In a recent interview, Frontier Investments Group Managing Director Monica Brand discusses the sub-sectors within the microfinance investment industry in which Frontier Investments seeks to invest. Continue Reading »

BlueOrchard, a Swiss-based microfinance intermediary, has recently closed its BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund with USD 195 million in total commitments from institutional and individual investors. The BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund is a SICAV registered in Luxembourg in December 2007. It seeks to forge long-term partnerships with microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the world. It acquires minority stakes in MFIs and aims to play an active governance role by sharing international experience, information, networks and knowledge. Continue Reading »

MicroRate, a microfinance rating agency, has released its fifth annual survey evaluating trends in microfinance investment – “State of Microfinance Investment: The MicroRate 2010 Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Survey.” The 2010 MIV survey indicates that investor interest in microfinance funds and similar intermediaries remains strong despite the global recession. However, strong interest from investors is being offset by weaker demand for funding from microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2009, MIVs grew by 22 percent, but assets actually deployed to MFIs only grew 11 percent. This leaves MIVs with rapidly increasing levels of liquidity. By the end of last year, competition forced rates below the minimum level that some MIVs deem necessary in order to be compensated fully for the risk involved. Continue Reading »

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund (CBHF), a nonprofit organization created by former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to rebuild Haiti following the January 12 earthquake, has announced USD 1 million in new grants aimed at creating new jobs and promoting economic opportunity, including microfinance. An unspecified proportion of the grant will be used to finance the Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program (HELP), which will give recovery grants to “key” microfinance institutions (MFIs), which are defined as those having approximately 50,000 clients or more. Continue Reading »

Aabar Investments PJSC has recently announced investments of USD 34.5 million in BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund and USD 19.8 million in Oasis Fund. Continue Reading »

Swadhaar FinServe Private Limited, a Mumbai-based microfinance institution (MFI) with total assets of USD 2.1 million as of 2008, recently announced that it will receive INR 27.5 crore (equivalent to USD 5.9 million) in equity from several different investor organizations and private investors. Continue Reading »

Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry recently announced it would be launching a USD 500 million climate fund that will provide microloans for individual energy efficiency or renewables projects initially through local banks in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines and South Africa. Continue Reading »

responsAbility, a Swiss-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) manager, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested USD 201,000 in equity financing from two of the funds it manages in two microfinance-focused investment firms. Continue Reading »

In the global microfinance industry, the topic of valuation is being debated by investors and representatives of microfinance institutions (MFIs). In an article released by the Financial Chronicle, a Hyderabad-based business news publication, Padmaja Reddy, managing director at Spandana Sphoorty Financial, proposes that MFIs share similar business models with banks and non-banking financial institutions, but are unjustly undervalued. Investors respond that the risks involved in MFI investment are too high. In a related article, The Wall Street Journal, a US-based business newspaper, cites the risks involved in MFI investment. Avnish Bajaj, managing director of Matrix Partners India which has an investment in one of India’s largest microfinance institutions, states, “There are elements of bubble in this sector. Over-lending, lack of processes, excessive geographical concentration and excessive product concentration,” all increase investors’ level of risk. Continue Reading »

Event Name: Triple Bottom Line Investments (TBLI) Conference Europe 2010

Event Date: November 11- November 12, 2010

Event Location: Grange St. Paul’s Hotel, London, United Kingdom Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, will reportedly invest EUR 25 million (equivalent to USD 30.5 million) in the Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a fund founded in December 2009 that “provides refinancing to financial institutions for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and private households for financing energy efficiency projects.” Continue Reading »

Mimoza Enterprises Finance (Mimo), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) with a gross loan portfolio of USD 5.1 million, has received a loan of USD 1.5 million from Unitus Incorporated, an international nonprofit organization that provides funding and consulting services to microfinance institutions. Continue Reading »

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which reported total assets of USD 6.3 billion as of 2008, plans to provide up to USD 2 million to the Haiti Emergency Liquidity Program (HELP) under the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which was founded in 1993 and reported total disbursements of USD 112 million in 2008. Continue Reading »

Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned USD 1.6 million to five Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Amanecer of Colombia, Coopesparta of Costa Rica, Proempresa of Peru, FINCA Peru and Norandino of Peru. Continue Reading »

Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned INR 145 million (USD 3.14 million) to nine Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »

Oikocredit, a microfinance investment fund in the Netherlands with assets of USD 665 million, recently loaned USD 1.37 million to seven microfinance institutions (MFI) in Bulgaria, Tajikistan, Benin, the Philippines and Ghana. Continue Reading »

BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss asset management company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has provided USD 4 million in loans from its Dexia Micro Credit Fund to three Asian microfinance organizations. Frontiers, a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) in Kyrgyzstan, will receive USD 500,000. The Eskhata Bank in Tajikistan will receive USD 2 million. The Middle East Micro Credit Company (MEMCO) in Jordan will receive USD 1.5 million. Continue Reading »

BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss asset management company, recently invested USD 6.5 million from its Dexia MicroCredit Fund (DMCF) in three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Forjadores of Mexico, Women’s World Banking (WWB) Popayan of Colombia and D-Miro of Ecuador. Continue Reading »