Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a microfinance investment company in Singapore, recently informed MicroCapital that it has raised a total of USD 8 million in equity funding from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), which is owned by the Danish government; the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), which is backed by the Finnish government; and a Danish family office.
Category: South Asia, East Asia and Pacific
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org Launches WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Facilitate Access to Sanitation, Clean Water in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines
WaterEquity, the “social impact investment” subsidiary of US-based NGO Water.org, recently launched the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 with the goal of raising USD 50 million to “invest in enterprises serving water and sanitation needs among the world’s poor.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hedge Fund Route One Buys 0.88% Equity Stake in India’s Bharat Financial Inclusion for $15m
US-based Route One Fund I LP recently spent approximately INR 990 million (USD 15.4 million) to purchase 0.88 percent of the shares of Bharat Financial Inclusion, a for-profit non-banking microfinance institution (MFI) in India, via an open market transaction.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sri Lankans Urge Government to Allow Microfinance Institutions to Offer Microinsurance, Access Credit Information Bureau
M M Attanayake, the president of the 71-member Lanka Microfinance Practitioners’ Association (LMFPA), recently urged policymakers to amend existing law to allow microfinance institutions (MFIs) to offer microinsurance.
MICROFINANCE BRIEF: Pakistan’s Khushhali Microfinance Bank Borrows $20m from ADB for Farmers, MSMEs
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Philippines-based multilateral institution, recently announced it will loan USD 20 million to Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited of Pakistan to “expand access to credit for agriculture-related borrowers and small businesses.”
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Pasifika’s Financial Inclusion Innovation Summit; August 29-31, 2017; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Event Name: Financial Inclusion Innovation Summit 2017
Event Date: August 29 – 31, 2017
Event Location: Stanley Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Summary of Event: Previously known as Pacific Microfinance Week, this summit will address topics such as wealth creation, accelerating access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, how to ensure customer needs are being met
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd Sankalp Southeast Asia Summit; September 19 – 20, 2017; Jakarta, Indonesia
Event Name: Third Sankalp Southeast Asia Summit 2017: Local Problems, Global Solutions
Event Date: September 19 – September 20, 2017
Event Location: Hotel Bidakara; Jakarta, Indonesia
Summary of Event: The focus of the summit is to “strengthen Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem,” and the theme of this year’s iteration is “Local Problems, Global Solutions.” Discussions will address topics such as policy, health, energy, financial services and agriculture.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Announces Client Protection Certifications, Ratings in Asia, LAC
During May 2017, Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating (MFR), under license from the US-based Smart Campaign, determined that Kyrgyzstan’s Kompanion Bank and FINCA Pakistan have complied with the certification standards derived from the Smart Campaign’s seven client protection
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MBK Borrowing $15m from FMO to Grow Group Microfinance Loan Portfolio in Indonesia
Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution providing group loans to women in Indonesia, recently borrowed USD 15 million from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Netherlands-based development finance institution. This is the third loan FMO has provided to MBK
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Places $10m Equity Investment in Satin Creditcare Network to Support Microfinance for Women in Rural India
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Philippines-based multilateral institution, recently made an equity investment of USD 10 million in Satin Creditcare Network Limited, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI). The funding will be used to “expand and broaden” the institution’s services for unserved
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vision Microfinance Funds of C-Quadrat Loan $45m in Countries Including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Nicaragua
C-Quadrat Asset Management recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds loaned a total approximately equivalent to USD 45 million during April to unidentified providers of financial services in a range of countries including Cambodia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan as well as – for the first time –
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Lending $49m to Mongolia’s XacBank in Partnership with Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, IFC
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently agreed to loan USD 49 million to XacBank, a microfinance institution in Mongolia, to support lending to women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Lending $5m to Accion’s Early Dawn Microfinance to Support Women Entrepreneurs in Myanmar
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently agreed to loan Myanmar-based Early Dawn Microfinance Company Limited USD 5 million. Dawn lends to low-income women in living in urban and peri-urban areas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ant Financial, Emtek to Launch Mobile Payment Service in Indonesia
Ant Financial Services Group, a member of China’s Alibaba Group and the parent company of Alipay, and Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek), an Indonesia-based media company, recently announced plans to launch a mobile payment platform in Indonesia. The new service will run on BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Myanmar Disburses First Group Microfinance Loan from Branch in Amarapura
The Advans Group, which operates a network of 10 microfinance institutions from offices in France and Luxembourg, recently opened the first branch of Advans Myanmar in the city of Amarapura. Advans Myanmar is offering loans of up to MMK 1 million (USD 740) to groups of three to six traders and salaried workers.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Sectoral Migration Among Microenterprises in Madagascar, Tanzania Postal Bank’s Popote Digital Financial Services, Insurance Regulation in the Philippines
“Financial Constraint, Entrepreneurship and Sectoral Migrations: Evidence from Madagascar,” by Pierrick Baraton and Florian Léon, published by Making Finance Work for Africa, July 2016, 50 pages, available at https://www.mfw4a.org/nc/knowledge-center/resources/documents/documents-details/file/financial-constraint-entrepreneurship-and-sectoral-migrations-evidence-from-madagascar.html
The authors of this paper analysed data from 3,017 micro- and small enterprises that were clients of a microfinance institution (MFI) in Madagascar between 2008 and 2014.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Launches Financial Literacy App in 5 Languages
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of 53 Indian microfinance and non-banking financial institutions, recently launched a financial literacy app in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. The app offers users their credit histories, interest rates, payment cycles
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dragon Capital, Ruby Hill Launching Microfinance Institution in Myanmar
Dragon Capital Group, a Vietnam-based investment company with operations in Asia and Europe, and Ruby Hill Financial, a Myanmar-based financial services provider, recently announced that they are launching a microfinance institution called Ruby Hill Microfinance in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. Ruby Hill Financial