MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Seeking $1b for African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA) to Boost Microinsurance for Farms, Livestock Against Drought, Floods

The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently launched a fund called the African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA), aimed at increasing the continent’s resilience to adverse weather events. ACRIFA follows on AfDB’s Africa Disaster Risk Insurance Program, which supported the creation and uptake of insurance products and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB, Ingenosya Create Mada Business Linkage Online Portal to Boost SME Success in Madagascar

The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently introduced an online service called Mada Business Linkage to facilitate partnerships among companies in Madagascar, including to match firms with suppliers and subcontractors. The Madagascar-based technology company Ingenosya built the platform, which businesses can use for no

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Disbursing $1.6m for Green Finance in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire

The African Development Bank (AfDB) recently announced green finance facilities in partnership with the government of Benin’s La Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin (CDC) and the government of Côte d’Ivoire’s Banque Nationale d’Investissement (BNI). The aggregate value

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: SunCulture of Kenya Receives $11m Line of Credit for Solar Irrigation of Farms in Africa from SunFunder, AfDB, AlphaMundi, NDF, Triodos Investment Management

Kenyan solar-irrigation company SunCulture recently received a credit facility of USD 11 million organized and led by SunFunder, a lender to solar energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. The other participating funders are the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) Energy Inclusion Facility, Switzerland-based AlphaMundi, the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and the Netherlands’ Triodos Investment Management. NDF is an institution of the governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The terms of the loan to SunCulture have not been released.

SunCulture utilizes solar technology “to provide customers with reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting and mobile charging.” Its products, such as solar pumps, lights and drip irrigation systems, are used by both farmers and non-farming households in Côte d’Ivoire,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Joins NASDAQ Sustainable Bonds Network with 10 Listings, Including “Fight COVID-19 Social Bond”

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that works to alleviate poverty in Africa, recently joined the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) Sustainable Bonds Network (NSBN), an online platform promoting bonds that fund projects addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. As of July 2020, 10 of AfDB’s bonds are

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zola, EDF Harness Securitization to Expand Solar Energy in Côte d’Ivoire with Support from Credit Agricole CIB, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, Societe Generale, AfDB

Credit Agricole CIB (Corporate and Investment Bank), a member of the France-based Credit Agricole Group; the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation; and French investment firm NEoT Off-Grid Africa recently launched a securitization vehicle to enable Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire to increase its sales of solar power systems to households that are not connected to traditional power grids. Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire, which uses a

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Taking $13m Equity Stake in Yeelen Financial Fund to Boost Inclusion in West Africa

The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire, recently approved an equity investment of EUR 12 million (USD 13 million) in Yeelen Financial Fund, an investment vehicle that aims to strengthen financial institutions in the eight nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which also is known by its French acronym UEMOA.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Launches Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility in Effort to Bring 332m People – Mostly Women – into Formal Economy

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent, recently announced the launch of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion (ADFI) facility, a “financing facility designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion across Africa, with a goal of ensuring that 332 million more Africans, of whom 60 percent

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator Raises $62m for ShoreCap III from AfDB, CDC, EIB, KfW, OeEB to Invest in Financial Inclusion in Africa

Equator Capital Partners, a US-based manager of “impact” funds, recently announced the first close of its third ShoreCap fund, which will invest in African firms offering services such as microcredit, microinsurance, leasing, housing finance, and banking for small and medium-sized enterprises. Equator is seeking to raise a total of USD 150 million for ShoreCap III to invest over 10 years in about

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator’s Shore Capital Fund III Raises $15m from AfDB to Invest in Financial Inclusion in Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently agreed to invest USD 15 million in Shore Capital Fund III, which is managed by Equator Capital Partners LLC, a US-based “impact” fund manager, with the goal of “expand[ing] access to affordable and responsible financial products and services for the underserved market.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB), MasterCard Collaborate on Financial Inclusion in Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies on the continent; and MasterCard, a US-based payments and technology company, recently announced that they are launching a collaboration aimed at increasing financial inclusion in Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), World Bank Group (WBG) Issues Joint Statement on Climate Finance

A group of multilateral development finance institutions, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank Group (WBG), recently issued a joint statement on climate finance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Approves $5m Line Of Credit for AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria

AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria (ABN), a microfinance institution (MFI) offering financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently acquired access to a Line of Credit (LOC) in the amount of USD 5 million, equivalent in NGN, from the African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution providing loans and grants to governments and private companies.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Issues $80m in Local- Currency Bond in Nigeria’s Capital Market

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral finance institution based in Tunisia and gives loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, reportedly has raised NGN 12.95 billion (USD 80 million) by issuing a 7-year local-currency bond in the Nigerian market.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Announces $9m Line of Credit for Moza Banco of Mozambique for SMEs

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently announced that it will issue a local-currency credit line equivalent to USD 9 million to Moza Banco, a private financial institution that focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mozambique.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Loans $17m to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank) of Niger to Support Private Sector

African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently approved a credit line in the amount of EUR 13 million (USD 17 million) to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank), a commercial bank in Niger.