MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1m to VisionFund Senegal for Microfinance Lending

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently announced a local-currency loan worth the equivalent of EUR 1 million (USD 1 million) to VisionFund Senegal, which is controlled by the US-based, Christian nonprofit World Vision International. VisionFund Senegal provides

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Creditas of Brazil Buys Banking License from Andbank Brasil for $100m

The Brazil-based online lending firm Creditas recently acquired the banking license of Andorra Banc Agrícol Reig (Banco Andbank) Brasil, a member of the Andorra-based Andbank Group, for approximately BRL 500 million (USD 100 million). The deal allows Creditas to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest Lends $15m to Cordada to Bolster Lenders to MSMEs in Chile, Mexico, Peru

IDB Invest, the private-investment member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently announced a loan of USD 15 million to Cordada, a funder of financial technology (fintech) and other lenders to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Peru, Mexico and Chile. The deal includes a renewable two-year term as well

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $3.1m to Microfinance Institution Baobab Burkina Faso

The unit of France-based Baobab Group that operates in Burkina Faso has accepted a local-currency loan equal to EUR 3.1 million (USD 3.1 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Baobab Group offers microbanking, solar-powered devices and tablets in eight African countries as well as China. Its outstanding loans total

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silicon Badia, Sanad Fund for MSME, Arab Bank Accelerator, Sunny Side Invest Equity in Cartona to Digitize Food Supply Chain in Egypt

Four entities recently placed equity in Cartona, a virtual marketplace connecting Egyptian food wholesalers and distributors, for the first time: US-based Silicon Badia; Sanad Fund for MSME, which was founded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); Jordan-based Arab Bank Accelerator; and Egypt-based Sunny Side Venture Partners. Silicon Badia

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In $112m Deal, ADB, BII, LeapFrog, Premji Invest in Shubham Housing Development Finance of India as Elevar, Motilal Oswal Private Equity Exit

The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UK government’s British International Investment (BII), UK-based LeapFrog Investments and India’s Premji Invest (PI) – via its PI Opportunities Fund – recently announced they have led an investment in the India’s Shubham Housing Development Finance in local currency totalling the equivalent of USD 112 million. The four investors disbursed USD 78 million to Shubham as primary capital to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Lending $2.7m to Africa Negoce Industries, Buyer of Cashews from Smallholder Farmers in Benin

The Dutch cooperative lender Oikocredit recently granted a line of credit with a cap of EUR 2.7 million (USD 2.7 million) to Africa Negoce Industries (ANI) a trader and processor of almonds, cashews and coal in Benin. ANI plans to use the credit to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC, Citibank Invest $300m in Access Bank for SME Financing in Nigeria

The US government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently deployed USD 280 million in favor of Nigeria’s Access Bank to support about 4,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on women-owned and “climate-change focused” businesses. US-based Citibank is

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEWA Affiliate Sitara Raises $20m in Equity from Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Women’s World Banking, Ongoing Shareholders to Improve Housing Conditions for Women in India

SEWA Grih Lin, an Indian affordable housing finance company also known as Sitara, recently raised USD 20 million in equity, including USD 8 million from the Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI). Sitara sourced the remainder in unspecified portions from

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank of Kenya Secures $15m Guarantee from FMO to Support MSME Growth

Investment and Mortgages (I&M) Bank, a subsidiary of Kenya-based I&M Group, recently signed an agreement with Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, whereby FMO will deploy a guarantee from its Nasira risk sharing facility to encourage USD 15 million in lending by I&M Bank to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Cambodia Borrows $7m from Nordic Microfinance Initiative to Expand Financial Access in Rural Cambodia 

The Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) recently announced a subordinated loan of USD 7 million to Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Cambodia, a member of the Sri Lanka-based LOLC Group, to expand lending and leasing services for individuals with low incomes who live in rural areas. The deal follows

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ElectriFI, Oikocredit Invest $8m in Equity in Solar Panda to Expand Electricity Access for Off-Grid Communities in Kenya 

The government-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) and Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit recently announced equity investments in Solar Panda, a Canada-based provider of solar technology to households in Kenya. The goal of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Afrikamart Secures $850k in Equity to Improve Food-delivery Logistics, Boost Purchasing from Smallholder Farmers in Senegal

Afrikamart, a Senegal-based food distribution technology platform, recently secured USD 360,000 from Bloc Smart Africa, an investment fund managed by Luxembourg-based Bamboo Capital Partners, as part of a larger equity package. An additional

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Endiya Lead $3m in Equity Funding for AquaExchange for Digitization in Fish Farming, Shrimp Industry in India

AquaExchange, a firm digitizing the operations of India’s fish farming and shrimp industry, recently obtained USD 3 million in equity funding in a round led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion, and Endiya Partners, an India-based venture capital fund, with additional participation from unspecified ongoing shareholders in the company. Neither the breakdown of the funding by investor nor

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.4m to Chamroeun for Microfinance in Cambodia

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently announced it has disbursed a loan of USD 3.4 million to Chamroeun, a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI). Chamroeun offers loans for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KOMIDA Secures $3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance for Women in Rural Indonesia

Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA), a microfinance institution in Indonesia, recently borrowed local currency equivalent to EUR 3 million (USD 3 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. The wholesale loan is to be used to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CAURIE-MF Borrows $2.6m from Huruma Fund to Expand Agricultural Microfinance in Senegal

Spain’s Gawa Capital, the manager of the public-private partnership Huruma Fund, recently disbursed a loan of EUR 2.5 million (USD 2.6 million) from the fund to Coopérative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Économiques par la Micro finance (CAURIE-MF), a microfinance institution in Senegal, with the objective of creating employment opportunities by expanding

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baobab+ Borrows $5.1m from Symbiotics to Boost Solar Electrification in 6 Countries in Africa

Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investor focused on small businesses in low- and middle- income countries, recently extended a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 5.1 million) to Baobab+, a French energy and technology company, with the objective of increasing electrification rates in Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Founded in 2015, Baobab+ provides access to solar energy and digital technology with the goal of