by Pranav Agarwal -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Joliba Capital Raises $58m in Equity from FMO, IFC, Proparco to Support SMEs, Mid-caps in Central, West Africa

Joliba Capital of Côte d’Ivoire recently raised EUR 55 million (USD 57.8 million) for its newly launched Joliba Capital Fund. The participants in this first close of the fund are the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO); the International Finance Corporation (IFC),

by Anaya Jhaveri -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Akbank Selling $300m in Bonds to DFC, AIIB, IFC – Half to Support Women-owned Businesses in Turkiye

Turkiye’s Akbank recently raised USD 300 million through the issuance of subordinated bonds to three development finance institutions. Half of the fresh cash is from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for on-lending for business and consumer purposes to women in “underdeveloped cities” in the country. The remainder is

by Rohit Dayanand -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFIs Invest $109m in Horizon Capital IV to Support SMEs in Ukraine, Moldova

Six public-sector organizations recently invested in the second funding round of Horizon Capital IV with the goal of enabling the equity fund to supply more working capital to “fast-growing, technology-enabled small and medium-size businesses” in Ukraine and Moldova. The fund also seeks to

by Renata Samadova -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Purchases 5% Equity Stake in ProCredit from IFC, Increasing Exposure to SMEs in Europe, Ecuador

The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently purchased a 5-percent stake in Germany-based ProCredit Holding from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), along with a

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global SME Finance Forum; September 19-23, 2022; Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Ninth Global SME Finance Forum will address the effects of digitalization on the financial sector, including the potential for digital transformation to facilitate “inclusive, sustainable, and responsible finance” for microenterprises as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first day of the event offers

by Sheen Gupta -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lending $124m to Absa to Increase Access to Housing in South Africa

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to loan Absa Group Limited up to ZAR 2 billion (USD 124 million) to increase access to housing loans for “thousands” of low- and middle-income families in South Africa. In addition to its home country of South Africa,

by Sheen Gupta -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $105m to CRDB Bank to Increase Funding for MSMEs – Especially Women-owned Enterprises – in Tanzania, Burundi

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced a loan equivalent to USD 100 million – half in local currency – to Tanzania-based Cooperative Rural and Development Bank (CRDB Bank) and a loan of USD 5 million to CRDB Bank Burundi. The goal of the loans to these two members of the CRDB Bank Group, whose head office is in Tanzania, is to

by Saulius Ramanauskas -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Vista Bank Launch $24m Partnership to Increase Access to Trade Finance in Burkina Faso, Guinea

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to enroll Guinea-based Vista Bank Group in its Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), giving the bank’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Guinea access to USD 12 million each to facilitate imports of essential goods such as “foodstuffs, raw materials, refined oil products, equipment [and] consumer goods….” IFC will also provide technical assistance to Vista Bank regarding governance and risk management. This follows a 2020 project through which IFC advised Vista Bank on

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Invests $6m in Peer-to-peer Lender Amartha from Inclusive Finance Fund, Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Increase Group Lending to Female Entrepreneurs in Rural Indonesia

Amartha, a firm offering peer-to-peer lending and other services in Indonesia, recently gained access to USD 6 million in debt financing from the Belgian impact investing firm Incofin Investment Management in an attempt to boost access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. Two thirds of the total invested comes from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), and the remainder is sourced from

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Grameen Seeking $50m in Debt from IFC for Financial Inclusion of Women in India 

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently moved to lend as much as USD 50 million in the form of a three-year senior loan to CreditAccess Grameen, a unit of CreditAccess India. The objective of the loan is to boost enterprise lending to women who live in

by Saulius Ramanauskas -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Loans $9m to Acleda Bank via IFC Syndication to Support SMEs in Cambodia, with Focus on Women Entrepreneurs

US-based asset manager MicroVest is lending USD 9 million for five years to Acleda Bank, a publicly traded firm that operates in three countries, to support Acleda’s provision of financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia, particularly those owned by women. The investment is part of a syndication for Acleda by the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) that is to include up to USD 100 million each from IFC and

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Group Nets Over $165m from IFC, BII, FMO, ResponsAbility, Symbiotics for Climate Projects, Financial Inclusion for MSMEs in Africa

Partially through its Financial Institutions Growth Fund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is paying an undisclosed sum to acquire a 6.7-percent stake in Equity Group Holdings, which has banking operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. IFC and the UK government’s British International Investment (BII) also are each lending the group’s Equity Bank Kenya

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Lender KixiCrédito to Boost E-services in Angola with Support from IFC

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with KixiCrédito, an Angolan microcredit company, to strengthen KixiCrédito’s “delivery of digital financial services to individuals and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.” The plan includes

by Sheen Gupta -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BOA Kenya Nets IFC Guarantee for Lending to Women-led, Climate-focused SMEs; Potential Performance-based Incentives

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with Bank of Africa (BOA) Kenya to expand its lending to women-led and climate-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). IFC will reimburse BOA Kenya for

by Divya Deshmukh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, FMO Loaning $50m to I&M Bank to Support SMEs in Kenya

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, along with Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently announced a loan package of USD 50 million for I&M Bank Limited, which is owned by the Kenya-based I&M Group. The funds are intended to

by Divya Deshmukh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lends $12m to Garanti BBVA Leasing Romania for Microenterprises, SMEs, Including Women-owned Enterprises

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 12 million) to Garanti BBVA Leasing Romania, which is controlled by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). The investment is intended to support microenterprises as well as