MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.9m to Mikra for Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, has reported issuing a loan of EUR 1.9 million (USD 1.9 million) to the microfinance institution (MFI) Mikra of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mikra, whose head office is in the city of Sarajevo, seeks to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Lends $1.2m to Microfinance Institution Microinvest of Moldova

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg,
has recently announced it has provided a loan of EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.2 million) to Microinvest, a Moldova-based microfinance institution. Established in 2003 and majority-held by the Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund, Microinvest offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Huruma Fund Expands Impact to Mexico, Lending $15m to Mega, ProCredito for Agricultural SMEs

Spain’s Gawa Capital, manager of the public-private Huruma Fund, recently disbursed the fund’s first investments in Mexico, lending EUR 12 million (USD 12 million) to Mega and EUR 3.6 million (USD 3.6 million) to ProCredito, financial services providers whose clients include many agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both investees are active in lending intended to minimize the effects of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Monte Credit Borrows $600k from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Agricultural, Business Microfinance in Montenegro

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced disbursing a loan of EUR 600,000 (USD 600,000) to the Montenegro-based microfinance institution (MFI) Monte Credit. Monte Credit focuses on

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Refugee Investment Fund Lending $1.5m to FINCA Guatemala to Support Returning Migrants

FINCA Guatemala, whose name derives from that of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently agreed to borrow USD 1.5 million over two years from the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund, which is managed by Kiva Capital, a unit of the US-based NGO Kiva. The goal is to expand lending to “Guatemalan migrants returning

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Lends $860k to Salym for Microfinance in Kyrgyzstan

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has reported providing a loan in local currency approximately equivalent to USD 860,000 to Salym Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Kyrgyzstan, with the aim

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Albania, Georgia, Vietnam Borrow $8m from C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it has disbursed loans totaling USD 8 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Albania, Georgia and Vietnam through its Dual Return Funds. One of these loans was

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Fund to Focus Gender Lens on Education, Financial Inclusion, Health, Housing

Canadian asset manager Deetken Impact recently launched the Deetken Impact Alternative Finance Fund IV with a target volume of USD 100 million. Deetken plans to deploy the fund’s assets as “founder-friendly…

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Helmig’s FS Invest Buys 75% of Invest in Visions, Microfinance Fund Manager in Germany

FS Invest Holding, which is owned by Germany’s Helmig family, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire a 75-percent stake in Invest in Visions (IIV). Launched in 2006, IIV manages “investments in sustainable agriculture, social enterprises and social impact lending,” including in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and decentralized

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grupo Mega Nets $10m for SME Leasing in Mexico via Bond Sale to MicroVest

MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, recently purchased USD 10 million in bonds from Mexico’s Grupo Mega to support leasing by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which can help SMEs “remain capital-light [in a way] that

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASN Bank Lends EFSE $50m for Micro-, Small Enterprises; Households in Europe, Western Asia

ASN Bank, a retail banking member of the Netherlands’ de Volksbank, recently agreed to purchase EUR 50 million (USD 50 million) in notes from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), which provides investments and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other lenders in Eastern and Southeastern Europe as well as Western Asia.

The director of ASN’s sustainable finance team, Yvonne van Hoof, explained, “Via this investment, we are ultimately able to improve the quality of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Via InsuResilience Investment Fund II, KfW Seeks to Grow Climate Microinsurance in Africa, Asia, Latin America

German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) recently funded the InsuResilience Investment Fund Private Equity II (IIF PE II) to invest in firms helping people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to manage climate risks. In particular, the fund targets

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Respublika of Azerbaijan Borrows $8m from EMF Microfinance Fund for On-lending to SMEs

Switzerland-based investing firm Enabling Qapital recently disbursed a subordinated loan of USD 8 million from its Enabling Microfinance Fund (EMF) to Bank Respublika, which focuses on

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sahyadri Farms of India Raises $39m in Equity from Incofin, FMO, Korys, Proparco to Boost Smallholder Farmers’ Exports of Fruits, Vegetables

The Belgian impact investor Incofin recently led an investment round in Sahyadri Farms, an Indian firm that works with smallholder farmers to grow and process food for export. The value of the equity round is INR 3.1 billion (USD 39 million), including participation from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO); Korys, the impact investing firm of Belgium’s Colruyt family; and the French government’s Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (Proparco).

Sahyadri Farms is a “farmer-led” firm that buys nine crops from 18,000 farmers who tend

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In 1st Disbursement, Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund Loans $7m to Watu Credit Uganda to Expand Vehicle Financing

Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently issued subordinated debt in the amount of USD 7 million to Watu Credit Uganda, an affiliate of Kenya’s Watu Credit, which funds vehicles and mobile phones in six African countries. While Watu also funds smartphones, tuk tuks (three-wheelers) and cars,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Lends $2m to Migrante, Provider of Vehicle Loans to Migrants from Venezuela to Chile

Kiva Capital, a unit of the US-based NGO Kiva, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned USD 2 million to Migrante, a lender to migrants and refugees in Chile, through its Kiva Refugee Investment Fund. Founded in 2018, Migrante is a financial technology (fintech) firm with 27,000 borrowers, mainly

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management (I-AM) Loans $20m from Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds to MFIs in 8 Countries 

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it lent a total of USD 20 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in China, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru and three other countries through its Dual Return Funds during July 2022. I-AM has