Progression Eastern African Microfinance Equity Fund (PEAMEF), a limited-life investment fund incorporated in Mauritius, has launched its operations in Nairobi, Kenya, with a mission aimed at improving microfinance in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Uganda. Continue Reading »

Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made local-curency loans equivalent to USD 1.8 million to Cambodian microfinance companies Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK) and Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Limited. Continue Reading »

Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested USD 1.5 million in Georgia’s Constanta and USD 2.5 million in Tajikistan’s Bank Eskhata. Continue Reading »

Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG recently reported to MicroCapital that is has lent the local currency equivalent of USD 1.5 million to Jordan’s Middle East Micro Credit Company (MEMCC) –with equivalent to USD 1 million from the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF) and equivalent to USD 500,000 from responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds (rAMF). Continue Reading »

In its first year of commercial operation, which ended September 2011, Corporacion para las Microfinanzas Puerto Rico (PR), a microfinance institution created and owned by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, granted USD 2.1 million to entrepreneurs on the island of Puerto Rico [1]. Continue Reading »

With seed capital of SGD 5 million (USD 3.96 million) from the Singapore Totalisator Board, a quasi-governmental gaming commission also known as the Tote Board, POSBank (POSB), a commercial bank in Singapore, and Social Enterprise Hub, an incubator of social enterprises in Singapore, have launched the MicroCredit Business Scheme (MCBS) to provide loans to citizens of Singapore with annual incomes lower than SGD 30,000 (USD 23,800). Continue Reading »

A consortium led by United Bank Limited (UBL), a Pakistani commercial bank with total assets of PKR 747 billion (USD 8.2 billion) as of December 2010 [2], reportedly has been selected as the highest bidder for 67.4 percent of the shares of Pakistani microfinance institution Khushhali Bank Limited, whose gross loan portfolio stood at USD 43.5 million as of December 31, 2010 [1]. Continue Reading »

Triodos Investment Management, which manages funds that invest in venture capital and social finance, has announced that it will act as co-investment manager alongside Women’s World Banking Asset Management for Isis Fund, an equity fund that aims to increase access to finance for women around the world. Continue Reading »

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly plans to set up the Micro Finance Initiative for Asia (MIFA), a Luxembourg-based USD 100 million microfinance debt fund. Continue Reading »

China Association of Microfinance (CAM), a Chinese network of 92 microfinance institutions (MFIs); China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges, a Chinese agency that promotes economic and technical exchange; Peking University Advanced Financial Information Research Center (PAFIRC), a China-based research institute; and CreditEase Microcredit Investment, a Beijing-based financial services firm, recently launched the Inclusive Finance Wholesale Fund I, which is billed as the first microfinance wholesale fund in China. Continue Reading »

Laws now exist in seven US states recognizing a form of organization called “benefit corporations” (B-corps), which aim to balance societal and financial benefit. Continue Reading »

The National Automotive Council (NAC), an agency of the Nigerian government, is planning to formally launch a NGN 1 billion (USD 6.3 million) microcredit facility for cooperatives of 10 to 20 automotive mechanics. Continue Reading »

Triple Jump Fund Management (Triple Jump), a Dutch investor in microfinance, recently issued its first loan to Finadev Benin SA, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Benin. Continue Reading »

The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government’s Department for International Development, has announced that it has invested USD 10 million in the Progression Eastern African Microfinance Equity Fund (PEAMEF), which will support microfinance institutions in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Continue Reading »

Earlier this year, Equitas Micro Finance India Private Limited (Equitas) demerged its microfinance business. Continue Reading »

Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility) recently reported to MicroCapital that funds it manages have disbursed loans totaling USD 4.5 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Continue Reading »

Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility) recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made loans totaling the equivalent of USD 3.6 million to several Cambodian microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »

During the quarter that ended on December 31, 2011, Indian commercial microfinance institution SKS Microfinance Limited (SKS) suffered net losses of INR 4.28 billion (USD 85.3 million), 11 percent higher than net losses in the previous quarter. Continue Reading »