The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, a 22-member multilateral financial institution, recently loaned USD 50 million to the Central Bank of Sudan, primarily for rural microlending.
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Capital India Raises Undisclosed Sum to Loan to Social Enterprises
Grameen Capital India, a Mumbai-based social business, recently raised fresh investment funds to provide debt finance for social enterprises in India from new investors including Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the India-based conglomerate Tata Group; Shrinivas Dempo, the chairman of Indian mining company Dempo Group; and Indian investment banker Vikram Gandhi. This is in addition to additional funds sourced from existing investors, the US-based nonprofit organization Grameen Foundation and two individual Indian investors, Amit Patni and Arihant Patni [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bamboo Finance Raises $31m to Complete First Close of Financial Inclusion Fund II with Plans to Grow Savings Options
Bamboo Finance, a Luxembourg-based commercial investment firm, recently announced the first close of Financial Inclusion Fund II at USD 31 million, with the slate of investors including US-based financial services company Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) and European-based asset management company AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen, Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, Unilever Partner to Support Smallholder Farmers through Enhanced Livelihoods Investment Initiative (ELII) in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean
The US-based non-profit venture fund Acumen, along with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, an initiative of US-based Clinton Foundation, and the British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever recently partnered to launch a three-year, minimum USD 10 million Enhanced Livelihoods Investment Initiative (ELII) that aims to boost the economic development of approximately 300,000 smallholder farmers in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Contribute $200m to IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund (FIG Fund), Bringing Total Funding to $345m at First Close
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank, recently announced that it will devote up to USD 200 million to the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund (FIG Fund), an investment vehicle that will make equity investments that aim to increase access to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing markets [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS), Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Together Invest $34m in Green for Growth Fund Southeastern Europe (GGF)
Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS), a German bank that focuses on investing in social and ecological projects, reportedly has invested EUR 22 million (USD 23 million) in the Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy sources.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TriLinc Global Impact Fund Invests $15.5m in Africa, Latin America
TriLinc Global Impact Fund, a US-based private investment fund, recently approved USD 15.5 million in trade finance facilities for six companies located in Argentina, South Africa and Zambia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equitas Finance Borrows $16m in Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) from Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds
Equitas Finance Private Limited, subsidiary of Indian microlender Equitas Holdings Private Limited, has raised INR 1 billion (USD 16 million) from Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds, a US-based global investment firm.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Habib Bank of Pakistan to Acquire Control of “First Microfinance Bank” in Stages for Approximately $19m
Habib Bank, a Pakistan-based commercial bank, has unveiled plans to acquire a controlling stake in First Microfinance Bank Limited-Pakistan (FMFB-P), a Pakistani microbank, via a series of equity investments over the next three years.
SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date: African Microfinance Week (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance), June 29 – July 3, 2015, Dakar, Senegal
Event Name: African Microfinance Week (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) 2015
Event Dates: June 29 – July 3, 2015
Location: King Fahd Palace Conference Center, Dakar, Senegal
Event Summary: The second annual African Microfinance Week will center around “accelerating innovative rural finance in Africa,” providing practitioners with a venue for exchanging ideas and reflecting on the trajectory of the industry. The event is designed to improve “the synergies” between the Benin-based African Microfinance Network (AFMIN), an association of 21 national microfinance networks; the African Microfinance Transparency Forum (AMT), a group that aims to strengthen the performance of African microfinance institutions (MFIs); the African Rural & Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA), a Kenya-based group of 105 central banks, retail financial service providers and microfinance networks; and the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), a Cote d’Ivoire-based NGO with 71 members. The program is sponsored by the governments of Senegal and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with support from the US-based Citi Foundation; the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank; the United Nations Capital Development Fund; and Microfact, a nonprofit, web-based platform that provides toolkits for building the capacity of MFIs. The week will include plenary sessions, trainings, an investors’ fair and the general assemblies of AFMIN and MAIN. The primary languages of the event will be French and English.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN) of Indonesia Borrows $300m from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Microenterprise Lending
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, recently provided a loan of USD 300 million to Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN), a commercial bank in Indonesia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Buys 33% Equity Stake in Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar (AMFIM)
For an undisclosed price, Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a Singapore-based equity investor in small microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Asia, recently purchased a 33-percent stake in the Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar (AMFIM), a deposit-taking MFI that was launched in Myanmar in 2014.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell West Africa Acquires 30% Stake in Microfinance Institution Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG)
Goodwell West Africa, one of four funds of the Netherlands’ Goodwell Investments, recently acquired a 30-percent share of Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) to Host “Sustainable Investing: Risk, Value, Impact!” Conference, May 4-6, 2015, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Event Name: Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) 2015 Conference, “Sustainable Investing: Risk, Value, Impact!”
Event Date: May 4-6, 2015
Event Location: The Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Summary of Event: This conference will focus on trends and emerging issues in sustainable and responsible investing. Topics of discussion will include shareholder advocacy, serving Latino and immigrant communities, addressing the need for low carbon energy sources, “place-based” investing, water investment risks and opportunities, and corporate governance structures.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USAID-Funded Lebanon Investment in Microfinance (LIM) Program Establishes Microfinance Association
Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities officially has approved the establishment of a microfinance association, whose membership will consist of the following Lebanese microfinance institutions (MFIs): Association for the Development of Rural Capacities, Association d’Entraide Professionnelle, Al Majmoua, Entrepreneurial Development Foundation, Emkan, Ibdaai Lebanon, Makhzoumi Foundation and Vitas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans SA Purchases 8.4% of Shares of Cambodian MFI Amret, Becomes Majority Shareholder; FMO Increases Stake to 19.9%
Advans SA, a Luxembourg-based venture capital company, has become the majority shareholder of Amret, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), upon approval by The National Bank of Cambodia of its purchase of 8.4 percent of the shares of Amret.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Bank Announces Closing of $50m Social Enterprise Fund “Essential Capital Consortium” (ECC)
Germany-based Deutsche Bank’s Global Social Finance Group, which specializes in socially responsible investing, recently announced the closing of a five-year, USD 50 million Essential Capital Consortium (ECC) social enterprise fund.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) to Loan $60m for Affordable Housing in Tanzania
The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank Group has approved USD 60 million in new financing to be disbursed by the International Development Association (IDA), a lending arm of the World Bank, to support its ongoing Housing Finance Project (HFP) in Tanzania, which seeks to support affordable housing in the urbanizing country by providing “medium- and long-term liquidity to lenders.”