Dutch development bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) reportedly has approved a five-year loan of EUR 5 million (USD 6.8 million) to Fortis Microfinance Bank, a Nigerian private-sector bank.
Category: Key Players
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility of Switzerland Loans $20m to Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru
ResponsAbility Investments, a Swiss investor in microfinance and other sectors, recently loaned USD 20 million to Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian NGO microfinance institution (MFI). Further information on the transaction is not available.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prudential Purchases Controlling Stake in Ghana’s Express Life Insurance From LeapFrog Investments
UK-based life insurance firm Prudential plc has purchased a majority stake in Ghanaian microinsurance provider Express Life Insurance Company from LeapFrog Investments, a private equity fund based in Mauritius.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Loan $1.5m to FINCA MDO for Microlending in Tajikistan
IFC, a US-based international financial institution and a member of the US-based World Bank Group, plans to loan USD 1.5 million to Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Microcredit Deposit Organization (MDO), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Tajikistan that is a part of the US-based, nonprofit FINCA International microfinance network.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Google.org Donates $3m to Launch Kiva Labs to Crowdsource Funds for Education, Clean Energy, Agriculture
Google.org, the charity arm of US-based technology and service provider Google, has selected Kiva, a US-based microloan fundraiser, as the recipient of the 2013 Google Impact Award.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sequoia Capital Sells 1.75% Stake in India’s SKS Microfinance to WestBridge Capital for $4.7m
Sequoia Capital, a US-based venture capital firm, has sold its 1.75-percent stake in SKS Microfinance, an Indian for-profit microfinance institution, to WestBridge Capital, an investment group with offices in India, Mauritius, and the United States.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Bank Secures $75m for Microfinance Enhancement Facility for On-lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises
Deutsche Bank, a German financial services company, recently secured USD 75 million in financing from unspecified private investors for the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a microfinance investment vehicle, for on-lending via retail financial institutions to micro- and small enterprises in middle and low-income countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Investment Management Seeking to Raise $200m for “agRIF” Fund for Small-Scale Agriculture
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds including two “Rural Impulse Funds” (RIFs), has announced the launch of “agRIF”, which is targeted to raise USD 200 million to invest in institutions that provide financial services to “small-scale” farmers [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $3.4m to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing in Armenia, Makes $106k Equity Investment in Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves of Kosovo
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has disbursed two loans totaling USD 3.4 million in Armenia to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing, the leasing subsidiary of ACBA [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID), NetHope Announce 3 Grants Totaling $42k to Support Electronic, Mobile Payments
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and NetHope, a consortium of 41 international humanitarian organizations, recently announced three grants totaling USD 42,000 that aim to support development organizations in testing electronic payments and performing cost-benefit analyses of cash versus electronic payment systems.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $63m to Belorusian-Russian Belgazprombank of Belarus, Banca Transilvania of Romania, Microfinance Institution AccessBank of Azerbaijan
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, recently disbursed loans intended to benefit micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the following amounts: EUR 20 million (USD 27.4 million) to Belorusian-Russian Belgazprombank, a Belorusian bank; EUR 15 million (USD 20.5 million) to Banca Transilvania, a privately-owned Romanian bank; and USD 15 million to AccessBank, an Azerbaijani for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) and a member of Germany’s Access Microfinance Holding (AccessHolding) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda Receives $514k from Development Bank of Austria, “Partnership for Financial Inclusion” of International Finance Corporation (IFC), MasterCard Foundation
The Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Rwanda, will receive a donation of USD 514,000 from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, and the Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), Austria’s development bank, to support the provision of financial services – including mobile services – particularly to women and small-scale enterprises [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Partnership for Financial Inclusion” of International Finance Corporation (IFC), MasterCard Foundation Donates $2.7m to AccessBank Tanzania, FINCA Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for Projects Including Mobile Banking
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently notified MicroCapital that it has launched projects with AccessBank Tanzania (ABT), a member of Germany’s Access Microfinance Holding (AccessHolding), and FINCA DRC, a subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International) that operates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) of Kenya, Women’s World Banking of US Partner to Serve Women in Sub-Saharan Africa
Kenya-based Financial Services Deepening (FSD), a trust that provides funding to financial institutions, and US-based Women’s World Banking (WWB), a nonprofit that works with financial institutions to provide financial tools to low-income women in 28 countries, reportedly are partnering to provide financial services to women in Sub-Saharan Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, European Microfinance Network (EMN) Announce Sixth Edition of $69k Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Award
The sixth annual edition of the Giordano Dell’Amore Microfinance Good Practices Europe Award, which seeks to recognize best practices in the European microfinance industry, has been announced by Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, an Italian foundation that supports microfinance, and the European Microfinance Network (EMN), a Belgium-based NGO that promotes microfinance and self-employment [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Microfinance Holding Raises $48m from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund, Triodos
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Microfinance Holding (FMH), a for-profit investment vehicle controlled by US-based NGO FINCA International, has announced that it has raised USD 48 million in a second round of investments [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) Commit $8.3m to Housing Microfinance Project, Lafarge Nigeria to Provide Technical Assistance
Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s international development agency, has announced a long-term credit line of NGN 1 billion (USD 6.3 million) to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI), to support an affordable housing project that aims to enable low-income families in Nigeria to construct or improve their housing [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission’s “JASMINE Helpdesk” Answers Questions on Microfinance in Europe
The JASMINE (Joint Action to Support Microfinance Institutions in Europe) Helpdesk, which has been operational since 2011, is an online information service that provides answers to microfinance-related queries posed by representatives of microfinance institutions (MFIs), microentrepreneurs, and others interested in microfinance in Europe [1].