Banyan Global’s latest course for microfinance institutions (MFIs) is tailored to organizations that are transforming into regulated deposit-taking institutions or those that are growing and have more complex asset and liability structures. The course is appropriate for MFIs in both stable and crisis political and economic environments. Banyan Global has completed variations of this course in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and the West Bank and Gaza. For more information, please e-mail Banyan Global at contactus@banyanglobal.com.
SHOPS is the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) flagship project to increase the private sector’s provision of high-quality reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, and other health services and products in developing countries. To achieve these goals SHOPS provides technical leadership in optimal private-sector strategies; explores innovative approaches to expanding and improving the private sector’s provision of priority services; synthesizes and disseminates proven strategies, research findings, and tools; and provides country-level support in developing and scaling up successful private-sector approaches. As a subcontractor to Abt Associates on SHOPS, Banyan Global strengthens the private health sector in the areas of expanding access to finance and increasing providers’ viability by improving their business management capacity and strengthening their ability to access business support and linkages. SHOPS is a Leader with Associates Award funded by USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health and the Office of HIV/AIDS. Banyan Global is working in Zambia and Nigeria through the SHOPS project.
The International Finance Corporation hired Banyan Global to develop The Guide for Investors in Private Health Care in Emerging Markets. It is intended primarily for potential investors and financiers, such as commercial banks, investment funds, microfinance institutions, leasing companies, and other types of financial institutions. The guide reveals market opportunities, promotes understanding of the most common business models, and assists investors in identifying opportunities and evaluating potential projects. It also discusses the most common risks and barriers that investors face in the sector as well as ways to manage these risks and overcome barriers.
The International Finance Corporation hired Banyan Global to develop The Financing Guide for Health Care SMEs in Emerging Markets. It is intended primarily for owners and finance managers of health care businesses to expand their access to financing. It reviews the different types of financing and assists health care businesses to understand how bankers' perceive risks and opportunities in the sector, how bankers analyze loans, and how to present a case for financing. The guide examines common mistakes in applying for a loan and strategies for success, illustrating key points with real world cases.
Banking on Health was a five-year global project that sought to increase access to finance in the private health sector. Banyan Global was a subcontractor to Abt Associates and the technical lead. The project was funded through the United States Agency for International Development’s Private Sector Program indefinite-quantity contract. Banyan Global worked with local financial institutions, including commercial banks and microfinance institutions, to increase lending through bank training, loan product development, market research, and Development Credit Authority guarantees. The Banyan Global team also strengthened the creditworthiness of private health care providers by facilitating access to business-development services and improving market linkages. In addition, Banyan Global managed the Summa Foundation, a not-for-profit investment fund that provided financing to private health care providers. The project worked in 12 countries: Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Jordan, Romania, Georgia, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.
PSP-One was the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) flagship project to increase the private-sector provision of high-quality reproductive health, family planning, and other health services and products in developing countries. To achieve that goal, PSP-One provided technical leadership in optimal private-sector strategies; synthesized and disseminated proven strategies, research findings, and tools; and provided country-level support in developing and scaling up successful private-sector approaches. As a subcontractor to Abt Associates on PSP-One, Banyan Global strengthened the private health sector in the areas of private-sector finance, management, capacity building, market viability, provider networks and franchises, alliances, and public-private partnerships. PSP-One was funded through USAID’s Private Sector Program indefinite-quantity contract. Banyan Global worked in Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines, and Nicaragua.
Banyan Global was awarded a contract with the CGAP to serve as a technical service provider working on issues such as aid effectiveness and developing briefs and training. Banyan Global helped CGAP to finalize the 2009 round of SmartAid, which measures and rates how well development organizations are set up to provide funding and advisory services in microfinance, and promotes the transparent external assessment of funders’ management systems. Banyan Global also developed the Appraisal Brief that introduces the CGAP Appraisal Tool used to assess investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the Operational Tool for Donors and Investors on Performance Based Agreements that articulates the role of performance-based agreements in supporting effective funding to MFIs. Banyan Global also reviewed several other tools including the Human Capital Brief and the Country Level Effectiveness and Accountability Review Tool, which combines aid effectiveness analysis with financial systems analysis. In addition, Banyan Global took the lead in the review and updating of the CGAP Funder Course, a one-week hands-on course on how funders can make a difference in building financial systems for people living in poverty.
Banyan Global was a subcontractor to Chemonics on the Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project indefinite quantity contract, Knowledge Generation Project on the microfinance amid conflict research theme. As the technical lead, Banyan Global worked with USAID to conduct global research and disseminate findings about economic recovery after conflicts and disasters. The project held a series of forums to share lessons learned and best practices for economic growth in post-conflict environments and to identify areas where additional research and tools were needed. As part of this contract, Banyan Global also developed a series of case studies highlighting lessons learned on programs for post-conflict economic recovery in Afghanistan, Burundi, Kosovo, and Nepal. The project held a speaker’s corner on Civil Military Cooperation and released a synthesis report on research work undertaken during the project. The project also hosted an Internet-based seminar that disseminated many of the lessons learned.
Banyan Global was a subcontractor to The Services Group on the MCC Financial and Private Sector Development Project. The project facilitated the due diligence process for MCC financial and private-sector–related programs, projects, and activities proposed by eligible countries. It also provided technical assistance to MCC and country staff with regard to project design. In addition this project assisted with early stage project implementation following compact signing. Banyan Global’s role was to provide financial-sector, enterprise-development, and gender expertise to support the project.
Banyan Global was a subcontractor to DAI on a task order the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Development Credit (ODC) issued to support its Development Credit Authority (DCA) activities. Our experts evaluated DCA guarantees in Mexico to provide insight on the guarantees’ origination, implementation, and impact. In addition Banyan Global researched the role of the private sector in basic education. This research developed a case for private-sector involvement in the provision of basic education and explored the financing needs of schools and related service providers. It offered USAID guidelines for investing in the private basic education sector by using the DCA, a financial guarantee mechanism through the ODC.
In partnership with ACDI/VOCA, Banyan Global will help USAID explore how micro, small, and medium enterprises can contribute to, participate in, and benefit from competitive value chains and clusters. In addition to leading the development of the value chain approach to the delivery of health services in the private sector, Banyan Global will conduct stakeholder meetings and perform value chain analysis to consider the role and applicability of the value chain method. Banyan Global will also conduct trainings to support dissemination and project implementation.
Our firm is a subcontractor to Abt Associates on the Social Marketing Plus for Diarrheal Disease Control: Point-of-Use Water Disinfection and Zinc Treatment Project, a five-year task order under the USAID Private Sector Program (PSP) indefinite-quantity contract (IQC). This program's goal is to reduce child mortality by expanding the use of zinc for diarrhea treatment and point-of-use water-quality interventions for prevention efforts. Social marketing approaches, complemented by public-private partnerships in the manufacture and distribution of zinc and point-of-use products, will increase these products' reach and help ensure the program's sustainability. Banyan Global assists in the development and structuring of public-private partnerships. We also assess opportunities to structure Development Credit Authority (DCA) guarantees and develop Global Development Alliance partnerships.
Banyan Global developed a primer on microinsurance business models for the Financial Markets for Safety Net Unit program at the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group. The primer reviews the models for offering insurance services to the poor and discusses their organizational characteristics and coverage by region and type of insurance product, as well as their comparative advantages and limitations. The document is part of an insurance primer series to build knowledge of insurance principles among industry operatives and policy makers in developing countries.
USAID and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Working Group on Microinsurance commissioned Banyan Global to consolidate lessons learned in delivering insurance services to the poor and offer recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of donor support. Banyan Global conducted literature reviews, interviewed major stakeholders, and presented preliminary findings to the working group in November 2007. This work was completed as part of a subcontract to Development Alternatives, Inc. on the Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project.
Banyan Global developed a brief MicroNOTE for USAID on insurance products available for communities affected by HIV/AIDS. This note is part of a series on microfinance and HIV/AIDS that addresses the type of insurance products available in HIV/AIDS-prevalent communities, the institutional models used to underwrite risk and deliver these products, and future considerations for donors and implementers. This work was completed as part of a subcontract to Development Alternatives, Inc. on the Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project.
In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Banyan Global is conducting a global inventory of access-to-finance initiatives. Our team will identify financial products, services, and initiatives throughout the developing world to increase women business owners' access to finance.
Banyan Global, as a subcontractor to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, managed the Summa Foundation as part of the USAID-funded Commercial Market Strategies Project. The Summa Foundation, a not-for-profit investment fund, provides financing and technical assistance to private health care providers in developing countries. Banyan Global oversaw a $4.6 million loan portfolio and was responsible for all aspects of portfolio and investment management. Loans ranged between $200,000 and $1 million. Small and medium-sized health care providers received direct loans, while micro-health providers received the funds through on-lending agreements with microfinance institutions. Banyan Global maintained a delinquency rate of less than 1 percent and was responsible for meeting the Summa Foundation's financial, legal, and tax requirements.