Indonesia-based insurance technology (insurtech) firm PasarPolis recently raised USD 5 million in equity from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The firm plans to use the fresh funds “to develop infrastructure to connect insurers, digital platforms and customers unserved by the traditional insurance sector” during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The size of the stake
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Bank Strike $70m Deal to Boost SME Lending, Social Performance, Human Resources, Environmental Tracking
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently formed a partnership with Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Bank whereby JMMB Bank will receive from IDB Invest: (1) support “on the development and implementation of an environmental and social management system;” (2) capacity building services related to human resources; (3) a five-year loan of USD 35 million earmarked for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and (4) the arrangement of an additional lending package of USD 35 million funded by third-party banks. The funding will increase “the mat
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Energy Catalyst Community Seeks to Boost Commercialization of Solar, Wind, Battery, Payment, Other Innovations in Africa, Asia
Energy Catalyst, “a UK government-funded programme designed to accelerate access to sustainable energy” in Africa and Asia, recently launched its Energy Catalyst Community, offering a set of documents on commercializing energy innovations. The next phase of the project will allow companies funded by Energy Catalyst to collab
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gaia Impact Fund Invests Equity in Innovex, Solar Technology Distributor in East Africa, DRC
Gaia Impact Fund, which is based in France and focuses on renewable energy, recently agreed to place a seed equity investment in Innovex, a Uganda-based technology firm that is active in solar power in five African countries. The terms of the investment have not been released.
Innovex was founded in 2015 by Douglas Baguma and David Tusubira. Its business is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Latinia Invests in Fintech Ábaco, Microlender in Colombia, Mexico
Spain-based software vendor and financial technology (fintech) investor Latinia recently announced it has invested an unspecified amount of funds in Ábaco, a fintech active in Colombia and Mexico. Based in Colombia, Ábaco makes lending decisions using software that “identifies the behavior of delivery platform workers and freela
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, DFC, FinDev Canada Loan $390m to Davivienda of Colombia for SMEs, Environmental Sustainability, Women
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group; the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and FinDev Canada, a subsidiary of government-owned Export Development Canada, recently issued subordinated loans totaling USD 390 million to Colombia’s Banco Davivienda for repayment over 10 years. The deal will “provide new financing for work
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $4m to ProCredit Bank Skopje to Boost SMEs’ Quality Standards, Residential Energy Efficiency in North Macedonia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently provided two loans to ProCredit Bank Skopje, which operates in North Macedonia and is owned by Germany-based ProCredit Holding. One loan, in the amount of EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) Raises $24m from BMZ via KfW
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is also known by its German acronym BMZ, recently invested EUR 20 million (USD 24.3 million) in the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA), which supports micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in 19 countries. The investment, which BMZ issued through Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a government-backed development bank in Germany, is earmarked for the nine of REGMIFA’s target countries that participate in the G20 Compact with Africa. A total of 12 African countries are active in the Compact with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microsoft, IFC to Support Women Entrepreneurs, Forcibly Displaced Populations in Brazil with Business, ESG, Technology Training
Microsoft, a US-based technology firm, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently entered a partnership to deliver business and technology training in Brazil. This is to result in: (1) a publicly available workshop on January 26 regarding how to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) elements into a young business; (2) technology train
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PBU Invests in SEAF Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund (SWEEF), Targeting SMEs in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF), a US-based investment manager, recently closed the first round of funding of the SEAF Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund (SWEEF). While the amount of investment has not been disclosed, the Danish pen
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Launches Digital Payment System Raast to Promote Financial Inclusion, Strengthen Rule of Law, Boost Government Services
The country of Pakistan recently began the rollout of Raast, an “instant digital payment system,” through which the government will route payments to individuals, such as salaries, pensions and welfare. Individuals and businesses
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Samunnati Borrows $12m from FMO, Triodos to Boost Agricultural Producer Organizations, SMEs in India
Samunnati, a non-banking financial company in India dedicated to the agricultural sector, recently borrowed EUR 5 million (USD 6.1 million) each from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, and Triodos Investment Management (Triodos IM), a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, for on-lending to farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural sector. Triodos IM is disbursing the funds from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $6m to Agroprosperis Bank to Support Farmers in Ukraine
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently loaned EUR 5 million (USD 6.1 million) to Agroprosperis Bank to support agricultural micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in Ukraine. In particular,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: E-lending Company Creditas of Brazil Raises $225m in Equity, Eyeing Expansion to Mexico
Creditas, an online lending platform in Brazil, recently raised USD 225 million in equity, valuing the firm at approximately USD 1.75 billion. Among its plans for the new funds is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB to Loan $517m to Banque Misr of Egypt to Fund SMEs During COVID-19 Pandemic
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s long-term lending institution, recently agreed to provide a line of credit in the amount of EUR 425 million (USD 517 million) to Banque Misr
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Blue Mahoe Buying 40% Equity Stake in Microfinance Provider Sprint of Jamaica
Blue Mahoe Capital, an investment firm based in the US city of Miami, recently agreed to purchase a 40-percent equity stake in Sprint Financial Services Limited, a Jamaican microfinance company, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is scheduled to close in March. Sprint plans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CARD MRI to Borrow Up to $15m from IFC, Mainly to Support Women’s MSMEs During COVID-19 Pandemic
The International Finance Corporation, the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to provide up to PHP 750 million (USD 15 million) of debt financing to the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development – Mutually Reinforcing Institutions Group (CARD MRI) to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aye Finance Borrows $10m from Catalyst Trusteeship for On-lending to MSEs in India
Aye Finance, an online lender in India, recently received USD 10 million in debt financing from India-based Catalyst Trusteeship via Catalyst’s investment vehicles Masala Investment Sarl and Asian Access Vehicle (AAV) Sarl. Through a mobile-phone application,