Oikocredit’s latest round of microfinance investments has included several loans to microcredit organizations in Eastern Europe. Founded in 1975, Oikocredit is one of the larger microfinance investment funds, reporting total assets of $304 million as of year-end of 2005. $126 million of this is allocated to Microfinance Investments.
A Swiss microfinance investment fund founded in 2003, responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund reported $57 million in total assets at year-end 2005, with $53.7 million allocated to microfinance investments. ResponsAbility recently extended a $500,000 loan to the Small and Microenterprise Project (SMEP) in Kenya.
Oikocredit recently extended a six year, EUR 2 million (US$ 2.56 million) loan to Ghana’s National Investment Bank (NIB). Established in 1963, NIB is involved in both development and commercial banking. According to their 2005 Financial Highlights, the Bank had $210 million in total assets, with $132 million in gross loans.
MI-BOSPO of Bosnia & Herzegovina, received a EUR 1 million (US$1.28 million) loan repayable in 5 years from Oikocredit. Founded in 1996, MI-BOSPO is a microcredit organization which aims at providing financial services to women entrepreneurs. According to MIX Market, year-end 2004 figures indicated a $9.4 million gross loan portfolio made up of 9,206 active borrowers. Total assets were $11.4 million. With $4.3 million in total equity, the return was 17.83% and debt to equity ratio was 164.07%.
Private investor fund Oikocredit loaned $500,000 repayable in 5 years to the Centro de Promocion del Desarrollo Local (CEPRODEL), a Nicaraguan non profit established in 1991.
Continue reading “Oikocredit Loans $500,000 to CEPRODEL for Microfinance Investment in Nicaragua”
A Swiss microfinance investment fund founded in 2003, ResponsAbility Global Microfinance Fund reported $57 million in total assets at year-end 2005, with $53.7 million allocated to microfinance investments.
Continue reading “ResponsAbility Microfinance Investment in Cooperative Rural Bank of Bulacan”
Cambodian Enterpreneur Building Ltd was established in 1995 to empower entrepreneurial poor women in both urban and rural areas to develop income generating activities and microenterprise. At year end 2005, it reported 11,119 active borrowers with a $6.3 million gross loan portfolio out of $7 million in total assets. Total equity was $1.5 million with a debt to equity ratio of 359.32% and a return on equity of 15.64%.
Private investor Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund loaned $1 million to non-profit Pro Mujer Bolivia, member of the ProMujer network operating in Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua, and Mexico (see list and definition of microfinance networks here).
Continue reading “Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund, Managed by Incofin, Makes USD $1 Million Debt Investment in Pro Mujer Bolivia”
Both MFI’s PRESTANIC (Asociación fondo Nicaraguense para el Desarrollo Comunitario) and FADES (Fundación para Alternativas de Desarrollo) received $250,000 loans from private investor fund Incofin.
Continue reading “Incofin Loans USD $500,000 Total to Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s) PRESTANIC in Nicaragua and FADES in Bolivia”
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).
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.
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.
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 13th 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
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 1st 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.
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.”
RSS 1.0
Blogs that Link Here
