EIB Awards for Innovation and Social Impact
From left to right: Carmelo Cocuzza (Head of Corporates Unit, Corporates, Business Development & Implementation Division, Global Partners Department, EIB), Oswin Kasunda, Head Personal & Business Banking, National Bank of Malawi, Malawi), Freddie Elias Kandiwo (Head Credit Management, Madison Finance Company Ltd, Zambia), Maria Shaw Barragan, (Director of the Global Partner Countries, EIB), Clara Chirwa, Head of Credit, First Merchant Bank Plc, Malawi), Tom Andersen, Head of Regional Representation Southern Africa & Indian Ocean, EIB)
At the third EIB Southern Africa SME & Microfinance Academy, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the European Union, honoured three leading inclusive financial institutions in Southern Africa for innovative solutions and social impact in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise finance. The EIB Southern Africa SME & Microfinance Academies are organised by Frankfurt School of Finance & Management as part of the Technical Assistance Programme to support EIB’s investment in financial institutions.
The awards were given at the EIB event, taking place from 5 to 9 February 2018 in Johannesburg. The winners of the awards were:
- Madison Finance Company Limited (MFinance) Zambia for mobile & basic agent banking with Mobile Network Operators integration linked to financial education;
- First Merchant Bank Plc (FMB) Malawi for making a number of various channels with technological innovation available and the cooperation with public entities to make public support funds available to the rural population; and
- National Bank of Malawi for organizing regional customer events that include training on Business Planning, Financial Management and taxes in cooperation with partners.
EIB activities in the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific region are designed to improve lives, create opportunities for people and for businesses and support sustainable economic development, in line with the EU’s New Consensus for Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2015, Verdant Capital successfully raised USD 10 million (equivalent in local currency) in debt financing for MFinance, with EIB being the lead investor in the transaction.