Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a microfinance investment company in Singapore, recently informed MicroCapital that it has raised a total of USD 8 million in equity funding from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), which is owned by the Danish government; the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), which is backed by the Finnish government; and a Danish family office.
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org Launches WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Facilitate Access to Sanitation, Clean Water in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines
WaterEquity, the “social impact investment” subsidiary of US-based NGO Water.org, recently launched the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 with the goal of raising USD 50 million to “invest in enterprises serving water and sanitation needs among the world’s poor.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Telkom Kenya Shutting Down Its Orange Money Mobile Money Service
Telkom Kenya, a telecommunications provider in Kenya, recently announced that July 4 will be the last day it will offer the mobile money service Orange Money.
MICROFINANCE BRIEF: Ford Foundation to Invest $1b Over 10 Years in Mission-related Investments Such as Financial Services in Developing Countries, Affordable Housing in the US
The US-based Ford Foundation recently announced plans to disburse USD 1 billion in “mission-related investments” with initial foci on access to financial services in developing countries and affordable housing in the US.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Lending $25m to Turkey’s Yapi Kredi Leasing for Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently indicated that it intends to lend USD 25 million to Turkey’s Yapi Kredi Leasing, “the largest subsidiary of Yapi Kredi Bank.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Sells Equity Stakes in Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru, Affiliate of Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) recently informed MicroCapital that three of its funds, Incofin CVSO, Volksvermogen and Rural Impulse Fund I, have sold their stakes in Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) affiliated with Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas, which in turn was launched by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in 2007. While the sizes and prices of the stakes, which included all Confianza shares held by Incofin IM funds, remain confidential, Incofin IM reports that the funds earned “over
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tunisia’s Union Internationale de Banques (UIB) Borrows $45m from EBRD for SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently announced it will loan EUR 40 million (USD 44.9 million) to Union Internationale de Banques (UIB), a Tunisian bank, to support small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) “lending activities and expand access to finance for underserved
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Sells 55% Equity Stake in Colombian Microfinance Institution Crezcamos to Its Founder, Mauricio Osorio
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management recently informed MicroCapital that its Rural Impulse Funds I and II have sold all of their shares of Crezcamos, a Colombian microfinance institution (MFI), to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MBK Borrowing $15m from FMO to Grow Group Microfinance Loan Portfolio in Indonesia
Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution providing group loans to women in Indonesia, recently borrowed USD 15 million from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Netherlands-based development finance institution. This is the third loan FMO has provided to MBK
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fidelity Bank Ghana Borrows $54m for SME Lending from FMO, BIO, Symbiotics, Oikocredit, Incofin
Two government-backed entities, the Netherlands’ Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), recently announced they are leading a senior loan package of USD 54 million to be onlent by Fidelity Bank Ghana to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The loan comprises USD 25 million from FMO
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vision Microfinance Funds of C-Quadrat Loan $45m in Countries Including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Nicaragua
C-Quadrat Asset Management recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds loaned a total approximately equivalent to USD 45 million during April to unidentified providers of financial services in a range of countries including Cambodia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan as well as – for the first time –
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Myanmar Disburses First Group Microfinance Loan from Branch in Amarapura
The Advans Group, which operates a network of 10 microfinance institutions from offices in France and Luxembourg, recently opened the first branch of Advans Myanmar in the city of Amarapura. Advans Myanmar is offering loans of up to MMK 1 million (USD 740) to groups of three to six traders and salaried workers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dragon Capital, Ruby Hill Launching Microfinance Institution in Myanmar
Dragon Capital Group, a Vietnam-based investment company with operations in Asia and Europe, and Ruby Hill Financial, a Myanmar-based financial services provider, recently announced that they are launching a microfinance institution called Ruby Hill Microfinance in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. Ruby Hill Financial
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Provides Credit Lines Totaling $101m for Equity Bank, HFC to Support Microfinance in DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently announced it has opened two new credit lines to support small-scale enterprises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The larger credit line is in the amount of EUR 75 million (USD 80 million) in the name of Equity Bank, a Kenya-based
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tala Raises $30m in Series B Equity from IVP, Ribbit Capital, Existing Investors to Expand Mobile Phone Microlending in Asia, Latin America
Tala, a US-based microlender serving East Africa and Southeast Asia via mobile phone apps, recently raised USD 30 million through its Series B equity round in order to expand its services into South Asia and Latin America. Tala provides loans between USD 10
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Asia Raises $103m in Equity from Investors Including Asian Development Bank, Istituto Atesino di Sviluppo, Olympus Capital
CreditAccess Asia, which is based in the Netherlands and provides microfinance services in four countries in Asia, recently acquired new equity investments totaling EUR 95 million (USD 103 million). The investors include the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Italian private equity firm Istituto Atesino di Sviluppo. Olympus Capital Asia, a previous equity investor in CreditAccess, was among the investors increasing their stakes through the conversion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s agRIF Raises $27m for Financial Inclusion in Agriculture from Investors Including AXA, KBC, Korys, Invest in Visions, MRBB
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management recently informed MicroCapital that its agRIF, the successor to the Rural Impulse Funds I and II, has raised USD 27 million in unspecified portions from multiple investors, bringing its size
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Extends Credit of $20m QNB Finansbank of Turkey for On-lending to Agricultural Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle led by German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), recently announced that it has provided an additional senior loan to QNB Finansbank, a Turkey-based commercial bank, in the amount of USD 20 million. QNB plans to use the funds to expand its agricultural lending in rural Turkey. In support of the transaction, EFSE is offering QNB