BanBif, a bank in Peru that was formerly known as Banco Interamericano de Finanzas, is reportedly planning to sell up to USD 400 million in bonds in an effort to expand its microfinance lending in the country. Continue Reading »

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Dutch Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans to the following five microfinance institutions: Caja Rural de Ahorra y Credito Quillabamba (Credinka) of Peru, Ugafode Microfinance Limited of Uganda, Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador (FACES) of Ecuador, Agora Microfinance Zambia and Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rural (ASDIR) of Guatemala. Continue Reading »

Fundacion Microfinanzas Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), a nonprofit affiliate of Spanish banking heavyweight BBVA Group, recently has taken a 31-percent stake in microfinance institution (MFI) Asociación Dominicana para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (ADOPEM) of the Dominican Republic for an undisclosed sum. Continue Reading »

Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), a state-owned development finance institution, recently extended a USD 1.5 million loan to Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Regional (CIDRE), a Bolivian non-governmental organization (NGO). Continue Reading »

The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), a project of the German re-insurance company Munich Re, and EC Global Insurance, a subsidiary insurance arm of the St. Lucia-based East Caribbean Financial Holding Group, recently unveiled a microinsurance product “Livelihood Protection Policy” (LPP).Speaking at the product launch, Leathon Khan, CEO of EC Global, reportedly noted, “This is for us a very proud accomplishment and a very proud moment in our continued development as a very innovative and forward thinking insurance provider. We really appreciate the positive response from the regulators and we can now move forward very confidently to offer this product to the public. This is a socially responsible investment in our people.” Continue Reading »

Opportunity International, a nonprofit organization headquartered in the USA that provides financial products in 24 developing countries, recently announced the establishment of a regulated microfinance bank that will take over the credit offerings it provides to underserved people in Bogotá, Colombia, in addition to rendering savings services. Continue Reading »

Juntos Finanzas, a US-based company offering mobile personal finance tools, recently was announced the winner of the 2012 Financial Inclusion Competition created at G2012 Mexico, the seventh summit of leaders from 20 large economies (G-20), and Ashoka Changemakers, an initiative of the US-based nonprofit Ashoka. Continue Reading »

According to the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2012, a recent report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Peru is the top country in microfinance for the fifth consecutive year due to its strong regulatory environment. Continue Reading »

The fourth European Microfinance Award, which focused this year on food security, has been awarded to Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Incorporated (ASKI) of the Philippines for its work serving people in rural areas with traditional financial services as well as community development efforts. Executive Director Rolando Victoria of ASKI, who is pictured at the right, stated that, “The motivation at the time [of our founding] was credit…. Now we were able to install a hanging bridge…linking farmers to markets.” Another way that ASKI has assisted its clients is by linking groups of customers with major buyers. A signature achievement was working with government partners to connect small-scale growers of onions and cassava with fast-food restaurant chain Jollibee Foods Corporation, which reported sales of PHP 44 billion (USD 1 billion) during the year ending June 2012. Mr Victoria reported that one of the challenges ASKI had to overcome was convincing farmers of the value of having a guaranteed customer with a price set in advance, even if market prices might turn out to be higher after the harvest. The award was presented as part of European Microfinance Week, which closes in Luxembourg on November 16. Continue Reading »

This morning, representatives of Luxembourg-based nonprofit Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) and the Red Centroamericana y del Caribe de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF), a network of seven national microfinance networks, presented their progress to date on their joint effort to promote product innovation and capacity building among microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The partnership, which was launched earlier in 2012, has a budget of EUR 5.5 million (USD 7 million) to be disbursed over a period of 4.5 years. The organizations have completed a survey of client needs in the region and have dedicated approximately 15 percent of the project budget to support networks in becoming self-sufficient, including through a fund to support national networks in developing products they can sell to their member MFIs. Continue Reading »

ResponsAbility Social Investments, a for-profit Swiss fund manager, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned the local-currency equivalent of USD 1.2 million as subordinated debt to Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito de Maynas, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI). Continue Reading »

Brazil’s National Monetary Council, a body charged with regulating and monitoring Brazilian capital markets and financial institutions, recently increased the limit for each microcredit loan from BRL 20,000 (USD 9,840) to BRL 40,000 (USD 19,677). Continue Reading »

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH (APM), an Austrian investment company that specializes in asset allocation, analysis and management as well as microfinance, recently disbursed loans to four microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Peru and one in Ecuador. Continue Reading »

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, recently announced that it will make a USD 4 million equity investment in Vox Capital Impact Investing Fund, a Brazilian venture capital fund targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups that serve the low-income population, also referred to as the base of the pyramid (BoP). Continue Reading »

“The State of Microfinance Investment 2012: MicroRate’s 7th Annual Survey and Analysis of MIVs;” published by MicroRate; October 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.microrate.com/downloads/78 Continue Reading »

The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), a US-based trade association and support organization for credit unions, and Boom Financial, a US-based mobile banking, payments and money transfer provider, have partnered in an effort to assist credit unions worldwide in offering mobile banking services to their customers. Continue Reading »

Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP) Inversiones y Desarrollo, a nonprofit holding company based in Peru, recently received the approval of Mexican banking regulators to convert Forjadores de Negocios SA, its Mexican microfinance institution (MFI), into Banco Forjadores, which is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2013. Continue Reading »

Fifteen microfinance institutions in the Caribbean have recently become beneficiaries of a USD 2.7 million technical cooperation fund that will provide customized staff training programmes. Continue Reading »