by Stephen Son -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Commercial Bank Banco de Crédito del Perú to Lend $1.2m to Microfinance Institution Pro Mujer Peru

Banco de Crédito del Perú will make a USD 1.2 million-equivalent local-currency loan to microfinance institution (MFI) Pro Mujer Peru, according to a statement by the international non-profit Grameen Foundation, a major backer of the transaction.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Extends a $1m loan to Norwegian Microcredit (Normicro) of Azerbaijan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based international bank utilizing investment tools to encourage democracy and market economies from central Asia to central Europe since 1991, is financing a USD 1 million loan to Baku-based Norwegian Microcredit (Normicro), a limited liability company (LLC) reporting 2007 total assets of nearly USD 7 million and a loan portfolio approaching USD 6.9 million. As reported by The Financial, a daily newspaper operating out of Georgia and Ukraine, “the financing will be used for on-lending to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) especially in rural areas of Azerbaijan.”

by Melissa Duscha -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) Invests USD 2.5 million in Cambodian Microfinance Institutions

 The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) invested loans totaling USD 2.5 million in Cambodian microfinance institutions, Hattha Kaksekar Ltd. (HKL) and Cambodian Entrepreneur Building (CEB). Hattha Kaksekar Ltd. received USD 1 million dollars in loans this past September 2007, and CEB received USD 1.5 million in January 2008.

by the MicroCapital Team -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Mission Investing in Microfinance: A Program Related Investment (PRI) Primer and Toolkit, by Jonathan C. Lewis and Robert A. Wexler

Published by MicroCredit Enterprises, 81 pages. Available at www.mcenterprises.org/pdf/toolkit.pdf

Jonathan C. Lewis, the Chief Executive Officer of MicroCredit Enterprises, a microfinance intermediary, and Robert A. Wexler, attorney at the law firm Silk, Adler & Colvin have crafted this paper to provide technical and legal assistance to private foundations and family offices considering making a Program Related Investment (PRI) in microfinance. The paper goes beyond theory: it is a practical how-to guide. A Program Related Investment (PRI) is the legal term for a debt or equity investment made by a private foundation to a non-profit or for-profit organisation with the chief purpose of advancing a social mission. A PRI involves the potential return of capital within an established time frame in contrast to a grant, commonly a non-returnable donation. This allows the money to be re-cycled for subsequent investments.