IDB Invest, the private-investment member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently announced a local-currency loan totaling the equivalent of USD 50 million to Banco Compartamos, one of the seven units of Mexico-based Gentera. Compartamos provides
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gil Crawford Shifting Role at Microfinance Investor MicroVest, Joshua Moraczewski is New CEO
MicroVest, an asset-management subsidiary of US-based Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently announced that Joshua Moraczewski will serve as its new CEO, succeeding Gil Crawford. Mr Moraczewski
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kuunda Raises $2m in Equity to Expand Short-term Financing Model for Mobile Money Agents, Retailers, Consumers into 7 Countries in Africa
Kuunda, a Mauritius-domiciled financial technology (fintech) company, has completed its seed funding round with USD 2.25 million in new investment, led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based nonprofit Accion. The other investors include FINCA Ventures, Future Africa, Greenhouse Capital, Kepple Africa Ventures, Launch Africa, Magic Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures and Seedstars. The funding is slated to boost Kuunda’s existing operations – which span Tanzania and Pakistan – and allow it to expand into Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia during the remainder of 2022 and 2023. The firm’s offerings are:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Invests $7.5m in Evocabank of Armenia for MSMEs
Evocabank of Armenia recently gained access to USD 7.5 million from Switzerland-based Symbiotics to on-lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with goals including to boost market competition and job creation. Symbiotics sourced the funds from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tugende Borrows $2.6m to Finance Vehicle Ownership for SMEs in East Africa
Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently helped Tugende, a Uganda-based, technology-driven, lease-to-own vehicle financing firm, secure EUR 2.5 million (USD 2.6 million) in debt funding from an unspecified “European impact investor.” In addition
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Loans $5m to Banco Delta to Boost Post-COVID Economy in Panama via Financial Access for MSMEs
MicroVest, an asset-management subsidiary of US-based Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently invested USD 5 million to Panama-based Banco Delta. The loan is meant to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Launches 2nd Private Equity Fund, Seeking to Invest $300m in Financial Inclusion of 30m Poor Households, MSMEs
BlueOrchard Finance, a Switzerland-based member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently launched its BlueOrchard Financial Inclusion Fund, seeking to invest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BRAC Raising Debt from Global Partnerships, Proparco; Seeking to Expand Microfinance Outreach, Including into 3 New Countries
To grow its microfinance operations, BRAC International, which operates in a range of African and Asian countries, recently launched a programme to source debt from multiple investors, the first of which are Global Partnerships, an investment fund manager based in the US city of Washington, and Proparco, a development finance institution backed by the French government. With the new funding, BRAC International aims to grow its client base, which is made up almost entirely of women, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UsPlus Borrows $11m from Lendable, Absa to Boost Access to Factoring for SMEs, Including Black-owned, Rural Companies
Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently arranged USD 10 million in debt funding from US-based Lendable Asset Management for UsPlus, a South African funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This comes after UsPlus raised
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: R5 Raises $7m in Equity Investment Round Led By Global Founders for Vehicle-related Fintech, Insurtech in Colombia
R5, a Colombian provider of financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech) services, recently raised USD 7 million in an investment round led by Germany-based Global Founders Capital. Also participating were US-based Accion Venture Lab, Costa Rica-based Carao Ventures, US-based Endeavor Catalyst and Chile-based Magma Partners. Neither the
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Translating Digital Credit Transaction Data Into Consumer Protection Supervision,” by Daniel Putman, Published by Innovations for Poverty Action
The adoption of digital financial services (DFS) has increased significantly in lower- and middle-income countries in recent years, specifically the usage of digital credit via mobile phone messaging, mobile apps and web browsers. Among the benefits of digital loans is the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFR Releases Impact Assessment Rating Service for Microfinance Institutions
Microfinanza Rating (MFR), an Italy-based rating agency focusing on “inclusive and sustainable finance,” recently unveiled its Impact Assessment service, which it describes as offering “external, reliable and independent validation of the changes generated by the financial institution’s activities, in its clients’ li[ves].” The assessment uses indicators based on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada, African Development Bank (AfDB) Announce $78m for Lending to Gender-inclusive, Climate-resilient Agricultural SMEs
Global Affairs Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, recently announced a contribution of CAD 100 million (USD 78 million) to the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that works to alleviate poverty in Africa, to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Sells 30% Equity Stake in GlobalCorp of Egypt, as Amethis, EBRD, SPE Capital Acquire Controlling Stake
A group of three entities recently acquired majority control of GlobalCorp for Financial Services, an Egyptian provider of leasing and factoring services to small and large enterprises. The buyers are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 60 Decibels Microfinance Index Offers Impact Data from 18k Customers of 72 MFIs
Impact-measurement firm 60 Decibels recently released data it has assembled from 18,000 clients of 72 microfinance institutions (MFIs) that serve 25 million people in 41 countries. The report is based on a survey exploring changes in factors such as income, stress level, number of employees and ease of affording loan repayments, as well as levels of MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FICO, Círculo de Crédito Deploy Updated Credit Scoring System Seeking to Overcome Customers’ Lack of Credit History in Mexico
Círculo de Crédito, a Mexico-based credit bureau, and FICO, a US-based credit scoring company, recently implemented an updated credit scoring system to help lenders, insurers, automobile dealerships and other firms in Mexico to evaluate their customers. The companies estimate that “FICO Score 4” and “FICO Extended Score 4” will allow their clients to reach 8 million
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Sells 20% Equity Stake in ACEP Burkina to SIDI
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) recently sold the 20-percent equity stake in Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP) Burkina, a microfinance institution in Burkina Faso, that it had held through its Incofin CVSO fund. The buyer is Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement (SIDI), a French social business that is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: JSIL Initiates JS Microfinance Sector Fund to Lend to MFIs in Pakistan
Pakistan-based JS Investments Limited (JSIL) recently launched the JS Microfinance Sector Fund (JSMFSF) with the goal of providing “the opportunity to tap into the growth potential of Pakistan’s microfinance sector” resulting in “a reasonable rate of return while maintaining high liquidity.” The fund carries a minimum investment of