The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit that provides financial services to microfinance institutions, recently notified MicroCapital that it approved a three-year, local-currency loan equivalent to approximately USD 370,000 to Chamroeun, a Cambodian microfinance institution.
Category: Investment Funds
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Trico Charitable Foundation to Host 2013 Social Enterprise World Forum, October 2-4, 2013, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Event Name: 2013 Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF)
Event Date: October 2-4, 2013
Event Location: Telus Convention Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Invests in 5 Startups Aiming to Bring Financial Services to Poor People, Including Salud Facil of Mexico, Varthana of India
Accion, a US-based provider of microenterprise loans and business training in 31 countries, has announced that its Accion Venture Lab, which provides seed capital and management support to financial inclusion startups, will invest an aggregate of USD 10 million in startup companies that deliver financial services to poor people around the globe.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $6m to Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inecobank of Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has recently disbursed a loan of EUR 4 million (USD 5.2 million) to Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina and AMD 375 million (USD 911,600) to Inecobank of Armenia [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Atlantic Bank of Belize Extend Effort to Improve Access to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises, Increase Portfolio to $35m by 2014
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Atlantic Bank, a Belizean bank majority-held by Sociedad Nacional de Inversiones, SA of Honduras, recently launched the second phase of a project with the aim of improving access to financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Belize with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Online Fundraiser Kiva Discloses Delinquencies of Microfinance Institutions Alidé of Benin, FECECAV of Togo
Kiva, a US-based online microlending fundraiser, recently reported on delinquent payments due to Kiva by non-profit institutions L’Association de Lutte pour la promotion des Initiatives de Développement (Alidé) of Benin and Faîtière des Caisses d’Epargne et de Crédit des Associations Villageoises (FECECAV) of Togo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union Commit $25m to Kyrgyz Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (KyrSEFF)
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently launched the Kyrgyz Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (KyrSEFF), a USD 20 million credit line supporting energy efficiency projects for households and private enterprises in the Kyrgyz Republic.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Bank Launches Sustainable Pioneer, Sustainable Equity Retail Funds
Triodos Bank, a for-profit financial institution based in the Netherlands, has launched two new investment funds, the Sustainable Pioneer Fund and the Sustainable Equity Fund.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management Loans $13m from Dual Return Funds to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in South America, Eurasia Including FINCA Armenia
Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, recently notified MicroCapital that it loaned the equivalent of USD 13 million during April 2013 through two of the funds that it manages to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Peru, the Philippines, Russia and Tajikistan. Of this amount, USD 7.5 million was issued in local currency.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $16m to ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank of Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has notified MicroCapital that it recently disbursed two loans totaling the equivalent of USD 16 million to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia-Credit Agricole Bank (ACBA), a microfinance bank partially owned by French bank Credit Agricole.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Opens $112m in Credit Lines to Société Générale Expressbank, Sogelease Bulgaria for On-lending, Leasing to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to loan up to EUR 85 million (USD 111.5 million) to two units of French-based Société Générale Group to finance the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog, Kinnevik Invest $7m in Mobile Microinsurance Provider Bima
LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in insurance providers operating in emerging markets, recently announced plans to invest USD 4.3 million to take a stake of undisclosed size in Bima, a Sweden-based mobile microinsurance provider that operates in emerging markets in Africa and Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $8m to Banco Pichincha of Ecuador
ResponsAbility Social Investments, a Swiss investment company, has notified MicroCapital that it recently disbursed loans totaling USD 8 million to Banco Pichincha of Ecuador, a commercial bank that offers financial services to corporations; retailers; and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund to Invest $5.8 million in Equity in Nxtp Labs of Argentina to Support Technology Start-Ups in Latin America
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) Group, recently approved a USD 5 million equity investment and USD 750,000 in technical assistance for Nxtp Labs, an Argentina-based company that provides seed funding for entrepreneurs in Latin America seeking to establish technology-based businesses in exchange for an equity stake worth between two and ten percent.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-Based Sequoia Capital Invests $2m in Equity in Electronic Payment Platform, Citrus Pay
Citrus Pay, a Mumbai-based digital payments service provider, and Ezetap Mobile Solutions, a Bangalore-based mobile payments service provider, have developed electronic payment platforms that address internet security and connectivity challenges, both of which have discouraged Indian consumers from using digital payment methods.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) Maroc Launches “Financial Solutions Youth” Project in Morocco
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), a Canada-based nonprofit that aims to alleviate poverty through financial investment via 227 partner institutions in 56 countries, and its Morocco division, MEDA Maroc, are launching the “Financial Solutions Youth” project in an effort to support Moroccan microfinance institutions (MFIs) in improving access to financial services for youth.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, International Finance Corporation, African Capitalization Fund Buy 34% of UT Bank of Ghana for $23m
Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the African Capitalization Fund (ACF), a US-based investment fund managed by IFC subsidiary IFC Asset Management Company, recently placed an equity investment totaling approximately GHS 46 million (USD 23.3 million) in UT Bank Limited, a publicly-traded Ghanaian bank that offers microfinance services and was formerly known as Unique Trust Financial Services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Caspian Advisors Launches $40m Caspian Impact Investments (CII) Fund for Microfinance, Affordable Housing, Agriculture
Caspian Advisors Private Ltd., an Indian investment management and advisory services company specializing in the socially-responsible arena, recently launched the Caspian Impact Investments (CII) fund, which is targeted to raise USD 40 million for projects in the areas of microfinance, small business financing, affordable housing and agriculture.