by the MicroCapital Team -

Calvert Foundation Invests Another US$1 million in MicroCredit Enterprises LLC to Fund Microfinance Investing

The Calvert Foundation has made a second significant investment in the recently founded MicroCredit Enterprises LLC. It had also invested $3 million at the end of last year (see microcapital blog).

According to the Calvert Foundation’s press release, the funding received by MicroCredit Enterprises was just one of its recent microfinance investments. Others include $250,000 to MI-BOSPO, which provides microloans for Bosnian women; $326,396 to OikoCredit, one of the largest financiers of the Microfinance industry; and $600,000 to the Latin America Challenge Investment Fund, SA (LACIF), which provides loans to Latin American MFIs.
Continue reading “Calvert Foundation Invests Another US$1 million in MicroCredit Enterprises LLC to Fund Microfinance Investing”

by the MicroCapital Team -

Calvert Foundation Makes $3 Million Investment in Recently Launched MicroCredit Enterprises Fund

Sacramento-based MicroCredit Enterprises Fund (MCE Fund) received a $3 million loan from the DC area Calvert Foundation. The MicroCredit Enterprises Fund, which has just been launched this year, is aligned with MicroCredit Enterprises LLC which has an operating budget of $200,000 for 2006. MicroCredit Enterprises will provide loans to both non-profit and for-profit microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the world. The MCE Fund’s application to become a non-profit is currently pending approval.

Continue reading “Calvert Foundation Makes $3 Million Investment in Recently Launched MicroCredit Enterprises Fund”

by Jessica McLeod -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 26 Inclusive Finance Players Pledge to Support Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Clients Throughout Pandemic

At the initiative of the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, microfinance lenders and other operators in the inclusive finance sector have agreed to a set of “Key Principles to Protect Microfinance Institutions and Their Clients in the COVID-19 Crisis.” The commitment involves measures including: operating in a customer-centric manner, protecting staff members, sharing

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MCE Social Capital Funding $3.3m Loan from Yoma Bank to Proximity Finance for Microfinance in Myanmar

Myanmar-based Yoma Bank recently agreed to lend MMK 5 billion (USD 3.32 million) to Proximity Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Myanmar. MCE Social Capital, a US-based NGO, is funding

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha, D.S.K. Rao; published by Microcredit Summit Campaign, Freedom from Hunger

“Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha and D.S.K. Rao; published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign and Freedom from Hunger; 2014; 36 pages; available at http://microcreditsummit.org/uploads/resource/document/ffh_indiareport_2014_web_58274.pdf

This paper builds on a report entitled “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: Harnessing the Strengths of Two Sectors to Improve Health and Alleviate Poverty”, which was written in 2012 by a group of authors that includes those who wrote “Volume Two.”

by Anesa Kratovac -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “‘Doing the Math’ – Women’s Health Microinsurance in Guatemala, Studying Aseguradora Rural’s VivoSegura Microinsurance in Quetzaltenango,” by Derek Poulton and Barbara Magnoni, Published by The MicroInsurance Centre

“Doing the Math” – Women’s Health Microinsurance in Guatemala, Studying Aseguradora Rural’s VivoSegura Microinsurance in Quetzaltenango,” by Derek Poulton and Barbara Magnoni, Published by The MicroInsurance Centre as Microinsurance Learning Knowledge Brief Number 28, October 2013, 9 pages, available at http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/milk-project/milk-docs/doc_details/1043-milk-brief-28-qdoing-the-mathq-womens-health-microinsurance-in-guatemala.html

by Chioma Okwudiafor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Directorate for Development and Cooperation, European Investment Bank, Appui au Développement Autonome Unveil $5.2m Microfinance Project, MicroMED Tunisia

The Directorate for Development and Cooperation (Lux-Development), an agency of the government of Luxembourg, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s lending institution, recently unveiled MicroMED Tunisia, a EUR 4 million (USD 5.2 million), five-year initiative intended to aid the development of the microfinance sector in Tunisia.

by Chioma Okwudiafor -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Appui au Developpement Autonome, BSB, Confederation des Institutions Financieres Partner on Microinsurance in West Africa

Appui au Developpement Autonome (ADA), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organisation, recently partnered with Confédération des Institutions Financières (CIF), a Burkina-Faso-based association of six West African savings cooperatives, to implement microinsurance projects across five countries in West Africa.

by Carol Kim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jonathan Lewis Describes Opportunity Collaboration as Addressing Poverty by “Doing the Opposite of What Most Other Conferences Do”

Forbes, a US-based magazine, recently published an interview with Jonathan Lewis, founder and chief executive officer of the annual Opportunity Collaboration business retreat and networking summit that he describes as “laser-focused on poverty reduction”.

by Medha Ravi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Could Guarantees from Wealthy Individuals Get Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Through Rough Patch?

Good Magazine, a US-based media platform that reports on social causes, recently argued that guarantees offered by wealthy individuals to microlenders could assist microfinance institutions (MFIs) in accessing funding during a difficult time for the industry, following claims of “loansharking” by some Indian microlenders.

by Diana Baide -

MICROCAPITAL EVENT: International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC) Announces Microfinance 2.0 Conference on November 15-17, 2010 in San Francisco, California, USA

Event Name: Microfinance 2.0 Conference

Event Date: November 15-November 17, 2010

Event Location: San Francisco, California, USA (Venue to be determined)

by Jaclyn Berfond -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos Bank Invests USD 900,000 in Microfinance Institutions in May

Triodos Bank has reported to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook investments totaling approximately USD 900,000 this month.  The bank has invested 834,000 in IMON International in Tajikistan through the Triodos-Doen Foundation, and has loaned 61,000 to BICC in Honduras through the Hivos-Triodos Fund.

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroPlace Offers Online Microfinance Investment in Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund issued by Working Capital for Community Needs with Interest Rates up to 6 percent

MicroPlace, a microfinance website, eBay Inc. company, and SEC registered broker/dealer, has launched a microfinance product available to retail investors with up to a six percent return, according to its website and a report on the Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire (CSR).  The opportunity comes just as Americans are considering what to do with their tax refunds.  According to a poll on taxsoftware.com, 58 percent of Americans planned to either save or invest their refunds and 27 percent planned to donate a portion to charity.  The investment offering targets loans to the poor in Nicaragua and is part of the unsecured, USD 20 million Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives (NICA) Fund offering, issued by Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN).   Interest rates range between zero and six percent, terms vary by Note.  The Notes can be purchased directly from WCCN (traditional modality, minimum investment size USD 1000) or online through the MicroPlace website (online modality, minimum investment size USD 20). Traditional Notes are not senior to Online Notes.  The Notes are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in reliance upon the exemption in Section 3(a)(4) for charitable organizations. To read a prospectus on the offering, click here.  For more information contact Annie Lescroart at MicroPlace.com, (anlescroart@ebay.com) (408)-376-7458.

by Jeffrey Erfe -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Thirty-Five Organizations Sign Client Protection Principles to Ensure Fair Treatment and Financial Protection of Low-Income Microfinance Clients

In late October, 35 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and investment funds signed the Client Protection Principles (CPP), a list of pro-consumer principles and mandates that aims to become an industry-wide standard for ensuring the fair treatment and financial protection of low-income microfinance clients.  The CPP are part of a larger campaign launched in September of 2008 at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a conglomeration of governments and public and private organizations dedicated to sustainable development, with the goal of incorporating at least half of the world’s 500 largest MFIs within the next three years. According to Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), there is little evidence of client abuse in the microfinance sector.  

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Nigerian Microfinance Institution Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) Obtains USD 5 million Loan from Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria with Grameen Foundation Guarantee

Nigerian microfinance institution Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) recently obtained a USD 5 million loan from Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, the local subsidiary of the British bank Standard Chartered Bank Plc. The loan was structured in local currency and was backed by a USD 2 million guarantee from the Grameen Foundation under its Growth Guarantees program. The loan represents Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria’s largest transaction with a microfinance institution.