Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), a France-based investor in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa, recently raised EUR 25 million (USD 28 million) for its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2), bringing the fund’s volume to
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest In Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $3m to Armeconom Bank to Support Microfinance in Armenia
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has loaned USD 3 million to Armeconom Bank of Armenia from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to financial institutions in developing countries. Launched in 1991, Armeconom offers loans, credit lines, deposit services, payment cards, transfers and other services to individuals and businesses. It accepts deposits in four currencies, with rates ranging from 0.2 percent to 10 percent per year. Its lending products include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Loans $10m to FinLux ELLEN Sarl to Promote Solar Electricity Access in Chad in Partnership with Bren-Tronics
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the development finance institution of the US government, recently loaned USD 10 million to FinLux E Longlife Energies Nouvelles (ELLEN), a firm registered in France, to distribute solar-powered devices to households, small businesses, medical clinics and educational institutions in Chad. To minimize the upfront cost to users, “the Project Company will retain ownership” of the devices.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $1.1m to Microcredit Foundation Lider to Reduce Energy Costs, Carbon Emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-based public-private partnership, recently loaned EUR 1 million (USD 1.14 million) to Lider, a microcredit foundation based in Sarajevo, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in rural regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lider will on-lend the funds to households and small-scale farmers to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $5m to Al Majmoua for Enterprise, Housing Microfinance in Lebanon
Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investor in lenders to micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), recently loaned USD 5 million to Al Majmoua, a provider of financial and business development services to underserved groups in Lebanon. The funds are to be on-lent to low-income individuals for housing improvements and to very small enterprises for business needs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TriLinc Global Impact Fund II (TGIF II) to Invest in SMEs in Developing Economies
TriLinc Global, a US-based fund manager founded in 2008, recently launched the TriLinc Global Impact Fund II (TGIF II), through which it will lend to companies “committed to responsible, sustainable management and to the creation of positive, measurable impact in” Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. TGIF II seeks to give
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SunFunder Raises $42.5m for Solar Energy Transformation Fund from OPIC, Calvert, Ceniarth, IKEA Foundation
SunFunder, a Kenya-based financier of solar energy firms, recently raised USD 37.5 million in debt for its new Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund as well as USD 5 million in first-loss grant funding from the IKEA Foundation, an affiliate of the Sweden-founded IKEA group of furniture companies. The goal of SET is to raise USD 85 million to fund the delivery of energy to 3 million people over
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Buys $3.3m in Equity in Laudex, Education Lender in Mexico
The Netherlands’ Oikocredit recently paid USD 3.3 million to purchase an equity stake of unspecified size in Laudex, a lender to low- and moderate-income Mexican students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees around the world. The institution has an “online approval platform” and a “risk-based pricing model” with a maximum annual interest rate of 29.5
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Abaco Savings & Credit Cooperative of Peru Borrows $1.5m from Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance
Peru’s Abaco Savings & Credit Cooperative recently agreed to borrow USD 1.5 million for six years from the Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance, one of two funds of Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a member of the Canadian cooperative Desjardins Group. The subordinated loan is intended to support the growth of Abaco, as well as to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Group Lender in Pakistan Borrows from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
An NGO in Pakistan has secured a loan from the Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund of C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group. The NGO provides group loans to female microentrepreneurs, including farmers. All of these loans include health and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Sells Equity Stake in Annapurna Microfinance of India as Asian Development Bank, Bamboo Financial Inclusion Fund, Oikocredit Buy In
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently sold all of its shares in India’s Annapurna Microfinance Private Limited to a group of investors, among whom two have been identified, the Bamboo Financial Inclusion Fund, which is managed by Bamboo Capital Partners, and Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit. In a separate transaction, the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank paid the rupee-equivalent of
SPECIAL REPORT: SAM (African Microfinance Week) Scheduled for October 21-25, 2019, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Luxembourgish NGO ADA recently announced that the next SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) will be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from October 21 to 25, 2019. The themes for this fourth SAM include Agricultural Finance; Macro-Level Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals; Digital Finance and Fintech; Cash Transfers; Gender Inequality; and Small & Medium Enterprise Development and Youth Employment. In addition to the conference sessions on October 22 and October 23, there will be an Investor’s Fair, an Innovator’s Fair, “Research Meets Africa” discussions and 20 free
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org’s WaterEquity Borrows $10.5m from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to Invest in Clean Water, Sanitation
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the development finance institution of the US government, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned USD 10.5 million to WaterCredit Investment Fund 3, which is managed by WaterEquity, a “social impact investment manager” founded by US-based NGO Water.org. WaterEquity, which seeks “to deliver universal access to safe water and sanitation,” was launched in 2016. Since then, it reports having reached 400,000 people via investments in 13 microfinance institutions and
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week; November 20 – 22, 2019: Save the Date
The 
European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) will hold the next European Microfinance Week from November 20 through November 22, 2019, at the Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg. This will include the presentation of the European Microfinance Award. Details on how to participate
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investing for Impact; February 12, 2019; New York, USA
The third annual Investing for Impact summit, which is organized by The Economist, a UK-based research and publishing firm, will cover the rise of impact investing. The US-based Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), whose representatives were featured at the 2018 iteration of Investing for Impact, defines impact investments as those “made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” This year’s event will cover topics such as (1) Holistic Impact: Doing Well by Doing Good;
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RemitFund to Collect Donations for African Diaspora Investment Fund (ADIF) as Percentage of Remittances Sent to Africa
RemitFund, a Belgium-based nonprofit seeking to foster economic development in Africa, is about to launch its African Diaspora Investment Fund (ADIF) to support the creation of employment opportunities for highly skilled workers in Africa. Part of the intent of the fund is to combat “brain drain,” whereby talented people from struggling communities leave for opportunities elsewhere.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Lends $7m to Attijari Leasing for MSMEs in Tunisia
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in renewable energy and energy efficiency, recently loaned EUR 6 million (USD 6.9 million) to Attijari Leasing, a Tunisia-based firm, to fund energy-efficiency improvements for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in Tunisia. Attijari Leasing, which is controlled by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund Lends in 11 Countries, Including for Women in Bolivia, Farmers in China
C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment, recently informed MicroCapital that it disbursed loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 11 countries during December 2018. The identities of the MFIs and the amount each borrowed remain confidential.
One of the MFIs is a Bolivian NGO providing health and financial services to women via 70 urban and rural locations. The MFI offers loans, financial education, health education and testing for cervical