BlueOrchard Finance disbursed over USD 28 million in loans to 13 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in May. As reported to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook, BlueOrchard Finance loaned USD 15.5 million through the Dexia Micro-Credit Fund and USD 1 million through the BBVA Codespa Microfinance Fund. BlueOrchard is also an advisor to the Microfinance Enhancement Facility, launched by the International Finance Corporation and KfW Entwicklungsbank, which disbursed its first four loans totaling USD 12 million.
BlueOrchard is a microfinance intermediary which provides loans to MFIs through its subsidiary BlueOrchard Finance, and makes equity investments through BlueOrchard Investments. BlueOrchard Finance offered loans to 5 new clients in May, including Agence de Crédit pour l’Entreprise Privée (ACEP), an MFI in Cameroon, FINCA Tajikistan, serving 19,000 clients through 8 branches in Tajikistan, and Khan Bank, an MFI working with 320,000 clients in Mongolia. BlueOrchard also made its first investments in Moldova, offering loans to ProCredit Moldova, serving 15,300 clients with a gross loan portfolio of USD 36.4 million, and Microinvest Moldova, an MFI established by the Soros Foundation Moldova and the Moldova Microfinance Alliance which has a gross loan portfolio of USD 25.8 million and 4,400 clients.
BlueOrchard Finance co-manages the Dexia Micro-Credit Fund (DMCF) with Dexia Asset Managers. The DMCF reached a net asset value of USD 496 million in May, investing in 97 MFIs in 31 countries. BlueOrchard reported 9 loans this month through the DMCF, including EUR 500,000 (USD 660,000) to ACEP Cameroon, USD 3 million to Procredit Moldova, USD 1 million to FINCA Tajikistan, USD 5 million to Khan Bank in Mongolia, USD 600,000 to CHC-Limited in Cambodia, USD 500,000 to FUNDAP in Guatemala, EUR 2 million (USD 2.7 million) to AgroInvest Montenegro and USD 1 million to Azercredit LLC in Azerbaijan – both part of the World Vision network – and a local currency loan of MXN 13,295,000 (USD 1 million) to FINCA Mexico. The Dexia Micro-Credit Fund is a recipient of the LuxFLAG label; read more about LuxFLAG in this MicroCapital article.
BlueOrchard also advises Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), a Spanish commercial bank, on investments made by the BBVA Codespa Microfinance Fund. In May, the fund disbursed a local currency loan of MXN 13,200,000 (USD 992,000) to FINCA Mexico. Read about the launch of the BBVA Codespa Microfinance Fund in this MicroCapital story.
Along with ResponsAbility Social Investments and Cyrano Management, BlueOrchard also co-manages the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a facility launched by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, and German development bank KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) to provide refinancing debt to MFIs facing liquidity problems as a result of the global financial crisis. The first four MEF loans – of USD 3 million each – were disbursed in May to Microinvest Moldova, Cofianza Peru, Eskhata Bank in Tajikistan, and Fondo de Desarollo Local (FDL) Nitlapan in Nicaragua.
The total USD 28 million disbursed in May alone is representative of the tremendous growth of BlueOrchard Finance, which has disbursed almost USD 1 billion in over 750 loans since its inception in 2001.
By Jaclyn Berfond, Research Assistant
Additional Resources:
BlueOrchard: BlueNews
BlueOrchard: Dexia Micro-Credit Fund May 2009 Investors’ Update
MicroCapital Story: Symbiotics Partners with Luxembourg Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) and Spins Off Luxembourg Consulting Arm to Innpact Sàrl
MicroCapital Story: BBVA Launches a Microfinance Hedge Fund Advised by BlueOrchard and Fundacion Codespa
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