Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany’s Invest In Visions (IIV), recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 11 million) to ASA International India, a microlending unit of ASA International. ASA India was founded in 2008 and serves seven states. During 2019, it distributed 494,000 loans, resulting in a gross loan portfolio of INR 12.9 billion (USD 181 million). Most of ASA India’s loans range in size from INR 1,000 (USD 14) to INR 30,000 (USD 422), carrying terms of 46 weeks and interest rates of 23.25 percent per year.
ASA International is a microfinance holding company that owns and operates 13 microfinance institutions in Asia and Africa. The firm, which has offices in Bangladesh and the Netherlands, was co-founded by Md Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, the founder of ASA. ASA, also known as the Association for Social Advancement, is an NGO that provides savings, lending, health, education, agricultural and sanitation services primarily in rural Bangladesh. Catalyst Microfinance Investors, a microfinance fund co-founded by Mr Choudhury, launched ASA International in 2007. ASA International’s holdings operate 1,800 branches and hold an aggregate gross loan portfolio of USD 420 million outstanding to 2.3 million borrowers as of 2019.
IIV was founded in 2006 to provide institutional and retail investors financial and social returns. In 2011, it launched IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund that focuses on investing in small and medium-sized microfinance institutions in rural areas. It accepts investments as small as EUR 100 (USD 112). As of July 2019, it has total assets amounting to EUR 723 million (USD 806 million). IIV Mikrofinanzfonds’ placements enable loans averaging USD 2,785 to 281,000 microentrepreneurs, about half of whom are women. In addition to microfinance, IIV offers services in areas such as “sustainable” agriculture and social enterprise.
Sources and Additional Resources
IIV factsheet
https://www.investinvisions.com/files/1912_factsheet_dezember_2019_englisch.pdf
IIV homepage
https://www.investinvisions.com/
ASA International India homepage
https://www.asaindia.in/
ASA International homepage
https://www.asa-international.com/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest In Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $49m to Microfinance Institutions in Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico and Timor-Leste – Including $10m to MFI Alternativa 19 del Sur
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-invest-in-visions-iiv-mikrofinanzfonds-lends-49m-to-microfinance-institutions-in-ecuador-egypt-indonesia-kazakhstan-kosovo-kyrgyzstan-mexico-and-timor-leste-inclu/
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