Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas, which was launched by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in 1998, recently added to its shareholding in Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) by purchasing the stake held by Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments. Although the size and price of the holding, which responsAbility began building in 2008, remains confidential, responsAbility reports that it earned “over three
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen America Achieves Close of Social Business Fund for Microfinance Lending to Women Entrepreneurs in US
Grameen America, a US-based NGO founded by Muhammad Yunus, recently raised an undisclosed sum via a Social Business Fund for on-lending to women with low-incomes in regions of the US that are underserved by traditional financial institutions. Investors in the fund receive
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $1.2m to DR Congo’s Hekima; Burkina Faso’s SOFIPE, ACFIME
The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed three-year loans to three microfinance institutions in Africa.
Hekima of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) borrowed USD 530,000 from GCAF. As of 2015, Hekima reports to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 3.6 million, loans of USD 2.3 million outstanding to 10,000 borrowers, and deposits of 890,000 held for 12,000 clients. The MFI’s mission includes “contributing to the economic, social and spiritual lives” of DRC’s people.
The Société de Financement de la Petite Entreprise (SOFIPE) of Burkina Faso borrowed the local-currency equivalent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Organization Crystal of Georgia, VisionFund’s Monte Credit of Montenegro Borrow $3.6m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed three-year loans denominated in euros to two microfinance institutions. Crystal Microfinance Organization, a joint stock company in Georgia, borrowed the equivalent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.6m in Local Currency to Microfinance Institutions in Indonesia
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF) recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed three-year loans denominated in local-currency to two microfinance institutions in Indonesia. Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida), a cooperative providing savings, loans and training services to women, borrowed the equivalent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Agriculture I Fund Takes Equity Stake in Indian Value-chain Lender Samunnati
Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments recently disbursed the first investment from its private equity fund responsAbility Agriculture I, acquiring a “significant” minority stake in Samunnati, a non-banking financial company in India that provides loans and advisory services to players in agricultural value chains. Although the price and size of the stake remain confidential, responsAbility Agriculture I generally places investments of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Extends $6m Credit Line to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo to Promote MSMEs
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently announced it will extend up to EUR 5 million (USD 6 million) in credit to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Parametrics, 6 VisionFund Microfinance Institutions Prepare for Climate Disasters Under African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS)
Global Parametrics, a for-profit risk manager funded by UK-based and German development institutions, and the UK-based NGO VisionFund International recently established the African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS), to protect six VisionFund microfinance institutions (MFIs). In case of drought or extreme storm, the MFIs can access up to USD 10 million to manage delays in client repayments and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanadcom Launches to Serve SMEs in Jordan, Backed by Microfund for Women, GMS Ventures and Investments
Sanadcom for Business Finance, a lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan, recently launched with two “anchor” investors: Microfund for Women, a Jordanian microfinance institution, and GMS Ventures and Investments, a subsidiary of Jordan’s GMS Holdings. Sanadcom has enjoyed “additional equity funding and support” from the Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), a European investor in North Africa and the Middle East, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Invest in Ecuador, 13 Other Countries
C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, disbursed the equivalent of USD 40 million during December to 15 microfinance institutions (MFIs) from its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds. The MFIs, whose identities remain confidential, span 14 countries. One is a cooperative located in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator Raises $62m for ShoreCap III from AfDB, CDC, EIB, KfW, OeEB to Invest in Financial Inclusion in Africa
Equator Capital Partners, a US-based manager of “impact” funds, recently announced the first close of its third ShoreCap fund, which will invest in African firms offering services such as microcredit, microinsurance, leasing, housing finance, and banking for small and medium-sized enterprises. Equator is seeking to raise a total of USD 150 million for ShoreCap III to invest over 10 years in about
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zurich Insurance to Place $5b in Impact Investments to Assist 5m People, Prevent 5m Tons of Carbon Emissions Annually
Zurich Insurance, a financial group headquartered in Switzerland, recently announced that it intends to increase the amount of money it places in impact investments to USD 5 billion with the intent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $18m to Garanti Leasing of Romania to Finance MSMEs
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled fund that promotes economic development primarily through financing micro- and small enterprises, recently extended a senior loan of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investing for Impact Conference; February 15, 2018; New York, USA
Event Name: Investing for Impact Conference 2018
Event Date: February 15, 2018
Event Location: New York, New York
Summary of Event: This conference will cover inequality worldwide and how investors can take advantage of related opportunities to invest in a socially responsible way. The speaker list includes Eric Usher, the head of the finance initiative of the UN Environment Programme; Evan W
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Aavishkaar Bharat Fund Attracts $95m for Impact Investing from Investors Including CDC, SIDBI, Munjal Family Office (Hero Corporation), TIAA
Indian fund advisor Aavishkaar recently completed the first close of the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund, with commitments of INR 6.2 billion (USD 95 million), of which it has INR 5.9 billion (USD 92 million) in hand. The fund will support businesses in India that further Aavishkaar’s mission to “enhance livelihoods and reduce vulnerabilities for the low-income population” in “a range of sectors, namely agriculture, dairy, education, energy, handicrafts, health, water and sanitation, technology for development, microfinance and financial inclusion.” Aavishkaar will seek to do this while generating a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico’s Adobe Capital Raises $21m to Finance Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Latin America
Adobe Capital, the venture-capital unit of Mexico-based New Ventures, recently raised USD 21 million for its second investment vehicle, Adobe Mezzanine Fund (AMF) II, which is intended to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFI in Bosnia and Herzegovina Borrows from Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
A microfinance institution (MFI) in Bosnia and Herzegovina borrowed a portion of the equivalent of USD 47 million that C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, disbursed during November via the Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds. The other borrowers are located elsewhere in Europe as well as Latin America and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Australian Government Introduces $30m “Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund” Targeting Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Asia-Pacific
The Australian government recently launched a facility called the Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund (EMIIF) in an effort to support “positive social and development outcomes for poor communities in the Asia-Pacific.” The fund, which will execute loans, equity placements and guarantees, has an allocation of AUD 40 million (USD 30 million) phased over the period 2017 to 2021. It will invest in parcels of