MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Issues $8.5m Bond to Fund On-lending to Women, Agricultural MSMEs in Azerbaijan

The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently raised AZN 14.5 million (USD 8.5 million) from UK-based Record Currency Management and Germany-based Capitulum Asset Management to fund inclusive finance for women and agriculture in Azerbaijan. The funding is channeled through

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: JuST Institute Preview of Training on Delivering Climate, Biodiversity & Inclusive Finance to Smallholder Farmers Available Online December 12, 2023

The France-based NGO Just Sustainability Transitions (JuST) Institute is holding an online session December 12 to educate potential participants about a mentoring and training program for financial services providers (FSPs) looking to orient their work toward “climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.” The program, which is for loan officers and managers employed by microfinance institutions (MFIs), takes place online over a period of four to six months. Participation can be part of an MFI becoming certified for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPEC Fund Lending $22m to Raiffeisen Bank for SMEs in Albania

As its first loan to a financial institution in Albania, the Austria-based OPEC Fund for International Development recently channeled EUR 20 million (USD 21.7 million) to the Albanian unit of Raiffeisen Bank to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The scheme especially targets

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank ARISE Program Includes $230m Loan for Farmers in Ukraine

The Ukraine Agriculture Recovery Inclusive Support Emergency (ARISE) Project – to be implemented by Ukrainian government’s Business Development Fund and Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food – is intended to provide loans and grants to 90,000 farmers to increase production levels during 2023 and 2024. The project includes a loan of USD 230 million from the World Bank, supported by the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Issue Loans to MFIs in Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced that it disbursed loans totaling USD 10 million during August through its Dual Return Funds to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven countries. Although the names of the MFIs and the amounts invested in each have not been disclosed, I-AM does report having invested via the funds in two MFIs for the first time, one each in

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects

The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Papara of Turkiye Acquires Rebellion Pay Mobile Money Service from Beka Finance of Spain in Cash, Equity Deal

Papara, a Turkiye-based provider of mobile payment services, recently acquired its Spanish competitor Rebellion Pay from Spain’s Beka Finance in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cash and shares. Rebellion, Papara’s first acquisition outside of Turkiye,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $4.4m to KEP Trust of Kosovo with Focus on Rural, Women-led MSMEs

KEP Trust, a microfinance institution based in Kosovo, recently agreed to borrow up to EUR 4 million (USD 4.4 million) from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). KEP Trust plans to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Places $4.3m in Equity in Varashakti Housing Finance via India Progress Fund

Incofin, a Belgian investor in lower-income countries, has invested INR 350 million (USD 4.3 million) to take an equity stake of undisclosed size in Varashakti Housing Finance (VHF), a firm active in

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

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Establishing a Financial Services Ombudsman in Mongolia: Experiences and Lessons from Armenia, Australia and Singapore,” by Massimiliano Gangi et al

This paper explores the potential of introducing an independent ombudsman system to address complaints by consumers against financial services providers (FSPs) in Mongolia by exploring existing dispute resolution systems in Armenia, Australia and Singapore.

Among the similarities of these three systems are:

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics

Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Imkon of Uzbekistan Nets Convertible Debt from BOPA to Expand Microfinance, SME Finance

Imkon Finans, an Uzbekistani joint stock corporation that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, recently borrowed an undisclosed sum – in the form of debt that can be converted into equity – from Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a Singapore-based investor in microfinance. Imkon, which is based in the city of Andizhan, plans to use the fresh cash to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CEB, EU Expand Roma Housing Microfinance, Financial Inclusion Program to Bulgaria

The multilateral Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and two EU institutions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, recently launched the Housing and Empowerment for Roma (HERO) program in Bulgaria. As part of the program, Tokuda Bank, which is based in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, will provide 200 members of the Roma community with microloans totaling EUR 490,000 (USD 550,000) as well as financial literacy training. The purpose of the loans is to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO Loans $15m to AMK Microfinance of Cambodia

BIO, a government-owned institution also known as the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, recently loaned USD 15 million to Cambodia’s Angkor Microheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK). AMK provides individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with