The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion (CFI), established in 2008 as a branch of the US-based nonprofit Accion, together with US-based financial service providers Citi and Visa, recently announced the launch of Financial Inclusion 2020 (FI2020), an initiative designed to promote increased financial access for people worldwide. Continue Reading »
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to loan USD 7 million to Kor Standard Bank (KSB), a financial institution in the republic of Georgia, to increase funding for small and medium-sized enterprises. Continue Reading »
Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited (TMFB), a commercial bank in Pakistan that is majority-held by Norwegian mobile firm Telenor, recently issued two term finance certificates (TFCs) each worth PKR 500 million (USD 5 million) on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) in an effort to raise capital. Continue Reading »
MicroEnsure, a microinsurance intermediary founded by US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, has partnered with Telenor Group, a Norwegian mobile communications company, to launch MicroEnsure Asia, which will provide insurance products to Telenor’s business units in Asia. Continue Reading »
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the private-sector office of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), a multilateral mechanism established by the G20 group of 20 large economies, have announced that each of the organizations will invest USD 5 million in Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit social investment fund. Continue Reading »
IFMR Capital, an affiliate of the Indian nonprofit Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), a private trust that aims to provide Indian enterprises with access to financial services, recently listed a securitized debt instrument on the Bombay Stock Exchange that pooled loan assets from eight microfinance institutions (MFIs). Continue Reading »
YouthStart, a program that aims to increase access to financial services for low-income youth in Sub-Saharan Africa, recently reported that approximately 40,000 young people in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda have opened savings accounts with YouthStart’s partner institutions and deposited approximately USD 550,000 into those accounts since September 2012.
Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, an Italian foundation that supports microfinance, and the European Microfinance Network, a Belgian nonprofit with 99 members, have announced the fifth annual edition of the Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Award, which seeks to elevate the profile of best practices among actors in the European microfinance industry. Continue Reading »
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reportedly has announced that the government plans to inject USD 2.6 billion of capital into the country’s Village and Urban Revolving Fund (VF), a government-backed program designed to stimulate the economy. Continue Reading »
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international finance institution headquartered in London, has provided a four-year loan of TJS 29 million (USD 6.08 million) to Tajik microfinance institution (MFI) IMON International. Continue Reading »
“A Guide to Regulation and Supervision of Microfinance;” by Robert Peck Christen, Kate Lauer, et al; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); October 2012; 120 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/publications/guide-regulation-and-supervision-microfinance Continue Reading »
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, recently made a loan of USD 1.5 million to Al Majmoua, a nonprofit microcredit organization also known as the Lebanese Association for Development. Continue Reading »
Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Micro Credit Limited, the microfinance arm of Sri Lankan financial service provider LOLC, has received a five-year syndicated loan of USD 55.5 million. Continue Reading »
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg, recently disbursed approximately EUR 13 million (USD 17 million) to two Romanian financial institutions. Continue Reading »
The IFC Capitalization Fund, a global equity and subordinated-debt fund founded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, recently issued a subordinated loan in the amount of USD 40 million to ACLEDA Bank Plc, a retail bank based in Cambodia, to augment the bank’s financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Continue Reading »
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) based in Luxembourg, recently disbursed a EUR 25 million (USD 32.6 million) loan to Garanti Leasing, a subsidiary of Turkey’s Garanti Bank that provides real-estate and equipment leasing services, to aid it in serving more micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly in rural areas. Continue Reading »
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 15 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, to supplement lending to micro-small and medium sized-enterprises in the country. Continue Reading »
The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), a body of 50 large and medium-scale manufacturing and service sector businesses in Nepal, reportedly has promised to establish a USD 1 million social business fund over the next three years. Continue Reading »
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