Micro-Credit Ratings International Limited (M-CRIL), an India-based provider of rating and advisory services to the microfinance industry, recently sold an unspecified portion of its equity to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a development finance institution with 67 member countries. One goal of the funding is to help M-CRIL expand in Cambodia, China, Indonesia and Nepal. ADB Principal Investment Specialist Anshukant Taneja said the investment will
Category: Key Players
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 10 Institutional, Social Ratings
During February 2017, Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating issued “microfinance institutional ratings” to the following institutions, all with stable outlooks: Indonesia’s Komida, which was assigned a grade of BB; Albania’s NOA, which earned a BBB; Haiti’s ACME, which was assigned a BB+; Vietnam’s Anh Chi Em (ACE), which got a BB-; and two institutions that each received an A-,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arise – Founded by Norfund, FMO, Rabobank to Invest in African Financial Services Providers – Buys 28% Equity Stake in Ghana’s CAL Bank from DPI
Arise, an investment company recently launched in South Africa by three European institutions, has paid an undisclosed price to acquire 27.7 percent of the shares of CAL Bank, a publicly traded financial institution in Ghana. Arise bought the stake from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Investing $15m in Equity in Sanad Fund for MSME for On-lending in the Middle East, North Africa
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced that it will place equity of USD 15 million in the debt sub-fund of the Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), which disburses “medium- and long-term” loans to financial institutions that serve MSMEs
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AYo Offers Free Mobile Health, Life Insurance to MTN Phone Subscribers in Uganda: “Recharge with Care” & “Send with Care”
AYo, which is a joint venture between two South African firms, insurer MMI Holdings and the MTN (Mobile Telecommunications Network) Group, recently launched its first two products, both in Uganda: (1) Recharge with Care, which provides life and/or hospitalization insurance when an MTN phone subscriber buys airtime; and (2) Send with Care, which
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Thos Gieskes to Lead Dutch Cooperative Investor Oikocredit
Oikocredit, a Netherlands-based cooperative with financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy investments in 71 countries, announced yesterday that Thos Gieskes is taking the position of Managing Director of the organization as of April. David Woods vacated the position in 2016 after joining Oikocredit in 2012. Mr Gieskes has over a decade of experience at
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 38th Midi de la Microfinance et de l’Inclusion Financière; March 8, 2017; Luxembourg
Event Name: 38th Midi de la Microfinance et de l’Inclusion Financière
Event Date: March 8, 2017
Event Location: Banque de Luxembourg, 14 Boulevard Royal, Luxembourg
Summary of Event: This 38th “Midi,” which is titled “Entreprenante Afrique: The Age of SMEs” consists of a one-hour discussion on the role that investors can play in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $9m in Ecuador, Honduras
C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, today informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds extended credit totaling approximately USD 9 million to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Learning Forum; May 23-25, 2017; Bangkok, Thailand
Event Name: Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Learning Forum
Event Date: May 23 – 25, 2017
Event Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Summary of Event: This event will offer stakeholders opportunities to discuss achieving “sustainable and scalable development outcomes for very poor and marginalized women.” Speakers will address
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: UN Digital Financial Services Toolkits; 7th IMF Financial Access Survey; IFC, The MasterCard Foundation Mobile Money Handbook
“How to Succeed in Your Digital Journey: a Series of Toolkits for Financial Service Providers”; Published by the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s MicroLead Program; October 2016; available upon request via: https://uncdf.wufoo.com/forms/q4pnwh31pqtp7r/
This first portion of a six-part digital toolkit, which is available in English and French, was designed to benefit microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other financial services providers that aim to offer digital financial services to unbanked populations residing in remote locations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, IFC Invest $16m in Equity in Mobisol to Finance Solar Power in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced that is placing equity investments totaling EUR 9.2 million (USD 9.9 million) in Mobisol, a Germany-based provider of solar home systems in East Africa. The investments are funded by two entities FMO manages in partnership with the Dutch government: MASSIF and the Access to Energy Fund. These investments were accompanied by an equity placement of EUR 5.4 million (USD 5.8 million) by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC to Advise FINCA DRC on Boosting Access to Credit, Mobile Banking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Funding from The MasterCard Foundation
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to provide two years of advisory services, valued at USD 1 million, to FINCA DRC, a unit of US-based FINCA Microfinance Holding Company that provides savings and credit services to 256,000 customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Lends $1.5m for Women’s Enterprises in Palestine via Microfinance Institution Asala
The Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprise), a provider of loans and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, recently announced that it will lend USD 1.5 million to the Asala for Credit and Development Company, a microfinance institution in Palestine, for on-lending to female entrepreneurs. The microlender operates nine offices in the West Bank and Gaza, focusing on serving micro- and small enterprises owned by women in rural areas. Asala, a for-profit successor to the Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association, was launched in 2014 with support from the Sharakat
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jumo Sells Microenterprise, Consumer Lender afb Ghana to Letshego
Letshego Holding Limited, which is based in Botswana and offers deposit and lending services in 10 African countries, recently paid an undisclosed price to Jumo World Limited, a financial technology firm registered in Mauritius, for all of the shares of afb Ghana, which has 60,000 customers and total assets of GHS 97 million (USD 23 million) as of December 2016. Both afb and Letshego lend for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loaning $5m to FondiBESA for Rural MSMEs, Farmers in Albania
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in the United Kingdom, recently announced that it will loan USD 5 million for rural micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and individual farmers in Albania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $29m to El Salvador’s Fedecredito for On-lending to Cooperatives, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Partner Mikrokreditna Fondacija for Agricultural Microenterprises
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently announced two loans to support the provision of financial services to people with low incomes in El Salvador and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
FMO is lending USD 24 million to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $63m to Various MFIs
Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management informed MicroCapital today that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds loaned a total approximately equivalent to USD 63.5 million during December to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mongolia and Sri Lanka. The
MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Sustainable Development; September 6 – 7, 2017; Rome, Italy
Event Name: The International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) 2017
Event Date: September 6 – 7, 2017
Event Location: Roma Eventi, Piazza della Pilotta, Rome, Italy
Summary of Event: The theme of this conference for 2017 is “Creating a unified foundation for…Sustainable Development: research, practice and education.” The organizers’ goal is to