A provider of digital wallets in Turkey, ininal, recently partnered with Visa, a US-based payment technology company, to offer prepaid Visa cards to its 3 million customers. This will allow ininal customers
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Securitizes $175m for 26 Microfinance Institutions, SME Lenders from Investors Including Alecta, Calvert, OPIC
A Switzerland-based “impact asset manager,” responsAbility Investments, recently securitized USD 175 million for lending to 26 funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The three-year securitization offers listed bonds at senior and mezzanine levels with unspecified “commercial” fixed rates of return, as well as a junior level with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution VisionFund, UK Department for International Development (DFID) to Expand Mobile Banking in Rural Myanmar
VisionFund Myanmar, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating within the nonprofit VisionFund International, is partnering with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) on a USD 1.7 million project to expand mobile banking in Myanmar. The effort is intended to provide
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $225m to Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (BAM) to Expand Lending for Housing; Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently disbursed a loan of USD 225 million to Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (BAM), a subsidiary of Colombia-based Grupo Bancolombia. The loan is for on-lending by BAM for housing as well as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Launches Equity Sub-Fund II with $23m from BMZ, EU to Invest in Financial Inclusion, Job Creation in Middle East, North Africa
The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched its Equity Sub-Fund (ESF) II, to invest in financial intermediaries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. The sub-fund’s mandate includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $15m in Local Currency to Stanbic Bank Zambia to Expand Financing to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of ZMK 200 million (USD 15 million) to Stanbic Bank Zambia, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group. Commenting on the transaction, Stanbic Bank Zambia CEO Leina Gabaraane said
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $2.6m in Local Currency to VisionFund Microfinance Institution SEF International to Support Rural MSEs in Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently announced that it has lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.58 million to SEF International, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Armenia, to finance micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas. Commenting on the transaction, SEF CEO Garegin Gevorgyan said
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $2m to Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP) Trust for Microfinance Lending
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.26 million) to the Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP) Trust from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that is active in developing countries. During June 2019, IIV also invested in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inclusivity Solutions, Provider of Insurance Technology (Insurtech) in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda, Raises Equity Investments from Goodwell, Allan Gray, RGAx
Inclusivity Solutions, a South Africa-based provider of digital insurance services, recently raised USD 1.5 million in an equity round led by Goodwell Investments, a Netherlands-based investor in “inclusive growth” in Africa and India. Inclusivity has distributed insurance policies to 530,000 people via wireless service providers Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda. The firm plans to use its new cash to grow in these markets as well as to expand to other countries.
The managing partner of Goodwell Investments, Wim van der Beek, said, “…we believe that collaborative insurtech solutions like Inclusivity Solutions are best positioned to reach large numbers of underserved consumers” because of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PBU Invests $15m in Nordic Microfinance Initiative’s NMI Fund IV to Invest in Women in Africa, Asia
Paedagogernes Pension (PBU), Denmark’s Pension Fund of Early Childhood Teachers, recently invested approximately USD 15 million, denominated in kroner, in NMI Fund IV, which is managed by the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that supports microfinance institutions in developing countries.
The goal of the investment is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IsDB Group’s Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) to Assist Kapitalbank in Developing Shariah-compliant Financial Services in Uzbekistan
The Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a Saudi Arabia-based multilateral institution, recently announced an agreement with Kapitalbank, an Uzbek commercial bank, to provide the bank with technical support in developing Islamic financial services in Uzbekistan. One aspect of Islamic lending is that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IndusInd Bank Merges with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), Provider of Microfinance to Women in Rural India
IndusInd Bank, an India-based bank offering commercial and personal banking services, recently merged with Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), an India-based, for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) formerly known as SKS Microfinance. IndusInd is assuming the assets and liabilities of BFIL, the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Erste Bank Serbia Opens $45m Credit Line from EBRD to Increase Financing to SMEs
The UK-headquartered European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently issued a loan to the Serbian unit of Austria-based Erste Group Bank in the amount of EUR 40 million (USD 45 million) with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia. As of year-end 2018
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $13m to China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) for Microfinance Lending
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has disbursed a loan of USD 13 million to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that is active in developing countries. CFPA, an NGO in China, was established in 1989 and
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: OPIC Commits $10m to Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, Managed by Deetken Impact and Pro Mujer, for Entrepreneurship, Housing, Leadership, Microfinance, Value Chains
The Overseas Private Investment Cooperation (OPIC), an agency of the US government that promotes economic partnerships in countries deemed important to US interests, recently announced that it has committed senior debt totaling USD 10 million to the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, an investment vehicle managed by Canada-based private equity firm Deetken Impact and US-based nonprofit Pro Mujer. Various Canadian foundations, credit unions and other investors, which have not been identified publicly, previously invested USD 15 million in the fund. Of the USD 25 million now committed to the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Majuven, Bod Tech Ventures Invest Equity in Motorbike, Payroll Lender Daung Capital of Myanmar
Singapore-based venture capital firms Majuven and Bod Tech Ventures recently invested unspecified amounts of equity in Myanmar-based financial technology (fintech) lender Daung Capital as part of its Series A funding round, valuing the company at SGD 16.5 million (USD 12 million). Founded in 2018, Daung Capital lends to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bamboo Capital to Invest $112m in Bloc Fund for Fintech Investing with Support from Smart Africa Alliance
Bamboo Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based private equity firm focused on impact investing, recently announced plans to invest EUR 100 million (USD 112 million) in “businesses and scalable technology-led solutions that create opportunities and services for underserved communities” in the 26 member states of the Rwanda-based Smart Africa Alliance. Bamboo Capital will place these investments via the Bloc fund, which it established in March 2019 as a “blended