Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) recently disbursed a loan of USD 3 million from one of its funds, Incofin CVSO, to Cooperativa Pacifico to allow the Peruvian microfinance institution to expand
Category: Latin America & Caribbean
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banque Nationale de Crédit Lending $890k to Microfinance Institution FINCA Haiti to Support Microentrepreneurs, Small Businesses
FINCA Haiti, a microfinance institution owned by US-based FINCA Impact Finance, recently opened a credit line of HTG 100 million (USD 892,000) from Banque Nationale de Crédit, a bank in Haiti. According to FINCA Impact Finance, “This is the first locally-sourced credit line
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banco del País, Citibank, DFC, Microsoft, Government of Taiwan, Collaborate to Support Women-led SMEs, “Gender-smart” Investing, Technology Infrastructure
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a government-backed institution, recently announced it will participate in the following initiatives promoting the economic empowerment of women:
1) The office of the US President and DFC increased the target of funds to be mobilized through the 2X Women’s Initiative of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative to USD 6 billion. 2X Women was launched in 2018 and has since documented
SPECIAL REPORT: Stakeholders Fearful, But with Tentative Hope Too in e-MFP’s Just-published “COVID-19 Financial Inclusion Compass”
The
European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) has published the COVID-19 Financial Inclusion Compass, a special edition of the Compass series specifically focused on the current challenges, medium-term priorities, concerns, opportunities and forecasts for a sector facing probably the greatest crisis in its modern history.
The world – the financial inclusion sector included – is in the midst of twin crises: (1) a novel and highly contagious virus with no vaccine or cure that shows no signs of abating; and (2) a genuinely global recession as a result of the unavoidable containment measures put in place. The situation is uncertain and dynamic. Six months from now, the landscape will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Launches $10m Bond Issue for Abaco of Peru for Microlending, SME Finance
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company, recently launched a “social” bond to raise USD 10.2 million to benefit Peruvian Cooperative de Ahorro y Crédito Abaco. The bond is part of the Sustainability, Social and Green Bond Framework of Symbiotics’ entity Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bonds SA. The proceeds will flow to Abaco in the form of a 4-year, unsecured senior loan of PEN 36 million. Abaco plans to use the proceeds “to finance small and medium-sized enterprises within the trade, services and agriculture sectors, in particular the
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “COVID-19 Crisis Through a Migration Lens,” by Dilip Ratha et al, published by World Bank Group
This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on past and potential future trends in international economic migration and remittances. The first section focuses on the general impact of the pandemic, considering topics such as changes in the earnings of migrant workers, declines in remittance flows and policy responses. The second section delves into the cost of remittances and migration patterns in six regions:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MAPFRE, GSI Launch $57m Global Social Impact Fund to Invest in Africa, Central America
The Spain-based insurance firm MAPFRE (Mutualidad Agrupación Propietarios Fincas Rústicas de España) and Global Social Impact (GSI), a Spanish investment firm, recently announced the creation of the Global Social Impact Fund to invest in “companies with high social impact on both frontier and emerging markets.” The fund, which will invest primarily via debt, has a target volume of EUR 50 million (USD 57.1 million). Its sectors of focus are agriculture, energy and financial inclusion. It will begin its deployments in sub-Saharan Africa and later expand to Central America. MAPFRE and Santa Comba, the Spanish holding company that is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinDev Canada, FMO Loan $72m to Latin American Agribusiness Development (LAAD) for SME Finance
Development finance institutions (DFIs) FinDev Canada and the Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently provided a syndicated loan of USD 72 million to the US-based, for-profit Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD). LAAD will use the funds to finance term loans and revolving lines of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the goal of spurring market development and job growth in rural communities. LAAD requires that each of its loans is used according to an
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education Financing,” by Samer Al-Samarrai et al, published by the World Bank Group
This paper explores the economic implications of COVID-19 and arguments for mobilizing resources from government and development partners to alleviate educational losses in terms of educational services, student enrollment rates and student achievement. The authors also consider recent policy interventions and proposals in contrast to similar efforts made during past crises. The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADA, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Respond to COVID-19 with Information Sharing, Funding, Partnerships
Luxembourg-based NGOs ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome) and the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation have launched a range of resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic including the following:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Reports Losses Under 3%; Invests $3.4m Refinancing Microfinance Institutions in Mexico, Tajikistan
Microfinance institutions in Mexico and Tajikistan recently sold packages of non-securitized loan claims for MXN 61.3 million (USD 2.66 million) and USD 750,000 and to IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV). The names of the microlenders have not released.
During the first four months of 2020, the two share classes of IIV Mikrofinanzfonds generated losses of 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent. This
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “2020 Annual Impact Investor Survey,” by Dean Hand et al, published by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
The 10th edition of this survey includes responses from 294 impact investors, those that seek to “generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” From the data the authors have collected, they reach the following conclusions:
MEDIA OF THE MONTH: (Accidental) Loans to Farmers Keep Food on the Table
Barbara Magnoni, President of EA Consultants, discusses her column in the May 2020 issue of the MicroCapital Monitor on what the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic can teach us about the role of agricultural lending in a diversified portfolio.
This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Approves $1b for Health, Food Security, Financial Services, Small Business
The government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently approved the disbursal of a total of USD 1 billion to 12 projects in emerging markets in Africa, Latin America and the Indo-Pacific region that seek to strengthen health systems; food security; employment opportunities; technology; education; and access to financial services for underserved groups such as women and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Sixty percent of the funding is
SPECIAL REPORT: COVID-19 Edition of Financial Inclusion Compass Survey Launches – Looking at Challenges and Priorities of a Sector Under Threat – An Invitation to Participate
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): e-MFP has launched the third e-MFP survey of financial inclusion trends, but as a special edition focused solely on the challenges and priorities facing the sector as a result of the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Several months into this global crisis, with its critical threat to vulnerable populations, financial inclusion providers and the entire ecosystem that supports them, the scale of the challenges ahead is becoming increasingly clear, and stakeholders can think not just about the immediate effects, but their priorities in the medium term as the sector recovers from this and puts in place measures to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 26 Inclusive Finance Players Pledge to Support Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Clients Throughout Pandemic
At the initiative of the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, microfinance lenders and other operators in the inclusive finance sector have agreed to a set of “Key Principles to Protect Microfinance Institutions and Their Clients in the COVID-19 Crisis.” The commitment involves measures including: operating in a customer-centric manner, protecting staff members, sharing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Brazil Launching Open Banking Regulations in Partnership with TecBan, Ozone
Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), the central bank of Brazil, is introducing open banking regulations “enabling licensed institutions to share customer data” with the goal of encouraging “the rise of comparison platforms, financial management tools and more customer-friendly payment initiation procedures.” The central bank plans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lending $94m to Mitigate Effects of COVID-19 on 29k Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Ecuador
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 93.8 million to Ecuador to on-lend as working capital to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country in an effort to sustain employment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to reach approximately 29,000 MSEs, some via savings and credit cooperatives that will enjoy guarantees from