Svatantra Microfin Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company-microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI) recently agreed to pay INR 15 billion (USD 179 million) to India-based Navi Group in exchange for its fully-owned subsidiary Chaitanya. Navi was advised on the deal by
Category: Women
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DreamStart Labs Adding VisionFund as Preferred Financial Service Provider in Savings Groups App DreamSave
The US-based nonprofit World Vision International and its microfinance subsidiary VisionFund recently entered an agreement with the US-based financial software development company DreamStart Labs with the goal of enrolling 3 million people in 130,000 new savings groups over six years using DreamStart’s mobile app DreamSave. The organizations will focus on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maquita Cushunchic Borrowing $2m from DID Aequitas Fund for Microfinance, Small-enterprise Lending in Ecuador
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Maquita Cushunchic, a financial institution founded by women in Ecuador, recently accepted a loan of USD 2 million from Aequitas, a fund managed by a holding of Desjardins International Development (DID), which in turn is a member of the Canada-based cooperative Desjardins Group. Maquita Cushunchic, which mainly serves micro- and small enterprises, was founded in 1997 and since has grown to serve
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Issues Local-currency Bond in Mongolia to Finance Invescore Lending to Women-led MSMEs
The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently issued a local-currency, three-year bond in Mongolia with a face value of MNT 13.7 billion (USD 4 million) and a coupon rate of 11.25 percent paid out semi-annually. The proceeds are to fund Invescore, a non-banking financial institution in Mongolia, to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Oikocredit Subscribing to $20m Bond from CJA to Finance MSMEs in Ecuador, Targeting Underrepresented Groups
Ecuador-based Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Jardín Azuayo (CJA), with support from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is issuing bonds to raise a total of USD 20 million. The Netherlands-based cooperative Oikocredit and IDB Invest each have committed to purchase
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $4.4m to KEP Trust of Kosovo with Focus on Rural, Women-led MSMEs
KEP Trust, a microfinance institution based in Kosovo, recently agreed to borrow up to EUR 4 million (USD 4.4 million) from the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). KEP Trust plans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Places $4.3m in Equity in Varashakti Housing Finance via India Progress Fund
Incofin, a Belgian investor in lower-income countries, has invested INR 350 million (USD 4.3 million) to take an equity stake of undisclosed size in Varashakti Housing Finance (VHF), a firm active in
SPECIAL REPORT: Let’s Channel Climate Finance to Those on the Climate Front
Climate finance is hot, and rightfully so. The threat is real, and the needs are towering. The good news is that there are investible solutions out there. As with any new field, the development of climate finance has been accompanied by a range of standards, taxonomies and metrics. For climate mitigation, a clear consensus seems to be emerging on emissions reductions as the preferred metric to be tracked by investors, however the jury is still out on the ideal standards for tracking the impact of climate adaptation, and it is only starting to deliberate on resilience projects.
This difference in the pace of development of climate mitigation and adaptation standards has led to an unintended consequence: that the story of climate finance today is the story of climate mitigation. Less than 10 percent of all climate finance today goes to adaptation and resilience. This happens not because mitigation is more important than adaptation, but because the impact of mitigation projects is easier to track than that of adaptation projects. Simply put: what gets measured, gets managed.
The problem with too narrow of a focus on climate mitigation is that it does not take into account the fact that climate change is a challenge of livelihoods and social justice as much as it is an environmental challenge, especially for low-income populations and other vulnerable communities in the global South. Because climate change is not gender neutral, applying a gender (or JEDI for Justice, Equity, Diversity) approach to investments can
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Akbank Selling $300m in Bonds to DFC, AIIB, IFC – Half to Support Women-owned Businesses in Turkiye
Turkiye’s Akbank recently raised USD 300 million through the issuance of subordinated bonds to three development finance institutions. Half of the fresh cash is from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for on-lending for business and consumer purposes to women in “underdeveloped cities” in the country. The remainder is
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Minds: Standing Together; August 28-30, 2023; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This event will promote networking among impact ecosystem actors to facilitate the deployment of capital in Latin America and the Caribbean. On August 27, members of the Colombia-based network Latimpacto will meet for a pre-event dinner. The main event offers sessions titled: (1) The Role of the Multilaterals Acting as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics
Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seedstars Accepting Applications from Fintechs Offering “Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration” Through July 30
Seedstars, a Switzerland-based investment and education firm, is accepting applications from financial technology (fintech) startups looking to scale up their services to women in Africa and Asia who have migrated from their homes or whose family members have done so. Seedstars is offering this support through its Financial Innovations for Women Affected by Migration (FIWAM) programme, which includes
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global SME Finance Forum; September 12-14, 2023; Mumbai, India
The ninth iteration of this event will explore financial services providers’ delivery of digital services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leveraging samples from India and abroad. The forum will cover topics – particularly “ecosystems” – relating to digital finance, international
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO Loans $15m to AMK Microfinance of Cambodia
BIO, a government-owned institution also known as the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, recently loaned USD 15 million to Cambodia’s Angkor Microheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK). AMK provides individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Borrows $2m from Aequitas Impact Fund to Uplift Women-owned Businesses in Nicaragua
The Canadian NGO Desjardins International Development (DID) recently lent USD 2 million from its Aequitas Impact Fund to the Nicaragua-based unit of Pro Mujer, a US-based NGO that supports women and their businesses with health, training,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSPs in Ecuador to Evaluate Role of Bias in Financial Access for Women-led MSMEs with Support from IDB Invest, RFD
Red de Instituciones Financieras de Desarrollo (RFD), a network of 53 banks, cooperatives and nonprofit financial services providers (FSPs) in Ecuador, recently agreed to partner with IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, to offer RFD members advisory services relating to boosting their financing of female-led micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). RFD will distribute an online survey designed by the IDB Group to address
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $760k to Microfinance Institution Oxus Tajikistan
Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg, recently lent Oxus Tajikistan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 760,000. The purpose is to