The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently committed to investing up to USD 200 million in equity in Leapfrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius.
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Acquires Ghana’s UT Life Insurance
Leapfrog Investments, a Mauritius-based private equity fund that invests in companies that serve people in Africa and Asia who earn low incomes, recently acquired a majority stake in UT Life Insurance, a Ghana-based insurance company, for an undisclosed price.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prudential Financial to Invest $350m in African Insurers, To Be Managed by LeapFrog
Prudential Financial Incorporated, a US-based financial services company, recently announced an investment of USD 350 million in life insurance companies in African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell Investments Acquires Minority Stake in Microfinance Software Firm Musoni
Goodwell Investments, a for-profit social investment company based in the Netherlands, has invested an undisclosed sum to acquire a “significant minority stake” in Musoni Services, a Dutch microfinance software company with operations in Myanmar and nine African countries [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Issues $16m in Bonds to Benefit China’s CFPA Microfinance Management, Honduras’ Banco Ficohsa
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that focuses on emerging markets, recently informed MicroCapital that it completed the following bond transactions Bonds worth USD 10 million were sold to unidentified investors to benefit CFPA Microfinance Management, a microfinance institution (MFI) in China that is affiliated with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Financing Necessary for SMEs to Grow; Microfinance Challenges in the Arab World; Incofin on MFIs’ Social Performance
“ADB Report: Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014;” by S. Shinozaki, T. Chaiken, S. Jain, K. Dorofev, C. T. Delos Santos and J. Bautista; published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); September 2015; 318 pages; available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/173205/asia-sme-finance-monitor2014.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Completes $153m Syndicated Loan to Sri Lanka’s Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC)
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently served as lead arranger and facility agent to finalize a USD 153 million senior secured syndicated loan for Sri Lanka’s Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Qalaa Holdings Planning to Sell 70% Stake in Microlender Tanmeyah to Egyptian Financial Group (EFG) Hermes for $40m
Qalaa Holdings, an Egypt-based investment holding company previously named Citadel Capital, recently announced that it will sell its 70-percent ownership in Tanmeyah, an Egypt-based provider of microloans and microinsurance, to Egyptian Financial Group (EFG) Hermes, an investment bank serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $5.5m to Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) d.d. Sarajevo to Increase Housing Finance Access
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced that it will loan EUR 5 million (USD 5.5 million) to Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) d.d. Sarajevo, which is controlled by Slovenian finance firm NLB Group, to enable younger and lower-income households in Bosnia and Herzegovina to acquire housing.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion; Inclusive Finance in India; Financial Regulation for Inclusion and Development in Latin America
“Current Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion;” by M. Soursourian, E. Dashi and E. Dokle; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2015; 4 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Current-Trends-in-International-Funding-Dec-2015.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DiD) to Provide Microfinance to Food Producers in Senegal in Partnership with Micronutrient Initiative
Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a Canadian nonprofit supporting the community finance sector in emerging economies, recently joined the “Project integer de nutrition dans les regions de Kedougou et Kolda (PINKK)”, which is aimed at increasing food security for women and children in the Senegalese regions of Kedougou and Kolda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL) Members to Access Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR)
Nine financial cooperatives associated with the Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League (CamCCUL), a network of 208 financial institutions that also provides financial services directly to the public, have met the requirements to access the Agricultural Credit Facilitation Fund of Projet d’Appui au Développement de la Microfinance Rurale (PADMIR), a Cameroon-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Loans $250m to Bayport Management to Boost Microfinance in Africa, Latin America
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, recently invested USD 250 million through a senior debt facility in Bayport Management Limited, Mauritius-based network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: French Insurer AXA Ups Commitment to Microinsurance, Increasing Equity Stake in UK’s MicroEnsure to 46%
MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International, recently announced that AXA Group, a French insurance and asset management company, will pay an undisclosed sum to increase its equity stake in the organization to 46 percent from an unspecified level.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Network FINCA International Appoints Andree Simon as Co-CEO
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit with microfinance operations in 23 countries, recently announced the promotion of Andrée Simon to the position of co-CEO of FINCA Microfinance Holding LLC (MFH), FINCA’s International’s network of microfinance subsidiaries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Issues $22m in Bonds to Benefit Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Annapurna, ESAF Microfinance and Investment (EMFIL), Satin Creditcare
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that focuses on emerging markets, recently informed MicroCapital that it has completed bond transactions with a total value of USD 22 million.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: ING’s Billion to Gain: Geographic Variations in Microfinance Impact; Indian Mobile Wallet Market Growth; Profiting From Financial Inclusion
“A Billion to Gain? Microfinance Clients Are Not Cut from the Same Cloth,” by G. Hieminga, R. Budjhawan, S. Eriksen, I. Unger; published by ING Bank; November 2015; 8 pages; available at: http://www.ingcb.com/insights/research/microfinance-emancipating-the-worlds-poorest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of West African States, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector to invest $30m in Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Banque Centrale des Etats de L’Afrique (BCEAO), the central bank for eight West African countries, and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a development finance institution affiliated with the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank, recently agreed to provide USD 30 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).