MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financiera Edyficar Launches Microfinance Institution (MFI) Encumbra in Colombia

Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian bank holding company Credicorp, recently launched a microfinance institution (MFI) named Encumbra in the Colombian city of Medellin that will serve the micro- and small enterprise sector in the country.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jamaica Microfinancing Association (JamFA) Executive Director Raymond Gabbidon Says “Loan Shark” Accusation is “Unfair”

According to statements attributed to Mr Raymond Gabbidon, Executive Director of the eleven-member Jamaica Microfinancing Association (JamFA), the recent characterization [1] of the country’s microfinance sector as being afflicted by “loan sharks” by former Commerce Secretary Dr Chris Tufton is “unfair.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), IFC Capitalization Fund Invest $15m in Subordinated Debt in Nicaragua-based Banco de Finanzas (BDF)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a USD 15 million subordinated bond investment in Banco de Finanzas, a Nicaragua-based commercial bank that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panama-based bank holding company Grupo Banco de Finanzas.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Loans $6m to Peruvian Credit Unions Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Abaco, Fortalecer

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, has disbursed loans to Peruvian credit unions Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Abaco and Fortalecer to expand financial services via intermediaries, including other credit unions, private firms and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provide retail lending to rural clients.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Investment Management’s Rural Impulse Fund (RIF) Acquires 15% Equity Stake in Financiera El Comercio (FIELCO) From Accion Gateway Fund

Rural Impulse Fund II (RIF II), which is managed by Belgian microfinance fund manager Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), recently announced that it has acquired a 15.3-percent stake in Financiera El Comercio (FIELCO), a microfinance institution focused on rural and agricultural markets in Paraguay.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Water, Sanitation and Microfinance Toolkit 1: Introduction to Opportunities in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance,” Published by Water.org, MicroSave

“Water, Sanitation and Microfinance Toolkit 1: Introduction to Opportunities in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance;” published by Water.org and MicroSave, 2013, 75 pages, available at http://www.washmicrofinance.org/

Water insecurity and unhygienic sanitation practices pose significant health and financial risks in the developing world.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based TriLinc Global Impact Fund Invests in Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Peru

TriLinc Global Impact Fund (TriLinc), a US-based private investor in companies that it deems to contribute positively to socioeconomic development in emerging economies, recently disbursed a total of USD 5.7 million in loans through a series of investments in unspecified small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia and Peru.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Kreditech Raises $15m in Debt from Kreos Capital for Lending in Eurasia, Latin America

Kreditech, a German technology company that uses an online platform to assess the creditworthiness of loan applicants, recently announced that it has raised USD 15 million in debt financing from UK-based venture capital firm Kreos Capital (Kreos).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to Create $30m Credit Line for Retail Lenders to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Dominican Republic

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral financial institution that seeks to support sustainable economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently announced that it will create a USD 30 million credit fund that retail lenders in the Dominican Republic can access to expand financing deemed “medium- and long-term” to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Help Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Improve Risk Management for Small, Medium-Enterprises (SMEs) in Guyana

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), a commercial bank in Guyana, recently signed an agreement with the International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, to take part in a two-year financial risk management advisory project.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Donates $150k to Caribbean Information & Credit Rating Services (CariCRIS) of Trinidad and Tobago to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank, has approved a grant of USD 150,000 to the Caribbean Information & Credit Rating Services (CariCRIS) of Trinidad and Tobago to provide services including the creation of credit ratings for 60 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Caribbean.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru-based Financiera Edyficar’s Acquisition of 61% Stake in Mibanco Receives Regulatory Approval

Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian holding company Creditcorp, has received regulatory approval from the Peruvian Superintendency of Banks, Insurance and Pension Funds, the financial sector regulator in the country, for its proposed USD 179 million acquisition of a 60.7-percent stake in Mibanco, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) that is a subsidiary of nonprofit holding company Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund Invests $170m in Banco CorpBanca Colombia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund, an investment fund managed by an arm of the World Bank Group’s IFC, has announced a USD 170 million subordinated bond investment in Banco CorpBanca Colombia (CBC), a subsidiary of CorpBanca, a Chile-based commercial bank that is a subsidiary of Brazil’s Itau Unibanco.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Dvk to Host “5th Annual Impact Conference at Sustainatopia 2014,” April 16 – 18, 2014, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Event Name: 5th Annual Impact Conference at Sustainatopia 2014

Event Date: April 16 – 18, 2014

Event Location: Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Jamaica Introduces SIPP Registry of Collateral, “Super Form” for Business Registration to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

The government of Jamaica has initiated the implementation of the Security Interests in Personal Property (SIPP) Registry to facilitate financial access for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by supporting the use of non-real estate assets, including movable items, as collateral [1][2].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV), Ecom Agroindustrial, Utz Certified, AZMJ Support Small-scale Coffee Farmers in Colombia

The Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV), a facility of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has granted an undisclosed amount of funds to Swiss commodity trading company Ecom Agroindustrial to fund a pilot-lending program for small-scale farmers in Colombia to be carried out in mid-2014.