Locfund Next, a debt fund managed by BIM Asset Management, recently received an investment of USD 8 million from US-based technology firm Google as part of USD 200 million Google has committed to support organizations that
Category: Latin America & Caribbean
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Huruma Loans $8m to Microfinance Institutions INSOTEC, FACES; Aiming to Increase Productivity of Farmers in Rural Ecuador
The Huruma Fund, an impact investment vehicle with commitments of EUR 120 million (USD 145 million), recently issued three-year loans to two microlenders in Ecuador: EUR 4 million (USD 4.8 million) to the Instituto de Investigaciones Socioeconómicas y Tecnol
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FIE NGO of Bolivia Buys Back Equity Stake in Its Spanish Subsidiary CONFIE from Impact Investor Bamboo Capital
Bamboo Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based impact fund manager, recently announced its exit from Spain-based Corporación para el Fomento a Iniciativas Económicas (CONFIE), whose holdings include Banco FIE, a microfinance institution in Bolivia. Bolivia-based Fomento a Iniciativas Económ
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Bank Strike $70m Deal to Boost SME Lending, Social Performance, Human Resources, Environmental Tracking
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently formed a partnership with Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Bank whereby JMMB Bank will receive from IDB Invest: (1) support “on the development and implementation of an environmental and social management system;” (2) capacity building services related to human resources; (3) a five-year loan of USD 35 million earmarked for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and (4) the arrangement of an additional lending package of USD 35 million funded by third-party banks. The funding will increase “the mat
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Latinia Invests in Fintech Ábaco, Microlender in Colombia, Mexico
Spain-based software vendor and financial technology (fintech) investor Latinia recently announced it has invested an unspecified amount of funds in Ábaco, a fintech active in Colombia and Mexico. Based in Colombia, Ábaco makes lending decisions using software that “identifies the behavior of delivery platform workers and freela
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, DFC, FinDev Canada Loan $390m to Davivienda of Colombia for SMEs, Environmental Sustainability, Women
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group; the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and FinDev Canada, a subsidiary of government-owned Export Development Canada, recently issued subordinated loans totaling USD 390 million to Colombia’s Banco Davivienda for repayment over 10 years. The deal will “provide new financing for work
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Debt Relief in the Pandemic: Lessons from India, Peru and Uganda;” by Elisabeth Rhyne, Eric Duflos; Published by CGAP
In response to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulators in approximately 115 countries directed financial service providers (FSPs) to grant debt moratoria and restructuring to their borrowers. The authors of this paper reviewed surveys, interviews and other materials regarding
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microsoft, IFC to Support Women Entrepreneurs, Forcibly Displaced Populations in Brazil with Business, ESG, Technology Training
Microsoft, a US-based technology firm, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently entered a partnership to deliver business and technology training in Brazil. This is to result in: (1) a publicly available workshop on January 26 regarding how to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) elements into a young business; (2) technology train
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico, Morocco Report Increases in Remittances Despite Dire Predictions Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Residents of Mexico and Morocco received more in remittances from family members living abroad during most of 2020 versus 2019. This despite predictions from sources including the World Bank that the COVID-19 pandemic would cause global remittances to decrease 20 percent “due to a fall in the wages and emplo
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: E-lending Company Creditas of Brazil Raises $225m in Equity, Eyeing Expansion to Mexico
Creditas, an online lending platform in Brazil, recently raised USD 225 million in equity, valuing the firm at approximately USD 1.75 billion. Among its plans for the new funds is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Blue Mahoe Buying 40% Equity Stake in Microfinance Provider Sprint of Jamaica
Blue Mahoe Capital, an investment firm based in the US city of Miami, recently agreed to purchase a 40-percent equity stake in Sprint Financial Services Limited, a Jamaican microfinance company, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is scheduled to close in March. Sprint plans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Introduces $10m Bond to Fund Affordable Housing in Colombia via Hipotecaria Compañía de Financiamiento
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform, recently agreed to issue a 4.5-year, senior, unsecured loan of COP 35.8 billion (USD 10.5 million) to La Hipotecaria Compañía de Financiamiento (HCF), a Panama-based mortgage lender, from the proceeds of a social bond Symbiotics is launching for this purpose. The goal is to increase access to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Loans $100m to COFIDE of Peru to Support Energy Efficiency, Renewables, SMEs
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending institution of the EU, recently loaned USD 100 million to Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo (COFIDE), a development bank owned by the Peruvian government, to provide support to small businesses and projects to reduce the climate impacts of energy usage. This includes investments
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jive, IFC Launch $320m Investment Vehicle to Buy Distressed Assets in Brazil; Freeing Cash for SMEs, Lenders
An entity of Jive Investments, a Brazil-based investment management firm, recently partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to purchase “non-productive assets” in Brazil, increasing liquidity in markets that have been bogged down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jive Distressed Fund III and IFC will invest USD 240 million and USD 80 million, respectively, in a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Loans $50m to BRDE to Support MSMEs in Southern Brazil in Retaining Employees During Pandemic
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which is owned by 48 member nations, recently issued a loan of USD 50 million, with a term of 15 years and a 5.5-year grace period, to Banco Regional de Desenvolvimento do Extremo Sul (BRDE), which is owned by three states in southern Brazil. BRDE will on-lend the funds through its Recupera Sul credit line product in an effort to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary goal is to help these firms to preserve employment in order to hasten economic recovery after the pandemic, decreasing the burden on social programs.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Gender Data in Financial Inclusion,” Published by CGAP’s FinEquity
This brief argues that research and analysis of sex-disaggregated data can allow stakeholders to accelerate the financial inclusion of women, bridging the gaps in women’s account ownership and finance for women-owned micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Building on its 2018 Data Bootcamp on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Juvo, Mastercard to Promote Alternative Credit Scoring Platform to Microfinance Institutions, Banks in Latin America, Caribbean
Juvo, a US-based financial technology (fintech) startup that uses transaction data analysis to create credit profiles for individuals in emerging markets, recently partnered with Mastercard to distribute its Financial Identity as a Service (FiDaaS) platform to financial services providers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). For people without traditional credit histories, the FiDaaS platform uses
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Invests Equity in TerraMagna, Fintech Using Satellite Imagery to Help Agribusinesses Lend to Farmers in Brazil
Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion, recently took an equity stake of undisclosed size in TerraMagna, an agricultural financial technology (fintech) startup in Brazil that partners with retailers of farming inputs on underwriting and funding loans to smallholder farmers. To review loan applications, TerraMagna uses a