Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based microfinance investment and asset management company, recently told MicroCapital that it issued the equivalent of USD 9 million during March 2013 through two of the funds it manages to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Benin, Cambodia, Georgia, Mongolia, Paraguay, Peru and Tajikistan.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $1.9m to Mi-Bospo of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently loaned EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.9 million) to Mikrokreditna Fondacija Mi-Bospo, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Bosnia and Herzegovina that loans exclusively to women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Plans to Allocate $15m to EBRD Kosovo Sustainable Energy Projects (KoSEP) Framework
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based multilateral financial institution, plans to allocate EUR 12 million (USD 15.4 million) to Kosovo Sustainable Energy Projects (KoSEP), an EBRD framework intended to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the residential sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Lends $5m to Thaneakea Phum Cambodia (TPC) to Expand Housing, Microfinance Loans
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently finalized a USD 5 million loan to Thaneakea Phum Cambodia Limited (TPC), a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Alfalah to Offer Mobile Money Via Monet of Pakistan, Visa’s Fundamo
Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL), a Pakistani financial institution owned by the Abu Dhabi Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reportedly has partnered with two other Pakistani holdings of the same group, telecommunication services provider Warid Telecom and financial services company Monet Private Limited, to offer mobile financial services in Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Plans to Invest $20m in Da Vinci Private Equity Fund II for Financial Infrastructure SMEs in Commonwealth of Independent States
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral financial institution based in London, plans to invest up to USD 20 million in the Da Vinci Private Equity Fund II, which invests in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the financial infrastructure sector in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which is composed of the former Soviet republics.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Bolivia, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) Partner to Raise Awareness of Violence Against Women
Pro Mujer Bolivia, a branch of the US-based nonprofit Pro Mujer, recently secured unspecified support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, to raise awareness of violence against women among Pro Mujer employees.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Developpement international Desjardins (DID) Loans $500k to Cambodia Community Savings Federation (CCSF) to Expand Financial Cooperative Sector
Developpement international Desjardins (DID), the development subsidiary of Canadian cooperative institution Desjardins Group, recently disbursed a USD 500,000 loan to the Cambodia Community Savings Federation (CCSF), a financial cooperative network that serves approximately 30 financial institutions holding assets of USD 7 million in Cambodia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) Loans $1.4m to NMB Bank Parent for On-lending to SMEs in Zimbabwe
The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), a state-owned institution, recently issued a seven-year loan of USD 1.4 million to investment holding company NMBZ (National Merchant Bank of Zimbabwe) Holdings, which owns NMB Bank Limited, for on-lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International Hires Temenos to Customize its Insight Software to Document Social Impact
Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit that focuses on microfinance in emerging markets, has recently agreed to license Insight, a business analytics product developed by Temenos, a software company based in Switzerland. The organization will hire Temenos to customize the software to produce reports that measure the social impact of lending on borrowers and their communities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swiss Investment Company responsAbility Increases Debt Exposure to Bai Tushum & Partners of the Kyrgyz Republic to $11m
Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments has increased its debt exposure to Bai Tushum & Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) in the Kyrgyz Republic, from USD 6 million to USD 11 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Women’s World Banking (WWB) Partners with Australia’s AusAID on Microinsurance, 90k Jordanians Reached by Microfund for Women
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), an agency of the federal government of Australia, reportedly has pledged its support to Women’s World Banking (WWB), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, to assist with the expansion of international microinsurance services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Koota of India Receives $9.8m in Equity from Incofin, MicroVentures, Aavishkaar Goodwell, Creation Investments; $4m in Debt Funding from Deutsche Bank Microfinance Fund
Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, also known as Grameen Koota, recently received INR 532 million (USD 9.8 million) in its third round equity funding from Beligium-based investment company Incofin, Italy-based private equity firm MicroVentures, Indian-Dutch joint venture Aavishkaar Goodwell, and US-based for-profit company Creation Investments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loan of $39m to UniCredit Bank Serbia for On-lending to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Pending Final Approval
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based multilateral financial institution, intends to loan EUR 30 million (USD 39 million) to the Serbian branch of UniCredit Bank, an Italy-based financial group with operations in 22 countries, for on-lending to private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bridge Launches with $24m from Accion, Bamboo Finance, DEG, FMO, Paul Kocourek to Support Rural, Thrift Banks in the Philippines
Bridge, a financial services company that plans to provide “capability building services and capital” to rural and thrift banks that focus on low-income populations and micro- and small businesses in the Philippines, recently announced its launch with equity investments totaling USD 24 million from Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization; Bamboo Finance, a Luxembourg-based commercial investment firm; Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution; the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch public-private development bank; and Mr Paul Kocourek, Bridge’s co-founder and chairman.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tamkeen, Family Bank of Bahrain to Double Portfolio of Microfinance Support Scheme to $5.2m
Tamkeen, an agency supporting the private sector that is backed by the government of Bahrain, and Family Bank, a nonprofit Bahraini microfinance bank, recently signed an agreement whereby Tamkeen will fund an increase of BHD 1 million (USD 2.6 million) in the portfolio of the Microfinance Support Scheme, a joint program of the two organizations that offers financing services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, Invest $4.5m in Fusion Microfinance of India
Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds, and the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based corporation that invests in and provides technical support for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently invested INR 250 million (USD 4.5 million) in Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Fusion Microfinance Private Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Plans $200m to Expand Turkish Sustainable Energy Finance Facility (TurSEFF) for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Private Households
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based multilateral financial institution, is planning to extend the equivalent of USD 200 million in Turkish lira to the Turkish Sustainable Energy Finance Facility (TurSEFF), which offers credit lines for banks to use to fund investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.