Symbiotics Group, a Swiss for-profit provider of investment and business services, recently issued the second tranche of a bond totaling USD 5.5 million to Prasac, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI).
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Directorate for Development and Cooperation (LuxDev) Donates $219k to Support Microfinance Institution (MFI) Asusu Of Niger to Train 550 Young Entrepreneurs
The Luxembourg Directorate for Development and Cooperation (LuxDev), a government-owned institution encouraging international development, has awarded a donation of EUR 200,000 (USD 218,000) to ADA, a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organization formerly known as Appui au Developpement Autonome. The donation is intended to assist Asusu, a Niger-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Vision UK, VisionFund International Prepare for El Niño Response in Africa with $3m “Returnable” Donation from UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID)
The UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) recently awarded a “returnable” grant of GBP 2 million (USD 3 million) to World Vision UK, a branch of US-based NGO World Vision International, and VisionFund International, a microfinance organization owned by World Vision, to help families in six African countries recover from anticipated severe weather caused by El Niño, a phenomenon of warmer than average waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $5m to Opportunity Bank Serbia for On-Lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises; Low-Income Households in Rural Serbia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced that it will loan EUR 5 million (USD 5.4 million) to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS), a branch of US-based microfinance network Opportunity International, to improve access to finance for micro -and small enterprises (MSEs) and low-income households in rural areas of Serbia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) Donates $4.5m to World Vision Myanmar for Microfinance Lending, Savings
The Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund, a Myanmar-based multi-donor trust fund, recently has donated a three-year USD 4.5 million grant to three organizations affiliated with US-based NGO World Vision, to aid approximately 100,000 people in gaining improved access to financial services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Omidyar Network Leads Investment in eCurrency Mint to Support Technology That Enables Central Banks in Issuing Digital Currency
Omidyar Network, a US-based investment firm, recently made an investment of undisclosed amount in eCurrency Mint (eCM), an Ireland-based company that has developed a technology that enables central banks to issue digital currency, called eCurrency.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $340k in Local Currency to Senegal’s Mec Fadec, $930k to Tajikistan’s Humo & Partners
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a local-currency, three-year loan equivalent to USD 340,000 to Mec Fadec, a Senegalese microfinance institution (MFI), and a one-year loan of USD 930,000 to Humo & Partners, a Tajikistan-based MFI.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: M-Kopa Solar Raises $19m in Private Equity Investment to Expand Pay-As-You-Go Model in East Africa
M-Kopa Solar, a Kenya-based “pay-as-you-go” solar energy supplier for homes in Africa that do not have traditional electricity connections, has raised KES 2 billion (USD 19 million) in an equity round led by London-based Generation Investment Management LLP.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Funds Loan $20m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Eurasia, Latin America, Tanzania
During December 2015, Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 20 million via its two Dual Return Funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Moldova, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASN-Novib Microcredit Fund Goes Public on Euronext Stock Exchange
The ASN-Novib Microcredit Fund [EUR 54.07 -0.02%] [1], which is managed by the Algemene Spaarbank voor Nederland (ASN Bank), a Dutch bank, and Oxfam Novib, the Dutch branch of UK-based NGO Oxfam International, recently went public on Euronext, a stock exchange in the Dutch city of Amsterdam [2][3].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Disburses $10m to VisionFund International to Support Inclusive Finance in Africa
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently announced that it will disburse a five-year loan of USD 10 million to VisionFund International, a US-based affiliate of the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision International, aiming to support female clients and clients in rural areas via microfinance organizations (MFIs) in VisionFund’s network.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $22m to Odeabank to On-Lend to Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Turkey
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based fund that invests in the development of Southeast Europe and Central Asia’s financial sectors, recently provided Odeabank, a private deposit bank in Turkey, a loan of EUR 20 million (USD 21.86 million) to on-lend to micro and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) in Turkey [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACTIAM-FMO SME Finance Fund Closes at $162m with New Investment from Pensioenfonds Vervoer; Increased Investments from Spoorwegpensioenfonds, Stichting Pensioenfonds Openbaar Vervoer
The ACTIAM-FMO SME Finance Fund, which is managed by Actiam, a Netherlands-based asset manager, and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently closed at approximately EUR 150 million (USD 162 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lends $9m to Kyrgyzstan’s Kompanion; $5.4m to Morocco’s Albaraka to Finance Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lent the local-currency equivalent of USD 9 million to Kompanion Financial Group, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kyrgyzstan, and EUR 5 million (USD 5.4 million) to Albaraka, the first Moroccan MFI to partner with EBRD [1] [2].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microfinance Egypt Summit, March 23-24, 2016, Cairo, Egypt
Event Name: Microfinance Egypt Summit
Event Dates: March 23-24, 2016
Event Location: The Nile Ritz-Carlton Cairo, Egypt
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Lends $9.8m to Kenya’s Faulu Microfinance Bank to Finance Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending institution of the European Union (EU), recently lent Faulu Microfinance Bank (Faulu MFB), a Kenya-based microfinance institution (MFI), KES 1 billion (USD 9.79 million) under EIB’s East African Community Microfinance Facility [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Awards Small Finance Bank Licences to 10 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central banking authority of the country, recently has given “in-principle approval”[1] of the requests for Small Finance Bank Licences of the following microfinance institutions (MFIs): Jaipur-based Au Financiers, Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank, Ahmedabad-based Disha Microfin, Chennai-based Equitas, Chennai-based ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Bengaluru-based Janalakshmi Financial Services, Guwahati-based RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Chennai-based Suryoday, Bangalore-based Ujjivan and Varanasi-based Utkarsh.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission (EC) Launches EaSI-MicPro, a New Online Information on Microcredit Providers
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), recently launched EaSI-MicPro, a new online platform where microcredit providers can present information about their operations.