The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based, multilateral, development finance organization, recently announced that it has syndicated a USD 9 million loan to Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito (COAC) Jardín Azuayo, a savings and credit cooperative in Ecuador. USD 3 million of the loan has been funded by IDB, the lead arranger in the transaction, through its “Opportunities for the Majority” initiative. The remaining USD 6 million was funded by the following three impact investors: Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative investment fund that invested USD 3 million [2]; Incofin, a Belgian investment management firm that invested USD 2 million [3]; and Calvert Foundation, a private US foundation that invested the remaining USD 1 million [4].
Category: Latin America & Caribbean
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION Microfinanças of Manaus, Brazil Begins Disbursing Microfinance Loans
ACCION Microfinanças, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Brazil as a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently disbursed its first loan. Officially established in December 2010, ACCION Microfinanças aims support to poor people and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Amazon region through access to microcredit.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banco Compartamos of Mexico Reports Flat Net Profit For Q4 as Staffing Level Rises 33% in One Year
Banco Compartamos, a microfinance bank that was established in Mexico in 1990, reported a net profit of MXN 515 million (USD 41.6 million) for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to MXN 516 million (USD 42.5 million) for the same quarter of 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments Loans Total of $5.8m to Banco Solidaro of Ecuador, Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador (FACES) of Ecuador, Edpyme Alternativa of Peru, Apoyo Integral of El Salvador
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made loans totaling approximately USD 5.8 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador, Peru and El Salvador.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s Corporación para las Microfinanzas-Puerto Rico Appoints Annette M Montolo as President
The Corporación para las Microfinanzas Puerto Rico (Microfinanzas-PR), a microfinance institution (MFI) controlled by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Foundation (BBVA Microfinance Foundation) recently appointed Annette M Montolo as its new president.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Freedom from Hunger Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) Initiative Reaches Peru, Vietnam, Cambodia; Expands in India
US-based nonprofit Freedom from Hunger recently announced that, since the completion of its Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative in December 2009, it has replicated the program in Peru, Vietnam, Cambodia and additional communities in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION’s Centre for Financial Inclusion Offers Lessons Learned from Nicaraguan Microfinance Crunch, Reiterates Six-Point Agenda For “Recalibration” of Industry Worldwide
The Centre for Financial Inclusion, a division of US-based nonprofit ACCION International, recently released an overview of lessons that can be taken from the Nicaraguan microfinance downturn. Triggered by a combination of the global economic downturn and the “No Pago” (No Payment) Movement, which was encouraged by the Nicaraguan government, the result was a reduction in the aggregate microloan portfolio from USD 420 million in 2008 to USD 170 million in 2011, a fall in the number of clients served from 324,000 to 225,000 and estimated portfolio at risk rising to 19 percent [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Partnerships (GP) Loans Total of $3m to Crediflorida and Fondo de Desarrollo Regional (Fondesurco) of Peru, Fundación Realidad Asociación Civil (FRAC) of Mexico and Fundación para el Desarrollo Microempresarial (D-Miro) of Ecuador
Global Partnerships (GP), a US-based nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America, recently reported to MicroCapital that it disbursed loans totaling USD 3 million from its Social Investment Fund 2010 (SIF 2010) to four MFIs in Latin America.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) Americas Conference and Expo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 21 – 24, 2011
Event Name: Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) Americas Conference and Expo
Event Date: March 21 – March 24, 2011
Event Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) Approves $15m Loan for Microfinance Institutions in Peru
The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), a multilateral financial institution that is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently approved funding of up to USD 15 million for a program in Peru that is intended to expand lending to individuals for home purchases and remodeling and business lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberty Mutual Offers Low-Cost Health Insurance in Colombia, Includes Payment Through Gas Company
Liberty Mutual, a US-based insurance provider that has subsidiaries across Asia, Europe and Latin America, has recently started offering health insurance policies to poor people in the slums of Barranquilla, Columbia. Micheal McCord, founder of the Microinsurance Centre, a for-profit organization that designs insurance policies for the poor, stated that while microcredit helps the poor in starting businesses and earning profits, an event such as serious health problem or death in the family can wipe out the profits earned if the entrepreneur is uninsured [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Partnership With Banco Itaú Europa, Commerzbank, Israel Discount Bank and Banco Security, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Syndicates $45m to Banco Industrial do Brasil (BIB) to Support Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank Group, a multilateral development finance organization based in Washington, DC, recently disbursed a syndicated loan equivalent to USD 45 million to Banco Industrial do Brasil (BIB), a commercial bank based in São Paulo, Brazil, with the intent of increasing financing initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Partnerships (GP) Loans a Total of $1.5m to Fondo de Desarrollo Comunal (FONDECO) of Bolivia and Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras
Global Partnerships (GP), a US-based nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America, recently reported to MicroCapital that it disbursed loans from its Social Investment Fund 2010 (SIF 2010) totaling USD 1.5 million to two MFIs in Latin America.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments of Switzerland Makes Loans Totaling $10m to FINCA International Subsidiaries in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ecuador and Mexico
responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested loans approximately equivalent to USD 10.2 million to FINCA International subsidiaries in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ecuador and Mexico. FINCA International is a global microfinance network operating in 21 countries reporting total assets of USD 467 million as of 2009 [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mission Markets Announces First Microfinance Investment on Its Impact Investment Platform
Mission Markets Incorporated, a New York-based financial services outfit that operates online platforms connecting investors with socially oriented businesses, recently announced the posting of its first investment offering in microfinance. In this case, the offering is to purchase assets from Envest Microfinance, a cooperative based in the US state of Wisconsin that reported USD 500,000 invested in Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs) as of 2008.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases “Microfinance Market Report for Latin America and Caribbean 2010”
Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, that provides business, financial and operational information on the microfinance sector, has recently released the “Microfinance Market Report for Latin America and Caribbean 2010”.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) Approves Increase in Credit Line to Banco ProCredit Ecuador from $8m to $12m
Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), a development finance organization that was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela, recently increased its credit line to Banco ProCredit Ecuador, a bank that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, from USD 8 million to USD 12 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexican Microfinance Bank Compartamos Banco Looks To Expand in Other Latin American Nations
Carlos Danel, an executive vice president and co-founder of Mexican microfinance bank Compartamos Banco, recently said that the bank is looking to expand into other countries that have similar markets to Mexico, particularly other Latin American countries.