by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, KfW, OeEB Renew $310m in Commitments to Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF)

The Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), which was established in 2009 to provide liquidity to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently negotiated an extension until 2025 of its investments from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the development banks of Germany and Austria. These investments total USD 310 million out of MEF’s total assets of approximately USD

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lends $7m to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) to Support Rural Farmers, MSEs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently lent USD 7 million to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) for on-lending to farmers as well as micro- and small enterprises with the intent of helping

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nicaraguan MFI Among Those Borrowing $12m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds

A unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that a Nicaraguan microfinance institution (MFI) was among the beneficiaries of the equivalent of USD 12 million that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent during October. The other borrowers are located elsewhere in Central and South America as well as

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EU, European Investment Advisory Hub to Provide Technical Assistance to SMEs in Bulgaria, Romania

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU and the European Investment Advisory Hub recently created a program to provide

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Triodos, Accion Invest Equity in Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution Financiera FAMA

Entities of two Dutch institutions, the government-controlled development bank FMO and the foundation-controlled Triodos Bank, recently invested equity in Nicaragua’s Financiera FAMA for the first time. In addition,

by Aleksandr Marceau -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $2.3m to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK) to Support “Green Economy” in Kosovo

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution created following the Cold War, recently loaned EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microfinance institution primarily serving the agriculture sector and low-income individuals in Kosovo. As part of EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) policy, the loan will support

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Raises $6.5m from KfW for Fairtrade Access Fund, DRC-focused FPM

Belgium’s for-profit Incofin Investment Management recently received investments from German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in two funds that it advises, the Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF), which invests in initiatives supporting farmers in developing countries, and FPM SA (Fonds pour l’inclusion financière en République Démocratique Congo), which lends “medium-term” funds

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Sells Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru to Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas

Oikocredit, a cooperative based in the Netherlands, recently sold its stake in Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI), to Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas, which was launched by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in 1998. The size and price of the stake, which Oikocredit assembled in multiple purchases

by Ryan Gauthier -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group, Committee on Payments & Market Infrastructures (CPMI), UN’s International Telecommunication Union Launch “Financial Inclusion Global Initiative” to Study Digital Finance

The World Bank Group, the Switzerland-based Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recently introduced

by Aleksandr Marceau -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $6m to Halkbank to Finance Energy-efficient Housing in Serbia

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which was founded by Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB), recently disbursed EUR 5 million (USD 5.9 million) to Halkbank AD Belgrade, a subsidiary of Turkey’s government-controlled Halk Bank Incorporated. The loan is slated to back mortgages on homes that consume

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Microfinance Investment Vehicles, MFIs “Speed Date” at SAM Investor’s Fair in Ethiopia

Both the “speed dating” and “free meeting” sessions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) to sit down with investors were very popular at SAM Conference 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopiathe SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) conference in Addis Ababa. Representatives of dozens of organizations met each other for the first time and renewed old connections.

Duncan Frayne of Switzerland-based Symbiotics Group spoke on behalf of REGMIFA (the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa), for which his company serves as investment manager. He said, “The value for me is meeting up-and-coming MFIs as well as

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: ADA, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Sign Collaboration Agreement at SAM

After Tuesday’s sessions at the “SAMthe SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) conference, Olivier Massart, the General Manager of ADA, and Eric Campos, Managing Director of the Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), signed an agreement to collaborate on their institutions’ service delivery to microfinance institutions (MFIs). Mr Massart explained that the two Luxembourgish NGOs will work “hand in hand” in areas including the measurement of social impact. ADA specializes in technical assistance, and although GCAMF also provides technical assistance, it is a major local-currency funder of MFIs. Both institutions prioritize working with MFIs that serve people in rural areas as well as women in general.

Mr Campos told MicroCapital that a primary motivation for the collaboration is to reduce the workload for MFIs, which are often called upon to submit substantial amounts of overlapping data to funders and other interested parties. He also spoke passionately about how MFIs can maintain market share as fintech

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend $31m to MFIs in Asia, Latin America

C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 31 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in five Asian countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, as well as three Latin American countries, Ecuador, Mexico and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Egyptian Mobile Payment Platform Fawry Sells Equity Stake to Private Equity Firm Managed by responsAbility

An entity managed by Switzerland’s responsAbility Investments recently purchased a stake of undisclosed size and price in Fawry, a mobile payments platform in Egypt. Fawry has 20 million customers, whom it enables to pay bills and make retail purchases via mobile phones, credit cards, automatic teller machines, accounts at 23 banks, and point-of-sale machines at 65,000