MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $6m to Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inecobank of Armenia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has recently disbursed a loan of EUR 4 million (USD 5.2 million) to Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina and AMD 375 million (USD 911,600) to Inecobank of Armenia [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inecobank Increases Lending to Micro-, Small Businesses in Rural Armenia, Securing all of $700k Offered Through International Finance Corporation as Performance-Based Grants

Inecobank, an Armenian microfinance bank, has increased its lending to micro- and small businesses in rural Armenia in concert with a set of performance-based grants from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Lends $23m to Inecobank of Armenia, Megabank of Ukraine, Partner MikroKreditna Fondacija Tuzla of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) has reported to MicroCapital that it has made of the following amounts in support of microfinance during April 2012: USD 10 million to Inecobank of Armenia, USD 7 million to Megabank of Ukraine and approximately USD 6.66 million to Partner MikroKreditna Fondacija Tuzla of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Initiatives of EcoBank, ACCION Win International Awards in Nigeria, Ghana

EB-ACCION Savings and Loans (EB-ASL), a Ghanaian microfinance institution, and ACCION Microfinance Bank (AMfB) of Nigeria, have recently won awards commemorating their contributions to providing microfinance services to low-income entrepreneurs. Both organizations count EcoBank, a Togo-based banking group, and US-based nonprofit ACCION International as investors.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB) to Invest $10m in Inecobank to Develop Small and Medium Enterprises in Armenia

Armenian microfinance bank Inecobank is set to receive a loan of USD 10 million through a joint agreement with German development finance institution Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG) and Austrian development bank Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB) in an effort to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Armenia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $24m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Inecobank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA), ACBA Leasing all of Armenia; DemirBank of Azerbaijan; Sekerbank of Turkey

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that operates four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments totaling USD 24 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Inecobank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) and ACBA leasing of Armenia; DemirBank of Azerbaijan; and Sekerbank of Turkey. The investments have been made through three MIVs: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) and responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Manager BlueOrchard Finance Invests $7m in Inecobank of Armenia, Credo of Georgia and Pag-Asa

BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based commercial microfinance intermediary BlueOrchard, recently reported to MicroCapital the details of three debt investments made during the month of September 2010 to financial institutions Inecobank of Armenia, Limited Liability Company (LLC) Microfiance Organization (MFO) Credo of Georgia and Pag-Asa of the Philippines.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CARE, Barclay’s, Oxfam, EcoBank, Others Collaborate to Expand Financial Services to Sub-Saharan Africa’s Poor

In its article “Innovations in Savings Services in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa,” the Microfinance Gateway, a service of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), highlights the collaboration between private and public sectors to connect Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural poor with financial services.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments Makes Debt Investments Totaling $4.4m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Inecobank and SEF International of Armenia and Kazmicrofinance (KMF) of Kazakhstan

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a social investment company based in Switzerland, reported to MicroCapital the details of six debt investments it made in September 2010 to Inecobank of Armenia, SEF International of Armenia and Kazmicrofinance (KMF) of Kazakhstan totaling USD 4.4 million.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides Microfinance Bank Inecobank Support to Expand Access to Trade Finance in Armenia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it will provide Inecobank, an Armenian microfinance bank founded in 1996 with total assets of USD 129 million, support expanding access to trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in Armenia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds Disperses Total of $3.2m to Microfinance Banks Inecobank of Armenia, AFK of Kosovo, Lazika Capital of Georgia and Coomuldesa of Colombia

The responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds, a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) founded in 2007, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling USD 3.2 million in four microfinance banks. The largest amount, USD 1.5 million, went to Inecobank, an Armenian bank founded in 1996 with a gross loan portfolio of USD 91.7 million [1]. The MIV reports total assets of USD 108.5 million as of 2009, and is one of four funds operated by responsAbility, the others being responsAbility Base of the Pyramid, responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund and responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACCION International and Ecobank Partner to Form EB-ACCION Microfinance in Cameroon

EB-ACCION Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) formed by ACCION International, a nonprofit organization with partner MFIs in over 20 countries, and Ecobank, a pan-African bank with a network of over 500 branches in 27 countries, recently launched its first two branches in Cameroon.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards $6m Grant to Ecobank to Promote Low-Cost Savings Accounts in Ghana and Liberia

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a USD 6 million grant to Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a pan-African bank with a network of over 500 branches in 27 countries.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Works With Inecobank To Expand Microfinance Access in Armenia

With the assistance of performance-based grants from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Inecobank will expand its microfinance services in Armenia’s rural sector.

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Ecobank Completes its Takeover of Kenya’s East African Building Society (EABS) Bank

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a Pan African bank based in Togo, acquired a 75 percent stake in Kenya’s East African Building Society (EABS) Bank. The transnational changed the bank’s name to Ecobank Kenya Limited and appointed businessman Peter Kanyago as the new chairman. The Pandit family, founders and the single largest shareholders of EABS, will retain 25 percent representation in Ecobank Kenya Limited. Although the value of the deal was not disclosed, it was estimated to total USD 18,6 million (KES 1.3 billion).

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Ecobank Looks to Close Deal for 75 Percent Interest in East African Building Society (EABS) with Aim to Focus on Microfinance, Mortgage Finance and Investment Banking

Ecobank, an African regional banking group, is currently in the process of closing a deal in Kenya to acquire a 75 percent interest in Kenya’s East African Building Society (EABS) bank. In order to close the deal, and begin transactions, Ecobank must wait for official legalization. The deal’s value is estimated to total the equivalent of USD 19.3 million.