is taking place in Luxembourg at the European Investment Bank. I thought this might be a good reason to look a little into the topic of social performance for microfinance investors or microfinance investment vehicules (MIVs).

Before venturing more deeply into the topic, I thought it would be good to define a few concepts around this topic and get all of us to the same level of understanding (especially me who is not very knowledgeable with regard to social performance). Continue reading →

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Do we need training on finance in Luxembourg?!

Posted on 8. March 2015 by hannah

EMWIt seems so: From March 9-13  2015, Luxembourg will celebrate its “Woch vun de Suen” in the context of the European Money Week.

With 4% of all households in Luxembourg being overindebted (12% for Europe), the Luxembourg Banker´s Association launched a financial education programme. Invited by INFINE (the Inclusive Finance Network), Jessica Thyrion and Philipp von Restorff presented from the ABBL, presented the background and the different activities on March 2 2015 which will happen next week. Continue reading →

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How does Ebola impact microfinance in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone?

Posted on 2. March 2015 by hannah

ebolaLast Thursday, the 30th Midi de la Microfinance organised by ADA had the topic “Ebola : What impact does the outbreak have on microfinance ? Concrete case with Crédit Rural de Guinée S.A.“.

These lunch time presentations and discussions take place in the Auditorium of the Banque de Luxembourg in Luxembourg and are a well-known even in the local microfinance community. Unfortunately I was out of the country, so I depend on secondary coverage by the Luxembourger Wort and Paperjam, and the documentation prepared by ADA. Unfortunately the very comprehensive report primarily provides information on how Ebola impacted the economy in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. There is not a word about microfinance. Continue reading →

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National minimum borrowing age of 21?!

Posted on 22. February 2015 by hannah

Not sure if any of you have read the FT this weekend, but there is an interesting commentary by Gary Silverman on page 9…..

He argues that considering the US has a national drinking age og 21, it should also think about a national borrowing age of 21 – at least for students who have yet to enter the workforce full-time and lack the cash flows or hard collateral that supports a proper loan application. Continue reading →

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Microinsurance 101 – the what, the how many, and the country profiles

Posted on 15. February 2015 by hannah

I have been always very much focused on the more usual products in microfinance, i.e., deposits, loans, transfers, etc. However, microinsurance is becoming more and more important. Due to my current mini-project with the MicroInsuranceNetwork, I actually had to learn very quickly what this product is about, how it is being delivered to low income clients, what the current challenges are, and what the regional differences are in terms of coverage. Continue reading →

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Microinsurance in Africa 2012 – impressive growth

Posted on 15. February 2015 by hannah

This blog primarily draws from a study published by Making Finance Work for Africa and the Munich Re Foundation aiming at updating and expanding on the 2010 Africa landscape study.

MI in AFricaKey Findings: With also some key data points on the left.

  • Although there are many organizations that offer community-based health cover, their individual volumes are very low.
  • Geographically, Southern and East Africa dominate in terms of coverage volumes. West Africa is on the rise, largely due to growth reported in Ghana and Nigeria. In Central and North Africa, the microinsurance sector remains rather limited.
  • Despite the overwhelming microinsurance coverage in Southern Africa (primarily South Africa), considerable regional differences remain in product outreach:
    • Southern Africa shows the majority of lives covered by life and life and a large portion of credit life products. This is because of strong cultural promotion of funeral insurance in that region.
    • West Africa has the greatest number of people covered by health products primarily because of the strong donor promotion of group ownership of insurance through community-based health insurance programs in Francophone Africa.  West and Central Africa have experienced significant growth in property coverage.
    • North Africa: Least coverage overall (together with West Africa), but greatest growth in life and accident products.
    • East Africa presents the largest coverage and growth for agriculture and the most for accident coverage.

Continue reading →

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Microinsurance in LAC 2014 – towards mass market insurance?!

Posted on 15. February 2015 by hannah

MI LACThe full report is not out yet, however we get a glimpse at the data via a preliminary briefing note due in Q1 2015. The study identified 48,6 million people covered in Latinamerica and the Caribbean (45,5 million had been identified in 2012 on 2011 data), i.e., 6,8% more lives covered than in 2011. The “microinsurance explosion” observed between 2005 and 2011 (14% CAGRs) has shifted towards a slower growth phase with continued dominance of life and accident products.

Eight institutions have entered the market in recent years and many others have launched new products, yet there has been very limited evolution in terms of the types of products offered. New products launched since 2011 still largely cover life or personal accident, with very few lives being reached with health, property, or agriculture covers. Continue reading →

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Microinsurance in Asia – a fairly heterogenic development of different markets

Posted on 15. February 2015 by hannah

pic MI asiaMicroinsurance in Asia and Oceania is growing fast. A number of governments such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines have started developing a regulatory framework to facilitate the development of innovative solutions. As more and more stakeholders see the potential of microinsurance for the insurance industry and for economic development in the  region, the demand for detailed data on the status of microinsurance grows.

Although informal and community-based insurances have existed for a long time, the history of formal insurance provision is relatively young in Asia and Oceania. Continue reading →

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