The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently issued the following two loans to Cambodian MFIs:
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $22m Credit to Belinvestbank of Belarus for On-Lending to Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral investment institution headquartered in London, is considering extending a credit line of EUR 20 million (USD 22 million) to Belinvestbank (BIB), a state-owned bank in Belarus.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Bankmed Partner to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) (Sanad), a Luxembourg-based organization that provides “medium- and long-term”[1] debt and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region, has recently announced the disbursement of a loan of USD 15 million to Bankmed, a Lebanese commercial bank regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO, Oikocredit Invest $8.3 million in Fusion Microfinance of India
Fusion Microfinance (Fusion), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in New Delhi, has received a combined investment of INR 53 crores (USD 8.28 million) from Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries SA (BIO), an investment company backed by the government of Belgium; and the Dutch cooperative investment fund Oikocredit.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DEG, FMO, Triodos to Invest Debt in Promerica of Nicaragua
Two microfinance investment vehicles, Triodos Microfinance Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund, recently made a debt investment of unspecified amount in Promerica Financial Corporation (Promerica Group), a commercial bank based in Nicaragua. Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Triodos Bank of the Netherlands, manages both funds. Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), the Dutch development bank; and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), a German development bank, also participated in the investment with unspecified amounts of debt finance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Investment Management Raises $71m in First Close of agRIF Fund, Successor to Rural Impulse Funds; Plans to Invest in Agricultural, Rural Enterprises
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds, recently announced the first close of agRIF, a 10-year debt and equity investment fund, at a total value of USD 71 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Donates $28k to Vitas for Microfinance Client Protection in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories
The Luxembourg-based Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) recently donated USD 28,000 to Vitas Group, a commercial holding company created by US-based, international nonprofit organization Global Communities, to train the staff of Vitas Group’s microfinance institutions in the Middle East on client protection.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Morocco’s Microfinance Market; Trends in Funding Financial Inclusion; Growth Projections in Islamic Microfinance
“Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco: Acting early, acting right;” published by the International Finance Corporation in partnership with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development; the Danish International Development Agency; Japan; Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs; and UKaid; October 2014; available at http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/5e1e5a0047850bdba0d4f5299ede9589/IFC+Morocco+MicroFinance+Crisis+report.English.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC, Calvert, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, EIB Invest $12m in Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa (PAMIGA) to Support Access to Solar Power, Irrigation in Rural Africa
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution backed by the US government, and the Calvert Foundation, a US-based nonprofit community development financial institution, recently signed agreements to loan USD 6.25 million to Pamiga Finance S.A. (PFSA) to help it spread access to solar energy and micro-irrigation systems in rural Africa [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Asset Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Issue $6m in Credits to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay
During May 2015, Viennese asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management USD 6 million worth of credits via the two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay. Of this total, C-Quadrat Asset Management invested USD 500,000 in the microfinance institution based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Founded in 2001, this institution targets micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and provides services to approximately 3,200 clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund Loans $1.5m to Microfinance Institution Humo and Partners of Tajikistan
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), a Belgium-based company that manages funds investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently loaned USD 1.5 million over 12 months via the Rural Impulse Fund II to Humo and Partners, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin to Advise Invest In Visions’ IIV-Microfinance Fund
Incofin Investment Management, a private Belgian company, recently became the fund advisor of Invest In Visions’ IIV-Microfinance Fund, which was launched in October 2011 to invest in loans to small and medium-sized (tier-2 and tier-3) microfinance institutions in developing countries [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysia Arranges $64m in Loans for Female Entrepreneurs, Chinese Traders
SME Bank, which is backed by the Malaysian government, started the Women Entrepreneur Financing Program, a fund with a budget of MYR 200 million (USD 56.1 million), to provide access to capital for female entrepreneurs in Malaysia [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 26th Annual SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing, November 3-5, 2015, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, United States
Event Name: 2015 SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing
Event Date: November 3 to November 5, 2015
Event Location: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Cost: The early registration rate of USD 995 is available until September 9, 2015, A regular registration rate of USD 1,085 is available from September 12 to October 13, 2015, and late registration rate of USD 1195 is available after October 13, 2015. Presenters, students, journalists and sponsor representatives are eligible for an entry price of USD 535 per head.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgium’s Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund Exits from MFIs in India, Mexico
During the year ending December 2014, the Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund (Impulse Fund), which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), sold its equity stakes in India-based Grameen Koota and the Mexican operations of El Salvador-based Apoyo Integral Inversiones, according to a recent announcement by Incofin.
MICROCAPITAL PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Improving the Wellbeing of the Poorest of the Poor; Finance in Motion’s Impact Investment Report; Investing in Africa’s Small, Growing Businesses
“A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries;” published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2015-05, available at http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/97047
This study reports that a multifaceted “graduation” program generated improvements in the wellbeing of the “poorest of the poor.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Loan $15m to Chase Bank Kenya, Advise on Financial Access for Women Entrepreneurs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced an agreement to provide a loan of USD 15 million and 15 months of advisory services to Chase Bank Kenya, a privately owned bank in Kenya [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Eco.business Fund Loans $10m to Banco Davivienda Costa Rica to Promote Biodiversity
The Luxembourg-based eco.business Fund, which was launched in 2014, announced recently that it has lent USD 10 million to Banco Davividenda Costa Rica, a unit of Colombia’s Bolivar Group, for on-lending to companies that work in sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and are certified for their sustainability and contribution to biodiversity by entities such as the Germany-based FairTrade International or the US-based Rainforest Alliance.