Krishnamurthy Vijayan, the former executive chairman of JP Morgan Asset Management India, a Mumbai-based subsidiary of international investment and commercial bank JP Morgan Chase, reportedly has created Charioteer Fund-I, an INR 2.5 billion (USD 40 million) impact investment fund that will seek to place with investments in 25 ventures.
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ujjivan Financial Services Raises $7.9m from Oikocredit for On-Lending to Microfinance Clients
Ujjivan Financial Services, a Bangalore-based microfinance institution, has raised INR 500 million (USD 7.9 million) of debt capital from Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative investment fund, for on-lending to microfinance clients in an effort to support economic development in poor Indian communities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Raises $204m for Second Fund; to Invest in Microinsurance, Other Financial Services for Poor People in Africa, Asia
LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in financial services for poor people in emerging markets, has raised USD 204 million for its second equity fund.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Funds to Buy Stake in Janalakshmi Financial Services of India for $50.9m
Several private equity (PE) funds reportedly have taken stakes totaling INR 325 crore (USD 50.9 million) in Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that focuses on disbursing loans to clients in urban areas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $27m Loan to BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Baltic Region
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently revealed the pending approval of a EUR 20 million (USD 26.7 million) loan facility for the BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for investments in equity-related securities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) in the Baltic region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Austria’s Absolute Portfolio Management Issues Credits Worth $4m to Microfinance Institutions in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia
In July 2013, Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based asset management company that offers investment and advisory services to microfinance institutions, issued approximately USD 4 million in credit to microfinance institutions (MFIs) located in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Honduras and Indonesia through its two microfinance funds, Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Foundation, Grameen Bank, Brazil Foods (BRF) to Invest in Small Businesses, Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Haiti
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunus reportedly announced in June 2013 a new partnership between the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit of which Yunus serves is a board member, the Grameen Bank, a Bangladesh-based microfinance institution (MFI) founded by Dr Yunus, and Brazil Foods (BRF), a Brazil-based food production and processing company, to offer an unspecified amount of money through microfinance loans to small businesses in Haiti that are engaged in the production of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), particularly in the poultry industry [1,2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aeon Financial Service Company Limited Launches Consumer Credit Services Subsidiary Aeon Microfinance (Myanmar) Company
Aeon Financial Service Company Limited (Aeon), a Japanese-based credit and financial services provider, recently announced that it has launched Aeon Microfinance (Myanmar) Company, a consumer credit services subsidiary based in the Myanmar State of Yangon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: German KfW Bank Invests $3.28m in Equity in Invest India Micro Pension Services
Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Entwicklungsbank (KfW), a German state-owned development bank, has invested USD 3.28 million in equity in Invest India Micro Pension Services (IIMPS), a New Delhi-based regulator of micro-pension and long-term micro-savings products for poor people, in order to expand pension services to the working poor [1].
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Symbiotics 2013 MIV Survey Report: Market Data and Peer Group Analysis
Published by Symbiotics Research and Advisory; 2013; 31 pages; available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m//template.rc/1.9.62223
Symbiotics SA has conducted the seventh annual survey of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) which draws on survey responses from 84 MIVs representing approximately 93 percent of the global MIV market asset base. This paper presents an analysis of the financial and social performance of the microfinance investment industry based on data from December 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loans $50m to AccessBank of Azerbaijan for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Rural Areas
AccessBank, an Azerbaijani for-profit microfinance institution (MFI), recently notified MicroCapital that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, will provide a USD 50 million five-year senior loan facility to AccessBank.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Oikocredit USA Summit 2013: Investing in People, Empowering Communities, September 5-6, 2013, Washington, DC, USA
Event Name: Oikocredit USA Summit 2013: Investing in People, Empowering Communities
Event Date: September 5-6, 2013
Event Location: Hyatt Regency Washington, DC, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Loans $92m to National Microfinance Bank (NMB) of Tanzania for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises
The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU), recently loaned EUR 70 million (USD 92.4 million) to the National Microfinance Bank (NMB), a Tanzanian microfinance institution (MFI) that is 30-percent government-owned to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tanzania. The transaction is a long-term loan to NMB that will enable NMB to provide medium-term loans to MSMEs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Loans $17m to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank) of Niger to Support Private Sector
African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently approved a credit line in the amount of EUR 13 million (USD 17 million) to Société Nigérienne de Banque (Sonibank), a commercial bank in Niger.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) to Loan $12b by 2020 to African, Caribbean, Pacific Countries for Infrastructure, Private Business, Regional Developments
The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU), recently announced that it will loan a total of EUR 9 billion (USD 12 billion) by 2020 to institutions in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions through its ACP Investment Facility, a revolving and risk-bearing fund for private sector investment.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $6m to Enda Inter-Arabe of Tunisia for Young Entrepreneurs, Micro, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Rural Areas
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), an initiative that invests in financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, recently loaned the local-currency equivalent of USD 6 million to Enda Inter-Arabe (Enda), a financial services provider and Tunisia-based arm of non-governmental organization Enda Third-World, to support Enda’s expansion into poor rural areas of Tunisia; increase product offerings to young entrepreneurs; provide financial services to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and promote the empowerment of women. The loan is Sanad’s first debt investment in the country [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW Entwicklungsbank Invest $5.4m in AccessBank Rwanda
The Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development bank that aims to promote growth in the economies of developing countries; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that offers assistance to private companies with the goal of alleviating poverty in developing countries; and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Entwicklungsbank (KfW), a state-owned German development bank, have invested RWF 3.5 billion (USD 5.4 million) in AccessBank Rwanda (ABR), the eighth member of Access Microfinance Holding AG (AccessHolding), a German company that invests in microfinance institutions [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Siddhartha Bank Limited (SBL) Purchase 440k Shares of Rural Microfinance Development Center (RMDC) of Nepal Via Initial Public Offering (IPO)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently purchased 300,000 shares at NPR 180 (USD 1.87) per unit from an initial public offering (IPO) by the Rural Microfinance Development Center (RMDC), a Nepal-based wholesale microcredit lender.