The loan received from Oikocredit was for 1 billion Ugandan Shillings (UGX), equivalent to about $558,000. It is the latest of several microcredit investments made recently by Oikocredit in Uganda (see Microcapital Blog Friday 6/9/06 and Thursday 6/8/06 for information on other transactions).

Continue reading “Oikocredit Microfinance Investments Provide Further Support in Uganda with $558,000 Loan to Feed the Children”

Oikocredit granted a five year loan for 500 million Ugandan Shillings (UGX), or $279,350, to the Emesco Development Foundation in Uganda. Oikocredit is one of the larger microfinance investment funds with 467 projects and assets totaling US$304 million at the end of 2005. According to the MIX Market, $126 million of this is allocated to Microfinance Investments.

Continue reading “More Microfinance Investing in Uganda by Oikocredit: $279,350 to Emesco Development Foundation”

The Microenterprise Development Network, or MED-net, is an initiative by World Vision. A Christian relief and development organization, World Vision had $301 million in total assets at year end 2005, as reported in the 2005 Financial Statements. According to the MED-net portfolio, World Vision’s Microenterprise Development program had 390,047 active clients in 46 countries, with $134,344,795 in loans outstanding at year end 2005. In Uganda, this program provides both community and individual loans to over 15,000 clients.

Continue reading “Oikocredit grants $335,220 loan to the Microenterprise Development Network in Uganda”

The Calvert Foundation recently reported that it has achieved $100 million in sales of its Calvert Community Investment Notes. This investment option, which seeks to mobilize capital for both financial and social returns, was the first instrument of its kind.

The Community Investment Notes allow investors to earn a set return of 0-3% while using their capital to support microcredit and small business loans endeavors, as well as affordable housing and other community development efforts. Proceeds from the Community Investment Notes fund a portfolio that includes 200 non-profit organizations in all 50 US states and 100 countries.

Continue reading “Microfinance Investor Calvert Foundation reaches Milestone”

The Calvert Foundation has made a second significant investment in the recently founded MicroCredit Enterprises LLC. It had also invested $3 million at the end of last year (see microcapital blog).

According to the Calvert Foundation’s press release, the funding received by MicroCredit Enterprises was just one of its recent microfinance investments. Others include $250,000 to MI-BOSPO, which provides microloans for Bosnian women; $326,396 to OikoCredit, one of the largest financiers of the Microfinance industry; and $600,000 to the Latin America Challenge Investment Fund, SA (LACIF), which provides loans to Latin American MFIs.
Continue reading “Calvert Foundation Invests Another US$1 million in MicroCredit Enterprises LLC to Fund Microfinance Investing”

ING Group is a Dutch company providing worldwide financial services including banking, insurance and asset management to clients in more than fifty countries. At the end of 2005, total assets were EUR 1,159 billion. As of April, 2006 ING was ranked as the 13^th largest financial institution in the world based upon market value.

ING Vysya Bank Ltd, which became an ING subsidiary in 2002 when ING took over management of Vysya Bank Ltd, is the first International Indian Bank. Vysya reported assets of EUR 866 billion and net operating profit of EUR 5.97 billion at the end of 2005.

On the retail side, ING Vysya Bank provides group loans to villages in India. At the end of 2005, $3.4 million had been dispersed through loans and $2.6 million had been collected as micro deposits. On the wholesale side, ING Vysya had provided $11.5 million in loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) as of November, 2005.
Continue reading “ING Poised to Expand Microfinance Investment Activity Beyond India”

Bob Patillo, founder of the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, will speak to the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network on Monday, May 1^st at 6:00 PM. Mr. Patillo will share his thoughts on the role of private investment in the growing microfinance industry.

Microfinance institutions are increasingly finding themselves able to take on private investment capital as the transition to profit generating businesses. Mr. Patillo will speak to this evolution in the industry through his experience as a founding partner of the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund and as a successful entrepreneur. Prior to his work at Gray Ghost, Mr. Patillo managed an industrial real estate development firm and founded the Rockdale Foundation, a family foundation with a commitment to service, social enterprise, and education. In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors for ACCIÌãN Investments, MicroVest, the Deutsche Bank Microcredit Development Fund, and Catalyst Microfinance Investors.

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vinod Khosla, lead a group of investors today in committing US$2.5 million to SKS Microfinance of India. Founded in 1998, SKS Microfinance reported having a loan portfolio of US$7,604,876 and total assets of US$9,130,885 as of March 31, 2005. Since then, that portfolio has grown to over US$14 million. The bank’s 42 branches and 400+ employees serve women in India’s poorest regions, in particular, the drought plagued Deccan Region. Though it has yet to report a profit, SKS Microfinance has brought its return on equity up from -55.85% in 2000 to only -0.06% in the first quarter of 2005. With annual growth pegged consistently at around 250%, a positive return should be just around the corner.

Continue reading “Sun Microsystems founder, Vinod Khosla, Leads Charge in India’s Largest Microfinance Equity Investment to Date, Joining with Unitus and Others in Investing US$2.5 million in SKS Microfinance”

Oikocredit, one of the larger microfinance investment funds with assets totaling US$304,662,000 at the end of 2004, recently completed sixteen new debt deals that touched various countries around the world. Based in the Netherlands, Oikocredit is a socially responsible investment fund that leverages a number of regional offices to channel loans to development projects in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Continue reading “Microfinance Investment Fund, Oikocredit, Spans the Globe with Latest Round of Debt Financings.”

Unitus, a non-profit microfinance investment fund with assets of US$7,100,000 as of August 2004, completed three new microfinance investment deals. Unitus provides both strategic consulting and funding for microfinance institutions using its “Acceleration Model.”
Continue reading “American Microfinance Investment Fund Unitus Strikes Deals with Pro Mujer Mexico and the Jamii Bora Trust of Kenya”

A new publication from KfW Bank Group is due out in early February. “Microfinance Investment Funds: Leveraging Private Capital for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction,” covers a broad range of relevant topics affecting the growth of the microfinance industry. Targeted at professionals within the financial world and development agencies, this work offers research and case studies on the roles of enterprise and capital markets in microfinance.

KfW, a German development bank, has historically been a strong partner to the microfinance industry. Most recently, the group participated in a å¥30 million equity financing with the World Bank that established the Southeast Europe Microfinance Fund.
Additional Resources
1) Microfinance Investment Funds: Leveraging Private Capital for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction2) KfW Bank Group3) MicroCapital Blog: World Bank Investing å¥30m of Equity in Microfinance Together with German Development Bank KfW to Establish “Southeast Europe Microfinance Fund” with an Expected Final Capitalization of å¥500m4) World Bank

ACCIÌãN International announced today that it has received a US$5.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will be used primarily to develop new partnerships with microfinance institutions and commercial banks in West Africa and India.
Continue reading “Has ACCIÌãN Opened the Gates’ To Microfinance Investing?”

Peruvian MFI, Mibanco, is off to the races. Guidance for 2006 is for 23% growth in profits and a 45% increase in lending. This comes after a banner year in 2005 that saw 74% growth in profits.

Continue reading “Microfinance Picking Up Steam in Peru: Mibanco Backed by Top Industry Investors”

Symbiotics, a new Swiss professional services firm catering to microfinance investors and fund managers, summarizes the investment funds landscape beautifully:

“Over fifty global and regional microfinance investment vehicles exist today, and at least as much local ones have been identified. All are expected to grown significantly in the coming few years. Foreign investment in microfinance totals over a billion dollars, and is growing rapidly (supply is expected to double in 2005 and double again by 2008).

Continue reading “Symbiotics Tells Story of Microfinance Investment Funds in Less Than 150 Words”

The World Bank Group’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest å¥20 million in mezzanine “B” shares with a 10-year maturity and å¥10 million in senior “A” shares with a seven-year maturity, in the soon to be established European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), which will eventually lend to banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs). The IFC’s stake is approximately 21% of the fund’s initial capitalization of å¥142 million. To reach its target of a å¥500 million capitalization within five years, EFSE expects to attract capital from multilateral and private institutional investors via multiple closings in the future. EFSE is expected to be the largest microfinance fund in Southeast Europe.
Continue reading “World Bank Investing å¥30m of Equity in Microfinance Together with German Development Bank KfW to Establish “Southeast Europe Microfinance Fund” with an Expected Final Capitalization of å¥500m”

Microfinance investment as a stand-alone category made headlines in today’s Wall Street Journal. While this article probably represents the culmination of a break-out year for microfinance investment, we still have a lot of work to do. The Journal describes the investment options as “small change”.

Quoting from the WSJ  

Small Change