The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 15 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, to supplement lending to micro-small and medium sized-enterprises in the country. Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international finance institution headquartered in London, recently announced plans to disburse financing facilities worth a total of EUR 13 million (USD 17.1 million) to Ohridska Banka, a Macedonian subsidiary of French bank Societe General that focuses on financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based development finance institution, recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 13.2 million) to BT Leasing Transilvania, a subsidiary of Banca Transilvania (BT), a privately-owned Romanian bank. Continue Reading »

At a recent meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population, Serik Abdenov, reportedly stated that his government aims to grow the cumulative microloan portfolio in the country to KZT 12 billion (USD 79.7 million) or more enabling the amount of microcredit loans to increase by three and a half times within the next year. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Cracking the Nut Conference 2013

Event Date: June 25 – June 26, 2013

Event Location: Dresden, Germany Continue Reading »

AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Azerbaijan, recently received a USD 10 million loan from European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based organization focused on economic development in southeastern Europe and parts of Central Asia, to expand its loan portfolio. Continue Reading »

Centre d’Appui a la Microfinance et au Developpement (CAMIDE), a Malian nonprofit organisation that supports microfinance and other development initiatives, recently partnered with Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organisation that supports MFI capacity building, and Banque d’Escompte (BdE), an entity of the Wormser Frères Bank in France, to launch a new service offering money transfers from France to Mali. Continue Reading »

Symbiotics Investment Group, a Swiss for-profit microfinance investment intermediary, recently raised USD 10 million in loan funds for Access Bank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, through Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise Bonds SA (MSME Bonds), an investing issuance platform founded by Symbiotics. Continue Reading »

Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), an organization that provides funding and financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects, recently issued an AZN 350,000 (USD 445,000) loan to Azeri Star, an Azerbaijani MFI. Continue Reading »

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union; the World Bank Group, a family of five organizations that provide leveraged loans and grants to developing countries; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently launched a new joint international financial institution (IFI) action plan that is intended to rekindle growth in Central and South-Eastern Europe by supporting private and public sector initiatives including infrastructure, corporate investment and local financial sectors. Continue Reading »

The fourth European Microfinance Award, which focused this year on food security, has been awarded to Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Incorporated (ASKI) of the Philippines for its work serving people in rural areas with traditional financial services as well as community development efforts. Executive Director Rolando Victoria of ASKI, who is pictured at the right, stated that, “The motivation at the time [of our founding] was credit…. Now we were able to install a hanging bridge…linking farmers to markets.” Another way that ASKI has assisted its clients is by linking groups of customers with major buyers. A signature achievement was working with government partners to connect small-scale growers of onions and cassava with fast-food restaurant chain Jollibee Foods Corporation, which reported sales of PHP 44 billion (USD 1 billion) during the year ending June 2012. Mr Victoria reported that one of the challenges ASKI had to overcome was convincing farmers of the value of having a guaranteed customer with a price set in advance, even if market prices might turn out to be higher after the harvest. The award was presented as part of European Microfinance Week, which closes in Luxembourg on November 16. Continue Reading »

This afternoon, the Remittances Action Group of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) met to share member experiences, plan future action steps and announce the release of the “Financial Literacy for Remittances and Diaspora Investments” handbook. The document, which is the first of three planned outputs to be completed by the group, was published by German bilateral development agency GIZ, with participation from PHB Development, a Belgium-based consulting firm, and e-MFP, which is a Luxembourg-based membership organization. As the handbook was released as a compact disc and on paper, it is not available online other than via the above link as of today. Details on the other proceedings of the meeting, such as the other planned outputs of the Remittance Action Group and news from action group members, are slated for publication by MicroCapital in a separate brief. Continue Reading »

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution based in London, recently extended a USD 60 million credit line to Garanti Bank, a Turkish private bank, to develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owned by women. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, will issue a microfinance bond to Japanese retail and institutional investors in an effort to expand financial access for poor people in South Africa and Turkey. Continue Reading »

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment fund that mobilizes capital for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned the local-currency equivalent of USD 453,000 to Opportunity Microcredit Romania (OMRO), a Romanian MFI that is a member of the US-based Opportunity International network. Continue Reading »

IsePankur, an Estonian online lending platform allowing individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises to borrow and lend to each other, recently began allowing anyone within the European Union to loan as little as EUR 5 (USD 6.40) to individuals and organizations in Estonia. Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH (APM), an Austrian investment company that specializes in microfinance and asset management, recently disbursed USD 3.2 million in loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina through a microfinance investment vehicle that it manages, the Dual Return-Vision Microfinance Fund. Continue Reading »

Western Union, a US-based financial services and communications company; ICICI Bank, a commercial bank in India;and Mastercard, a global payments and technology company  recently launched the Western Union- ICICI Bank Prepaid Card in India. Continue Reading »