Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, recently disbursed loans totaling USD 4 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Honduras and Tajikistan [1].
Category: Latin America & Caribbean
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Orange, Banco Popular Dominicano Launch M-Peso Mobile Payment Service in the Dominican Republic
Orange Dominicana, subsidiary of Orange of France that offers prepaid mobile services in the Dominican Republic, and Banco Popular Dominicano, a commercial bank in the Dominican Republic, reportedly have launched the M-Peso mobile wallet and payment service in the Dominican Republic.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), MasterCard Partner to Support Financial Inclusion, Transparency in Latin America, Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral financial institution that seeks to support sustainable economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean countries, has partnered with MasterCard Incorporated, a US-based payments and technology company with operations in 210 countries and territories, to expand electronic payment systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creditcorp’s Financiera Edyficar of Peru to Acquire 61% Stake in Mibanco for $179m
Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian bank holding company Creditcorp, recently announced that it will acquire a 60.7-percent stake in Mibanco, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) that is a subsidiary of nonprofit holding company Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Owner of Mibanco, Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP) Breaches Debt Covenant; Entire Peruvian Microfinance Sector Under Strain?
Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP), a Peruvian nonprofit holding company that is the majority shareholder of Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) Mibanco, recently breached a covenant on a 10-year USD 85 million corporate bond due in 2021, resulting in a downgrade of its credit rating by Fitch, a US-based rating agency.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Effectiveness of Microfinance in Cambodia; Scaling Up in Agriculture and Development; Mobile Savings in Ecuador
“AMK Cambodia – Have AMK loans helped its clients improve their overall wellbeing?”, published by Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK); January 2014; 12 pages; available at https://www.incofin.com/sites/default/files/attachments/newsitems/Change%20Study_AMK_2014.pdf
This report explores the results of a five-year study of the effectiveness of Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK), a Cambodian microfinance institution, in helping increase its clients’ livelihoods through microcredit services.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: New Ventures Mexico to Host 4th Annual “Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII),” February 18 – 20, 2014, Merida, Mexico
Event Name: Latin American Impact Investment Forum (Foro Latinoamericano de Inversion de Impacto)
Event Date: February 18 – 20, 2014
Event Location: Hyatt Regency, Merida, Mexico
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management Loans $18m from Dual Return Funds to Microfinance Institutions in Asia, Latin America
Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, recently disbursed loans totaling USD 18.5 million for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, India, Peru, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Clarion to Host “Mobile Money & Digital Payments Americas 2014”, April 7 – 9, 2014, Mexico City, Mexico
Event Name: Mobile Money and Digital Payments Americas 2014
Event Date: April 7 – April 9, 2014
Event Location: Mexico City, Mexico
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) Lends $4.1m to Association pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME) of Haiti to Boost Microlending
Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO), a French public-private development finance institution, reportedly has opened a credit line of HTG 178 million (USD 4.1 million) for Association pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME), a Haitian microfinance institution (MFI), to increase its lending portfolio.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jamaican Ministry of Finance May Regulate Microfinance Institutions, Cap Interest Rate at 40%
The Jamaican Ministry of Finance reportedly has announced plans to regulate microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country. This is made possible by the proposed Microcredit Act of 2013 that would replace the Moneylending Act of 1999. Under the new law, the maximum annual interest rate would be set at 40 percent.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “‘Doing the Math’ – Women’s Health Microinsurance in Guatemala, Studying Aseguradora Rural’s VivoSegura Microinsurance in Quetzaltenango,” by Derek Poulton and Barbara Magnoni, Published by The MicroInsurance Centre
“Doing the Math” – Women’s Health Microinsurance in Guatemala, Studying Aseguradora Rural’s VivoSegura Microinsurance in Quetzaltenango,” by Derek Poulton and Barbara Magnoni, Published by The MicroInsurance Centre as Microinsurance Learning Knowledge Brief Number 28, October 2013, 9 pages, available at http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/milk-project/milk-docs/doc_details/1043-milk-brief-28-qdoing-the-mathq-womens-health-microinsurance-in-guatemala.html
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Approves $20m Loan to Edyficar of Peru to Support Housing Finance
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based financial institution that supports small and medium-sized businesses, reportedly has approved a loan of USD 20 million to Edyficar, a financial institution in Peru that specializes in serving microenterprises, to increase housing loans.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The State of Microfinance Investment 2013,” Published by MicroRate
MicroRate, a for-profit microfinance rating agency based in the U.S., has recently released its eighth annual survey of international microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs).
SPECIAL REPORT: Why Microfinance Institutions Offer Unprofitable Housing Loans
On November 14, the closing day of the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) European Microfinance Week, Wilson Twamuhabwa, CEO of Uganda’s Ugafode Microfinance Limited, explained that his organization began to offer housing loan products partly because its clients were using 30 percent of their loans for housing anyway.
SPECIAL REPORT: Women Microfinance Clients Often Save More, Are More Loyal to Lenders
At today’s session on gender at European Microfinance Week in Luxembourg, panelists eschewed the idea that lenders have a moral obligation to serve a greater proportion of women. Instead, Anne-Marie Chidzero of South Africa and Anna Gincherman of the US-based Women’s World Banking (WWB) network both argued strenuously that lenders are leaving money on the table by failing to reach out to women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Habitat for Humanity Introduces Microcredit Program for Housing in Costa Rica
Habitat for Humanity, a US-based nonprofit that seeks to provide poor people with clean, safe and affordable housing, reportedly is launching a program in Costa Rica to provide microloans to people without access to traditional housing loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Investments Loans $5m to Microfinance Institution Edpyme Raiz of Peru
Switzerland-based investment company responsAbility Investments AG recently notified MicroCapital that it has made a senior loan of USD 5 million to Edpyme Raiz, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Peru that provides loans to micro- and small enterprises [1].