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

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Lends $525k to Smart Credit for Microfinance in Moldova

Smart Credit, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating 12 branch locations in Moldova, recently accepted a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 525,000 from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Founded in 2010, Smart Credit offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Lends $1.2m to Microfinance Institution Microinvest of Moldova

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg,
has recently announced it has provided a loan of EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.2 million) to Microinvest, a Moldova-based microfinance institution. Established in 2003 and majority-held by the Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund, Microinvest offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Invests Local-currency Equivalent of $650k in Moldova’s Smart Credit

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, a funder based in Luxembourg that promotes “financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship,” has granted local currency approximately equivalent to USD 650,000 to Smart Credit, a Moldovan microfinance institution. Founded in 2010, Smart Credit offers insurance products covering

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinvest of Moldova Borrows $3.4m from IIV for Microfinance, SME Lending

Agents for Impact (AFI), a Germany-based impact investing company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has lent the second of two tranches to Microinvest, a lender to households as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Moldova, on behalf of Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV). The disbursement of EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) completes an agreement between the parties valued at

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinvest of Moldova, FINCA Armenia Borrowing $10m from Invest in Visions for Microfinance

Agents for Impact (AFI), a Germany-based impact investing company, recently informed MicroCapital that it is issuing the following loans on behalf of Germany’s Invest in Visions (IIV): EUR 7 million (USD 8 million) in two tranches to Microinvest of Moldova and USD 2.5 million to FINCA Armenia, a unit of US-based FINCA Impact Finance. AFI has disbursed the entire loan to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $4.6m to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK), Microinvest of Moldova, Monte Credit of Montenegro

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing loans to: (1) Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) in the amount of EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.8 million); (2) Moldova-based Microinvest in local currency approximately

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $2.4m to Microinvest of Moldova for Microfinance, Mostly in Rural Areas

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently loaned approximately MDL 39 million (USD 2.4 million) to Microinvest, a microlender in Moldova. Microinvest offers collateral and collateral-free loans for business, agriculture, housing, vehicles and consumption. These loans range in size from MDL 2,000 (USD 120) to MDL 4 million (USD 240,000), with terms of 3 months to 7 years. Microinvest has a portfolio of MDL 1.9 billion (USD 114 million) outstanding to 35,000 clients as of 2020. About two thirds of these customers live in rural areas, and the male-female ratio is even.

Microinvest is majority held by Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund. The Romania-based Banca Transilvania Financial Group was seeking

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Lending $2.4m to BT Leasing MD to Support MSEs in Moldova During Coronavirus Pandemic

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently agreed to loan EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) to Banca Transilvania (BT) Leasing MD, a Moldovan entity controlled by Romania’s BT, to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) that need

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banca Transilvania Acquiring Microinvest, Microfinance Institution in Moldova

Pending government approval, Romania’s Banca Transilvania (BT) Financial Group is slated to acquire 100 percent of the equity in Microinvest, a Moldovan microfinance institution, for an undisclosed price. The MFI is being sold by a group of European and US-based entities, led by the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $21.4m to Microfinance Institutions in Bolivia, Cambodia, Kosovo, Moldova, Tajikistan – Including $11.1m to Eskhata Bank

Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 11.1 million) to Eskhata Bank, a provider of microfinance and traditional financial services in Tajikistan, in an effort to stimulate economic development in the country, including in rural areas. The investment is one of a group of loans totaling

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Sells 9% Equity Stake in Mobiasbanca of Moldova for $2.9m as Societe Generale Sells Majority Stake to OTP

A shareholder in Mobiasbanca since 2008, the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently exited its holding in Moldova’s Mobiasbanca. EBRD sold this 8.84-percent stake to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Societe Generale’s MobiasBanca, European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Partner on “My First Card” Financial Education in Moldova

MobiasBanca, the Moldovan subsidiary of France-based Groupe Societe Generale, has been funded by the development facility of the Luxembourg-domiciled European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to support financial education for youth in Moldova. Through the “My First Card” campaign, youth have been trained to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Sweden Gives $3m for EBRD’s Women in Business Programme for SMEs in Moldova

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently disbursed a grant in the amount of SEK 26 million (USD 3 million) to support its Women in Business Programme in Moldova. The funds, which have been supplied by the Swedish government

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, TaiwanICDF Lending $4m to Moldovan Express Leasing

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development institution, recently announced it will loan USD 4 million to Express Leasing and Microcredit, a non-bank financial institution in Moldova that has been owned by US-based private equity firm NCH Capital Group since 2009.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Group’s DCFTA Initiative East, InnovFin Supporting SMEs in Georgia, Moldova, the Ukraine; ProCredit Secures $56m Partial Loan Guarantee

Both arms of the EU-affiliated EIB Group, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), are implementing two programs intended to fortify the private sectors of Georgia, Moldova and the Ukraine [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Funds Loan $1.5m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Costa Rica, Moldova

During March 2016, Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management GmbH issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 1.5 million via its two Dual Return Funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Costa Rica and Moldova.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe (GGF) Signs $2.2m Senior Loan Facility with ICS Total Leasing & Finance of Moldova

The Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency and renewable energy, recently announced that it has agreed to disburse a senior loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) to ICS Total Leasing & Finance S.A. (TLF), a Moldova-based non-banking financial institution.