First Affirmative Financial Network (FAFN), a US-based investment advisory company, recently became an employee-owned firm after having been acquired in 2016 by Folio Financial, a US-based brokerage, custodial services and financial technology company. The move comes as Folio Financial is being
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADA Microfinance Launching 10-year “Smallholder Safety Net” Program Targeting Agricultural Value Chains, 3m Households; Partnering with 5 Impact Investors
ADA Microfinance, a Luxembourg-based NGO, recently announced a new program called the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP) to assist: (1) smallholder farmers in accessing insurance and implementing agricultural practices that increase productivity in a “climate-smart” manner; (2) actors in agricultural value chains in adopting “more sustainable environmental and social business practices;” and (3) boosting investment in agricultural value chains. The investors Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, Incofin, Oikocredit, responsAbility and Symbiotics have agreed to participate by
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: AFSIC Investing in Africa; October 11-12, 2021; London, UK – NEW DATES
Originally scheduled to take place in May 2021, AFSIC (Africa Financial Services Investment Conference) Investing in Africa will focus on “strengthening trade and investment in Africa” with sessions on “sustainable” finance, financial technology (fintech) innovation, banking in Africa and “informed” investing. Attendees may also access investor-project matchmaking sessions,
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Registration Open for Virtual Conference; November 18-20, 2020
From 
the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): It has been a difficult few months, and during this time we at e-MFP have engaged with our members and friends to mobilize resources and adapt our activities 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 (EMW), held annually in November, and with it in mind we have been closely monitoring the public health situation globally. Now more than ever it’s vital to connect and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $5m to Husk Power Systems for Renewable Energy Generated from Biofuels, Distributed via Minigrids in Rural India, Tanzania
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private partnership also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently disbursed a loan of USD 5 million to Husk Power Systems, an India-based startup that builds small-scale electricity generation and distribution networks in rural areas of India and Tanzania. These minigrids use biofuels
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Motorcycle Leasing Company Tugende Raises $10m in Debt, Equity for Growth in Uganda, Kenya
Tugende, a company specializing in leases for motorcycle taxis known as boda-bodas, recently raised USD 10 million in debt and equity capital from a group of investors, bringing the size of the firm’s balance sheet to USD 30 million. The one investor that has been identified is Mobility 54,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trill Impact to Offer Advisory Services in Microfinance, Expanding Private Equity Firm’s Focus from Northern Europe into Emerging Markets
Swedish private equity firm Trill Impact recently announced it is providing advisory services relating to investments furthering the UN Sustainable Development Goals in low- and middle-income countries. The business line, called Trill Impact Microfinance, focuses on private debt in areas such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund Loans $5m in Local Currency to TBC Leasing to Boost Energy Efficiency of SMEs in Georgia
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Germany-based investment fund, recently loaned TBC Leasing, a member of Georgia’s Tbilisi Business Centre (TBC) Bank, approximately GEL 16 million (USD 5 million) to fund the leasing of equipment
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Easypaisa of Pakistan Partners with NADRA, Enabling Access to 12k Kiosks; Receives $45m in Equity from Ant, Telenor
Easypaisa, a digital payment platform owned by Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB), recently partnered with government-backed National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Technologies Limited,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $36m to Indian MFIs Asirvad Microfinance, Sonata Finance
Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest In Visions (IIV), recently made loans totaling EUR 30 million (USD 35.6 million) to two Indian microfinance institutions, Asirvad Microfinance and Sonata Finance. Asirvad received EUR 25 million (USD 29.6 million) and Sonata received EUR 5 million (USD 5.9 million). Both microfinance institutions serve low-income female customers in India,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kåpan, Nordea, Skandia Invest $90m via DWM Impact Investment Strategy in MSMEs, Including Female-, Minority-owned Businesses
Developing World Markets (DWM), a fund manager based in the US state of Connecticut, recently raised USD 90.4 million to “provide local-currency debt financing to benefit low-income communities and micro-, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs] in emerging and frontier markets.” The target beneficiaries include minority- and female-owned and operated businesses in sectors such as “sustainable” agriculture, housing, education, health, renewable energy, and water and sanitation. This funding comes from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF) Closing After 10 Years of Lending for Students in Latin America, Caribbean
The Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF), which was launched in 2011 by Costa Rica-based Omtrix, recently completed disbursing its volume of USD 30 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving low-income households in Latin America and the Caribbean. The objective of the fund, which reached seven countries, was to support youth in accessing higher education as well as assisting in the diversification of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $32m to Refinance Microfinance Institutions in El Salvador, Panama
Invest in Visions (IIV) Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based IIV, recently purchased non-securitized loan claims totaling USD 31.7 million from microlenders in Central America, allowing them to refinance a portion of their portfolios. The microfinance institutions (MFIs),
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: Business Correspondent Sub-K Impact Launching Digital Platform for Insurance, Investing, Microfinance Referrals with Support from Accion, Mastercard
Sub-K Impact Solutions, a subsidiary of India-based BASIX Social Enterprise Group, is releasing a digital platform called SARTHI (Seamless Advanced Resourceful Tech-driven Hybrid Interface) to facilitate access to insurance, microloans and investment services. SARTHI will place users in contact with financial services providers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans Inecobank of Armenia $6m from Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Offset Effects of COVID-19 via Mobile Banking
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) recently disbursed a loan of USD 6 million to Inecobank, an Armenia-based institution, from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a fund launched by the German government’s KfW Entwicklungsbank and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. The proceeds will enable Inecobank to increase its lending during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March, due to the pandemic, the bank moved all of its
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Future Banking; September 9-10, 2020; Bucharest, Romania
This event features 25 speakers in a format offering both in-person and virtual options. It will cover a range of technical, marketing, funding and other topics
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AXA, FMO, Mirova, Novastar Funds Invest $28m in Equity in Komaza Group for Tree Planting by Rural Farmers in Africa
Four investors recently agreed to place equity totaling USD 28 million in the Komaza Group, a Kenya-based forestry company. Komaza plans to harness the funding to continue its work with smallholder farmers in Africa to use their idle land for growing trees.
Tevis Howard, Komaza’s Founder and CEO explains, “At Komaza, our vision is to become Africa’s largest forestry company, by partnering with farmers to provide a sustainable and hyper-scalable domestic supply of wood. As a result, farmers get a climate-resilient, zero-risk, source of wealth creation for their families, and investors get commercial returns, all while