Gate Global Impact (GGI), a US-based, regulatory-compliant electronic marketplace that focuses on impact investing, has been acquired by Investview, another US-based financial services company [1].
Category: Key Players
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Purchases Entire $42m Issuance of Bonds by Rural Microfinance Institution Bancamía of Colombia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it purchased the entire stake of ordinary bonds recently issued by Bancamía S.A. (Corporation), a Colombian microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank Signs $25m in Financing Agreements with Banque Tuniso-Koweitienne, Tunisian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Taysir
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Luxembourg-based long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU), recently approved two financing agreements with a total value of EUR 21 million (USD 25.2 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sells Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company of Japan $100m in “Inclusive Business Bonds”
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it has sold five-year “inclusive business bonds” valued at MXN 1.5 billion (USD 100 million) to Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (Dai-ichi Life), a firm that offers life, property and casualty insurance as well as investment trust and related services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loan $24.2m to Macedonia-based Halkbank AD Skopje to Support Energy Efficiency; Housing; Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), and Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, recently granted loans of EUR 10 million (USD 12.1 million) each to Halkbank AD Skopje, a Macedonia-based bank, for expanding the bank’s work with micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) as well as to support energy efficiency and the housing market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Syndicates $30m Loan to Microfinance Institution FINCA Azerbaijan Including $15m From Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB)
FINCA Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) recently received a multi-currency, syndicated loan worth USD 30 million from the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, with the participation of Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of the Austrian government. Each institution will invest the equivalent of USD 15 million, and additional commitments totalling USD 10 million are expected from various international commercial investors and asset managers. The loan facility has a term of five years and the equivalent of USD 15 million of the principal is denominated in local currency [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Launches Microfinance Operations in Owerri, Nigeria
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has formally launched the operations of FINCA Microfinance Bank (FINCA MfB) in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria, following the issuance of its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 30, 2014.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Expanding M-Pesa Mobile Money to Europe, Vodafone Targets 35% of Romanians Without Bank Accounts
In Romania, UK-based telecommunications firm Vodafone has been expanding M-Pesa, its mobile money service that was first launched in 2007 in Kenya, from the pilot stage to a complete rollout.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, Creation Investments, DEG, International Finance Corporation (IFC), FMO Acquire 40% Equity Stake in India’s Equitas for $51.4m
The Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), which is owned by the UK government; Creation Investments Capital Management (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company; Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution offering long-term project and company financing; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group; and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced that they will invest a total of INR 325 cores (USD 51.4 million) to acquire 40 percent of the shares of Equitas Holdings, an Indian microfinance lender.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Peru, Colombia, the Philippines Top 2014 Global Microscope on Microfinance Business Environment
According to the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2014, a recent report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Peru is the top country in enabling microfinance for the seventh consecutive year.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Suisse to Fund Opportunity International’s “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Credit Suisse, a Swiss global financial services company with operations in 50 countries, has agreed to donate an undisclosed sum to Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance in 22 countries, to launch a three-year program entitled “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” that focuses on lending for education initiatives.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Provide $18m to Peru-based La Positiva Seguros Generales through Convertible Subordinated Loan to Expand Insurance to Poor People
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it will provide USD 18 million to La Positva Seguros Generales, a Peru-based insurance company, through a convertible subordinated loan to expand the availability of insurance to disadvantaged populations within Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Millicom’s Tanzanian Arm Distributes Profits of $1.8m to Tigo Pesa Mobile Money Customers
Millicom International Cellular, a Luxembourg-based telecommunications company that operates the brand Tigo, recently announced that its Tanzanian unit will distribute third quarter profits of TZS 3 billion (USD 1.8 million) to users and agents of Tigo Pesa, a mobile money service accessed by 3.6 million customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UK Department for International Development (DFID), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Create Digital Financial Services Unit in Pakistan
The Department for International Development (DFID), a development agency of the British government, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that supports innovations in health and education, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the International Branchless Banking Conference 2014 in Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $67m in Equity in Bank Alfalah of Pakistan to Promote Financial Access for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); Economic Growth; Job Creation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it will invest USD 67 million in Bank Alfalah (Alfalah), a Pakistan-based financial institution.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance Acquires Stake in Microfinance Institution Humo & Partners of Tajikistan
The Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance, a unit of Canada’s Desjardins Group, recently acquired shares in Humo and Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to support the expansion of the MFI in rural parts of the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Fundraiser Vittana to Cease Operations
Vittana, a US-based nonprofit that raises funds for microfinance institutions to lend to students pursuing higher education in developing countries, recently announced that it will cease to operate as an independent organization.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Sells 14.5% Equity Stake in K-rep Bank of Kenya to Existing Shareholders Centum Investment, K-rep Group
The Triodos Sustainable Finance Foundation, a unit of the Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently sold its entire 14.5-percent equity stake in K-rep Bank of Kenya, a commercial bank founded in 1999 that provides services to low-income people.