by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Finance Invests $6.5m in Latin American Microfinance Institutions

BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss asset management company, recently invested USD 6.5 million from its Dexia MicroCredit Fund (DMCF) in three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Forjadores of Mexico, Women’s World Banking (WWB) Popayan of Colombia and D-Miro of Ecuador.

by Matthew Castner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency for Microfinance Investment Vehicles, LuxFLAG, Announces 2010 Renewal, Adds BlueOrchard Fund

LuxFLAG, a microfinance institution vehicle (MIV) certification organization founded in 2006, has recertified eight MIVs while adding a ninth, BlueOrchard Fund – Microfinance Fund for US Investors. The label is applied to MIVs that invest directly or indirectly in the microfinance sector and are deemed reputable by LuxFLAG and receiving a basic level of financial supervision from their home country. The nine labeled firms manage a total of USD 2.24 billion. LuxFLAG reports an unspecified number of applicants for 2010 [1].

by the MicroCapital Team -

MEET THE BOSS: Jean-Pierre Klumpp of BlueOrchard Finance

Jean-Pierre Klumpp has been Chief Executive Officer of BlueOrchard Finance since 2008.

MicroCapital: Would you please tell us about the history of BlueOrchard?

JPK: The Dexia Micro-Credit Fund (DMCF), which we manage, was launched in 1998 by Dexia Asset Management. Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, at the time a financial analyst fully dedicated to this fund, founded BlueOrchard Finance in 2001 with two partners and took over the management of the microfinance portfolio for the DMCF. With just a little more than USD 10 million under management at the beginning, BlueOrchard started an impressive ascent to about USD 1 billion assets and eight microfinance investment vehicles under management today.

by Jaclyn Berfond -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: BlueOrchard Finance Disburses Over USD 28m to Microfinance Institutions in May

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.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Launched in July 2006, the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) has Awarded its Microfinance Label to Five Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs) and Attained Listing on the Centrale de Communications Luxembourg (CCLux) Database

Earlier this year, the Centrale de Communications Luxembourg (CCLux), a subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, began listing the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) Microfinance Label as a searchable classification on its online Consultation Portal. For users of CCLux, this means that they can now quickly and easily identify microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) which have been approved by LuxFLAG.