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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
“Role Reversal Revisited,” by Damian von Stauffenberg and Daniel Rozas, published by MicroRate, 2011, 22 pages, available at http://microrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Role-Reversal-Revisited-…
This paper reviews the roles of development finance institutions (DFIs) and private lenders in funding microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »
Monday, February 6, 2012
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Ujjivan Financial Services has raised INR 127.9 crore (USD 25 million) in its fifth round of equity financing. Continue Reading »
Monday, January 30, 2012
Azure Partners, a Swiss company specializing in “socially responsible investments,” has launched Azure Global Microfinance Fund, a microfinance-focused “fund of funds” that will accept investments from both private and institutional investors [1]. Continue Reading »
Monday, January 30, 2012
UK-based relief agency Oxfam International and Swiss for-profit microfinance investment intermediary Symbiotics have jointly launched the Small Enterprise Impact Investment Fund (SEIIF) that will increase access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Africa while offering investors both “measurable social impacts and financial returns” [1]. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), a French public development finance institution, has donated EUR 1.8 million (USD 2.4 million) in technical assistance (TA) funding to Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II. Valued at EUR 120 million (USD 173 million), Rural Impulse Fund II is one of two funds managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management that invest in rural microfinance institutions [1]. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, recently announced that Mr Damian von Stauffenberg, the founder of US-based microfinance rating agency MicroRate, has been named to the eligibility committee of LuxFlag’s Microfinance Label [1]. Continue Reading »
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) and environment-related investment vehicle (EIV) certification organization, has launched a request for applications for the second LuxFLAG Environment Label, which is granted to EIVs in an effort to “reassure investor[s] that labeled investment funds actually invest the majority of their assets in environment-related sectors in a responsible manner” [1]. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International received approximately USD 200 million to launch its new subsidiary, FINCA Microfinance Holdings LLC (FMH). Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH, an Austrian investment company that specializes in microfinance, reports that the Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance, a sub-fund of Absolute’s Vision Microfinance, had a total fund volume of EUR 85.8 million (USD 109 million) with loans issued to 65 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 25 emerging markets as of December 2011. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that manages four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments totaling the equivalent of USD 2.3 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan, FINCA Armenia and Finance for Development LLC (FinDev) of Azerbaijan [1]. Continue Reading »
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa (PAMIGA), a Paris-based microfinance network, has opened an office in Ethiopia with the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) MicroLead Program, which aims to promote microsavings. Continue Reading »
Monday, January 9, 2012
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed an agreement to loan USD 100 million for the benefit of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Ukraine. Continue Reading »
Friday, January 6, 2012
Omtrix, a Costa Rica-based fund manager and financial consulting firm, has announced the launch of the Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF), a student loan financing fund to promote and finance higher education opportunities for low-income youth in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru. Continue Reading »
Thursday, January 5, 2012
SANAD Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investment fund, has invested in Lebanon for the first time with a USD 5 million loan to BLC Bank sal, a Lebanese commercial bank. Continue Reading »
Thursday, January 5, 2012
TBC Capital Asset Management Incorporated, a Canada-based investment management firm with a special focus on impact investments, is launching its TBC Capital Impact Investing Fund-I (TBCCIIF-I), which is a pooled fund established to invest in organizations that operate in the areas of: (a) microfinance – mainly tier-2 microfinance institutions and service providers to them – which will account for approximately 65 percent of the fund; (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “with high positive impact,” especially those involved in sustainable agriculture, which will receive approximately 20 percent of fund investments; and (c) clean and “base-of-pyramid” infrastructure, accounting for approximately 15 percent of the fund [1]. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
CBZ Bank of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Microfinance Wholesale Trust, which is affiliated with the Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions, have begun issuing loans of up to USD 50,000 to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Zimbabwe. Continue Reading »
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Since 1998, Peru has received a total of around EUR 121 million (USD 158 million) from the Spanish government’s Microcredit Fund (FCM in Spanish). Continue Reading »
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement with ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit organization, to invest USD 1 million in ACCION’s Chinese affiliate, ACCION Microfinance China (AMC). Continue Reading »