The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) recently announced it is borrowing USD 40 million from the World Bank in an effort to help micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The terms of the loan
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurtech PasarPolis of Indonesia Raises $5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Microinsurance
Indonesia-based insurance technology (insurtech) firm PasarPolis recently raised USD 5 million in equity from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The firm plans to use the fresh funds “to develop infrastructure to connect insurers, digital platforms and customers unserved by the traditional insurance sector” during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The size of the stake
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurtech PasarPolis Raises $54m in Equity for Microinsurance in Indonesia
Indonesian insurance technology (insurtech) firm PasarPolis recently closed its Series B round of investment, having raised a total of USD 54 million from nine investors. The firm plans to use the new funding to:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEAF Invests Equity in CloudCfo, Provider of Business Services to SMEs in the Philippines, via Women’s Opportunity Fund
The Small Enterprise Assistance Fund (SEAF), a US-based “impact investing” fund manager, recently announced its disbursement of an undisclosed amount of capital to Philippines-based startup CloudCfo. The firm will use the proceeds to boost its growth across its online accounting, bookkeeping and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zola, EDF Harness Securitization to Expand Solar Energy in Côte d’Ivoire with Support from Credit Agricole CIB, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, Societe Generale, AfDB
Credit Agricole CIB (Corporate and Investment Bank), a member of the France-based Credit Agricole Group; the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation; and French investment firm NEoT Off-Grid Africa recently launched a securitization vehicle to enable Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire to increase its sales of solar power systems to households that are not connected to traditional power grids. Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire, which uses a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Invests $19m in Microfinance for Women via Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
The Japan-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company recently invested JPY 2 billion (USD 18.6 million) in a “Microfinance and Gender Loan” scheme, which was arranged by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB), a member of the France-based Crédit Agricole Group. The funding will allow the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, “to support microfinance institutions focusing [on]
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Fintech Firm OPay Raises $120m in Equity Funding for Digital Payments, Ride Hailing, Food Delivery
OPay, a Nigerian mobile platform for making payments, arranging car rides and ordering deliveries from restaurants, recently raised USD 120 million in equity from 10 investors to scale up in Nigeria and expand to countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. OPay’s transportation arm, ORide, facilitates up to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada, UN Collaborate on Women Entrepreneurs’ Access to Microfinance, Technology in Bangladesh
As part of a five-year, six-country effort, Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship: Creating a Gender-responsive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, the governments of Bangladesh and Canada are collaborating with the UN to create an enabling environment for women in business. With the goal of supporting “poverty reduction, social well-being and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MetLife Foundation, MicroSave, UNCDF Expand i3 Program to Improve Financial Health Through Digital Services in China
The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a US-based agency of the UN that focuses on financial inclusion and other forms of “sustainable development,” recently expanded the i3 program to China. The program, which already was operating in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB to Place $25m in Equity in Exacta Asia Investment II for Loans to SMEs in ASEAN Region
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently agreed to make an equity investment of USD 25 million into Exacta Asia Investment II LP, a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nonghyup (NH) Bank Acquires Microfinance Institution Samic of Cambodia, Plans More Lending for Agricultural Equipment, Housing, SMEs
NongHyup (NH) Bank, which is controlled by South Korea’s NongHyup Group, recently obtained regulatory approval to acquire Samic, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Cambodia, for an undisclosed price. NH Bank reportedly plans to change the name of the MFI to NongHyup Finance Cambodia.
Samic’s 18 branches are mainly located in smaller cities, and NH Bank plans to expand the organization’s presence in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Grameen IPO Raises $164m on Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of India
CreditAccess Grameen Limited, the Indian subsidiary of CreditAccess Asia, recently held its initial public offering (IPO) on India’s Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. CreditAccess Grameen raised
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Invests $2.5m in Equity in Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Sambandh Finserve
Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Private Limited, a microfinance investment firm in Singapore, recently invested USD 2.5 million to buy a stake of undisclosed size in Sambandh Finserve Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution that is organized as a non-banking financial company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Raises $5m in Equity from BOPA, IFU, Insitor, Asia Impact Investment Fund
The Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar, a Mandalay-based microfinance institution, recently received equity investments totaling USD 5 million from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFU, Finnfund, Danish Family Office Invest $8m in BOPA for Asian Microfinance
Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a microfinance investment company in Singapore, recently informed MicroCapital that it has raised a total of USD 8 million in equity funding from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), which is owned by the Danish government; the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), which is backed by the Finnish government; and a Danish family office.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dragon Capital, Ruby Hill Launching Microfinance Institution in Myanmar
Dragon Capital Group, a Vietnam-based investment company with operations in Asia and Europe, and Ruby Hill Financial, a Myanmar-based financial services provider, recently announced that they are launching a microfinance institution called Ruby Hill Microfinance in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. Ruby Hill Financial
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CreditAccess Asia Raises $103m in Equity from Investors Including Asian Development Bank, Istituto Atesino di Sviluppo, Olympus Capital
CreditAccess Asia, which is based in the Netherlands and provides microfinance services in four countries in Asia, recently acquired new equity investments totaling EUR 95 million (USD 103 million). The investors include the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Italian private equity firm Istituto Atesino di Sviluppo. Olympus Capital Asia, a previous equity investor in CreditAccess, was among the investors increasing their stakes through the conversion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues 10 Institutional, Social Ratings
During February 2017, Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating issued “microfinance institutional ratings” to the following institutions, all with stable outlooks: Indonesia’s Komida, which was assigned a grade of BB; Albania’s NOA, which earned a BBB; Haiti’s ACME, which was assigned a BB+; Vietnam’s Anh Chi Em (ACE), which got a BB-; and two institutions that each received an A-,