Via
its Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently committed up to USD 25 million to Uzbekistan-based Uzpromstroybank. Founded in 2019, GEFF delivers
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week 2021 to Be Fully Online
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): The past 15 months have been very challenging, and during this time we at e-MFP have engaged with our members and friends and adapted our activities accordingly to best mitigate the effects this pandemic brings to our sector and the vulnerable people we as a community serve.
One of our flagship activities is European Microfinance Week – held annually in November – and while it is difficult to predict the progression of the pandemic, it remains likely that travel restrictions will still apply in the coming months and that participants from the global South will be
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $10m to Bank Respublika to Support Women, Youth, Entrepreneurs Struggling with COVID-19 Pandemic in Azerbaijan
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently loaned the equivalent of USD 10 million in local currency as a senior term loan to Bank Respublika, a commercial institution in Azerbaijan. The funds are intended to reduce
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Issues $5m Sustainability Bond to Fund Microfinance Institution Crystal of Georgia
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform, recently issued a bond whose proceeds are funding a three-year, unsecured loan to Crystal, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Georgia. The proceeds of the bond, Georgian lari equivalent to USD 5 million, are earmarked to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lends $1.2m to Erste Group’s Sparkasse Leasing Doo Skopje to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in North Macedonia
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently lent Sparkasse Leasing Doo Skopje, a unit of Sparkasse Bank of Macedonia, EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million) to fund equipment to be leased by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North Macedonia. The leased equipment is meant to boost the SMEs’ usage of renewable energy and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Georgia Seeks to Ease MSMEs’ Adjustment to COVID-19 with World Bank Funding for Fintech, Loan Guarantees, Grants
The World Bank recently approved EUR 85 million (USD 103 million) for a project called “Relief and Recovery for Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs),” which will support businesses in Georgia that have been affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project includes funding to expand Georgia’s financial infrastructure, such as to support online banking, know-your-customer (KYC) protocols and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Expands Microfinance Fintech in Uganda, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan
FINCA Impact Finance, a US-based network of financial institutions, recently carried out several campaigns catering to low-income people through its affiliates in Africa and Asia.
FINCA Uganda launched a “Digital is Here” campaign in partnership with Centenary Bank, a commercial institution serving 1.8 million customers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Invests $24m in Evolving Europe Principal Investments Fund (EEPIF) to Boost SME Finance
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently invested EUR 20 million (USD 24.2 million) in the Evolving Europe Principal Investments Fund (EEPIF), which is managed by UK-based private equity firm Integral Venture Partners, with the goal of improving the financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 14 countries. Among the countries to receive investment are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lends OTP Bank Serbia $23m in Local Currency to Boost SME Funding
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to loan Országos Takarék Pénztár (OTP) Bank Serbia, a member of the Hungary-based OTP Bank Group, RSD 2.3 billion (USD 23 million) to increase its “medium-term” funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). OTP Serbia’s other products include savings; insurance; securities; and loans tailored for retirees, vehicle purchases, housing expenses, consumption and refinancing debt.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Approves 3-year Loan of $1.4m to Microfinance Institution Mikra of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has agreed to issue a three-year loan of EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.4 million) to Mikra, a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina that seeks to “provide financial services to the poorest but economically active populations.” Of the microlender’s 15,000 clients, about 10,200 are female and 8,700 live in rural areas. Mikra’s group and individual loans range in size from
SPECIAL REPORT: Apply/Postulez/Postular – European Microfinance Award 2021
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): The €100,000 European Microfinance Award 2021 on ‘Inclusive Finance and Health Care’ highlights the crucial role the inclusive finance sector can play in helping low-income and excluded populations both plan day-to-day medical spending and ‘smooth’ out health-related financial shocks.
If you are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Raises $20m Through Bond Issue in Kazakhstan to Support Otbasy Bank Housing Loans to Women, Mainly in Rural Areas
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Philippines-based multilateral institution, recently raised KZT 8.4 billion (USD 20 million) through bond sales to institutional investors in Kazakhstan to finance loans by the Housing and Construction Savings Bank of Kazakhstan, which is also known as Otbasy Bank. The bond has a 10-year maturity with a
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Microcredit Regulation in Europe: An Overview;” by Cristina Ruesta, Nicola Benaglio; Published by European Microfinance Network
This paper provides an overview of the legislative environment for non-bank microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 24 countries in Europe. These institutions are not regulated in the same way as traditional banks, and the applicable legal frameworks vary significantly among countries. For example, there is no consistent maximum loan size. The term “microcredit” is used broadly, sometimes in conjunction with small equity investments and support mechanisms such as guarantees and technical assistance. Half of European MFIs include
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: FMO Loans $25m to Aklease to Support Renewable Energy in Turkey
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private partnership also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned USD 25 million to Aklease, a leasing subsidiary of Turkish bank Akbank, to be used for solar energy projects. Through this loan, Aklease aims to increase the “green” portion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Romanian Fintech Instant Factoring Raises $915k in Equity; Will Expand to Serbia, Boost Invoice Financing for SMEs in Romania
With a new capital injection of EUR 750,000 (USD 915,000) from its current shareholders, Instant Factoring, a Romania-based firm that buys businesses’ accounts receivable, will invest EUR 350,000 (USD 427,000) in expanding to Serbia. During 2021, it expects to buy invoices worth approximately EUR 5 million (USD 6.1 million)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $6m to OTP Bank Albania to On-lend to SMEs, EU Offers Premiums for Hitting Goals
Országos Takarék Pénztár (OTP) Bank Albania, a member of the Hungary-based OTP Bank Group, recently borrowed EUR 5 million (USD 6.1 million) from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Albania in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by upgrading
SPECIAL REPORT: Danone, Incofin, Water.org: WASH Sector is Already Investible
During 
one of the Friday sessions of European Microfinance Week 2020, Dina Pons of Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management explained a partnership with France-based food company Danone through which the organizations are building a 10-year equity fund to invest in expanding access to clean water in developing countries. Since 2007, the Danone Communities arm of Danone – mostly funded by its employees – has invested in access to drinking water on a proof-of-concept basis. Now Danone believes the sector has matured from the incubation stage to the investible stage. The company selected Incofin to help it invest in proven models, with a technical assistance component and monitoring of factors such as affordability, limiting plastic usage and