by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program Invest $10m in Root Capital for Farmers in Africa, Latin America

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the private-sector office of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), a multilateral mechanism established by the G20 group of 20 large economies, have announced that each of the organizations will invest USD 5 million in Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit social investment fund.

by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Austria’s Absolute Portfolio Management Loans $11m to Microfinance Institutions Through Vision Microfinance Funds, Including $1.5m to Pro Mujer Bolivia, $1.5m to PRIDE Tanzania, $750k Renewed to FINCA Tanzania

In December 2012, Dual Return-Vision Microfinance and Dual Return-Vision Microfinance Local Currency, two funds managed by Austria-based asset management company Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), disbursed a total equivalent to USD 11.75 million in loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide, including MFIs in Latin America and Africa.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maruhan Japan Bank Acquires Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Sathapana Limited of Cambodia

Maruhan Japan Bank, a Japanese financial institution with assets of USD 123 million as of 2011, recently has completed the acquisition of a stake in Sathapana Limited, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI).

by Chioma Okwudiafor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $32m to Garanti Leasing of Turkey to Boost Services to Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) based in Luxembourg, recently disbursed a EUR 25 million (USD 32.6 million) loan to Garanti Leasing, a subsidiary of Turkey’s Garanti Bank that provides real-estate and equipment leasing services, to aid it in serving more micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly in rural areas.

by Chioma Okwudiafor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Loans $15m to AccessBank to Aid Small Enterprises, Microentrepreneurs in Azerbaijan

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 15 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, to supplement lending to micro-small and medium sized-enterprises in the country.

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FirstRand Bank of South Africa Receives $300m Line of Credit from African Development Bank (AfDB)

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a multilateral institution that provides loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently approved a seven-year line of credit in the amount of USD 300 million to FirstRand Limited, a financial service provider based in South Africa that operates in seven African countries.

by Jennifer Young -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government Hopes Zimbabwe Microfinance Wholesale Facility Can Lower Microfinance Institution Interest Rates That Reportedly Hit 40% Monthly

At the recent launch of the Zimbabwe Microfinance Wholesale Facility (ZMWF), a vehicle that offers wholesale funds to financial intermediaries, Norman Mataruka, registrar of banking institutions for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), reportedly claimed that microfinance institutions (MFIs) charge interest rates as high as 40 percent per month, negatively impacting key economic drivers – micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

by Jennifer Young -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: After Reserve Bank of India Caps Microfinance Institution Interest Rates at 26%, Investors Eye Non-Banking Financial Companies

Microfinance investors reportedly are seeking to invest in India’s non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established a new regulation framework in 2011 that included an interest rate cap of 26 percent on loans disbursed by microfinance institutions (MFIs).

by Jennifer Young -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditEase Inclusive Finance Wholesale Fund of China Loans $800k to First 5 Beneficiaries

CreditEase, a Beijing-based wealth management firm, recently delivered CNY 5 million (USD 800,000) from its Inclusive Finance Wholesale Fund to five undisclosed rural microcredit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in China.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microinsurance for Microfinance Institutions; Trends in Microfinance Investments; Inclusive Insurance Markets

“Pathways Towards Greater Impact: Better Microinsurance Models, Products and Processes for MFIs;” by Craig Churchill, Aparna Dalal and Josh Ling; published by International Labour Organization; November 2012; 52 pages; available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/mifacility/download/mpaper18_models.pdf

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Donates $211k to Incofin Investment Management of Belgium to Renew Capacity Development Facility

Incofin Investment Management, a Belgian fund management company, and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), a public-private development bank founded in 1970, recently signed the fourth capacity development agreement stemming from their partnership that was launched in 2008 to strengthen a total of 14 microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide.

by Lena Phillips -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion’s Frontier Investments, Saama Capital Invest $4m in Equity in Shubham Housing Development Finance of India

Frontier Investments Group, an investment vehicle of the US-based nonprofit Accion, recently announced that it, along with Saama Capital, a venture focused investment firm in India, invested a total of USD 4 million in equity in India’s Shubham Housing Development Finance Company.

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Lends $1m to Fundación para el Desarrollo Socioeconómico Rural (FUNDESER) of Nicaragua

Belgian microfinance fund manager Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) recently loaned USD 1 million to Fundación para el Desarrollo Socioeconómico Rural (FUNDESER), a Nicaraguan nongovernmental organization (NGO), through a fund it manages, the Rural Impulse Fund II.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Trends in Cross-Border Funding for Microfinance; Microinsurance Among Microcredit Groups in Tanzania; Asian Development Bank Interventions Fail to Reach Enough Poor People

“Current Trends in Cross-Border Funding for Microfinance;” by Estelle Lahaye and Ralitsa Rizvanolli; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2012; 4 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Current-Trends-in-Cross-Border-Funding-for-Microfinance-Nov-2012.pdf

by Sarah Benali -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arab Spring Foundation’s Farasee Seeking to Raise $1b for “1 Million Jobs for MENA Initiative” in Morocco

The Arab Spring Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Employment, also known as the Farasee Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that was created to launch “1 million jobs for Middle East and North Africa (MENA)” initiative, which intends to provide institutional investors and sovereign funds with opportunities to develop food security and jobs.