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. Continue Reading »

The government of Romania reportedly has simplified the tax rate for microenterprises, obliging them to pay a 3-percent tax on turnover. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

ProCredit Bank Armenia, a microfinance institution (MFI) and member of Germany’s ProCredit Holding, recently launched its Visa Business Card, which is supported by the 170-country network of US-based payment services firm Visa. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

ProCredit Bank Ukraine, a microfinance institution (MFI) and member of Germany’s ProCredit Holding, recently opened a new branch in the city of Kharkiv. Continue Reading »

Published by Global System for Mobile Communications Association’s mWomen Global Development Alliance, Visa and Bankable Frontier Associates; 2013; 40 pages; available at: http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/GSMA-mWomen-Visa_Unlocking-the-Potential_Feb-2013.pdf

This report analyzes connections between mobile financial services and women’s financial inclusion in the developing world. Continue Reading »

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, reportedly has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank, a financial services company based in the United Kingdom, to increase access to financial services for poor people in Asia. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle launched by German development bank KfW Entwicklungsbank, has informed MicroCapital that it recently disbursed an AMD 400 million (USD 974,000) loan to open joint stock corporation Araratbank of Armenia, a bank that primarily provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. Continue Reading »

By William O. Maddocks; Commissioned by the Global Microcredit Summit; 2011; 31 pages; available at: http://www.globalmicrocreditsummit2011.org/userfiles/file/Workshop%20Papers/W_%20Maddocks%20-%20How%20Can%20Microfinance%20Programs%20Help%20the%20Struggle%20Against%20Social%20Problems%20Such.pdf

This paper presents an analysis of the role of microfinance institutions in helping to solve “seemingly intractable social problems” including begging, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and discrimination against the disabled, all while maintaining financial sustainability. Continue Reading »

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), an organization that offers financing products to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects in Africa and Eurasia, recently informed MicroCapital that it has approved a three-year, local-currency loan equivalent to USD 599,000 to the MFI Oxus Tajikistan. Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based microfinance investment and asset management company, has told MicroCapital that it issued the equivalent of USD 8.5 million in credit through funds it manages to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Indonesia and Russia during the month of February. Continue Reading »

By Ralph De Haas, Heike Harmgart, Britta Augsburg and Costas Meghir, published by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, November 2012, 8 pages, available at: http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/economics/publications/specials/bosnia_mircofinance.pdf

This report from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) describes a randomized field experiment in Bosnia and Herzegovina analyzing the effects that a lack of credit may have on entrepreneurship and poverty. Continue Reading »

The Kazakh Ministry of Justice is reportedly in the process of registering a new law regulating microfinance that requires all “microcredit organizations” to convert to “microfinance organizations” within three years. Continue Reading »

Aspekt, a Macedonia-based information and communication technology company, has signed a deal to install its microfinance software for MicroFinS-DBS, a limited liability company based in Serbia that provides microloans. Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently launched a facility in Belarus to provide a total of up to USD 50 million in loans intended to fund investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Continue Reading »