In an endeavor to tap into potential clients in rural India, Western Union (WU), a company based in the US providing financial and communication services worldwide, has partnered with Bandhan, a non-banking microfinance institution in India with 2.8 million clients, to provide money transfer services to Bandhan’s microloan borrowers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, Plans to Disburse $1.3m in Microfinance Loans to Low-Income Groups and Individuals Within the Year
The government of Ebonyi state in Nigeria recently announced that it will disburse NGN 200 million (the equivalent of USD 1.3 million) in microcredit loans at an annual interest rate of five percent to low-income groups and individuals within the year.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave and Microfinance Focus Form Strategic Alliance to Expand Microfinance Resources
MicroSave, a microfinance consulting company established in 1998, has partnered with the Microfinance Focus website in a strategic alliance to promote microfinance knowledge sharing and dissemination with an emphasis on engaging diverse and geographically dispersed practitioners.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s SKS Microfinance Nominates Founder and Current Non-Executive Chairman Vikram Akula to Serve as Chairman
The board of SKS Microfinance, a newly publicly-listed microfinance institution in India, recently announced its nomination of Mr Vikram Akula to serve as the company’s Executive Chairman.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Provide $40m to Argentinian Bank, Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, for Agribusiness Credit Line, Sustainability Projects
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund for International Development (OFID), a multilateral development finance institution based in Vienna, recently announced an agreement to provide up to USD 40 million to Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA (Banco Galicia), an Argentinian bank, in support of an agribusiness credit line and sustainability projects in Argentina.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Finance Loans $1.77m to Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) EDPYME Alternativa
In August 2010, BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss based commercial microfinance intermediary which manages 6 microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), announced that it loaned PEN 4.94 million (the equivalent of USD 1.77 million) to the Peruvian microfinance institution EDPYME Alternativa, a microfinance institution (MFI) founded in 1993.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) European Fund for Southeastern Europe Invests $25m in Debt in Serbian Komercijalna Banka
In August 2010, the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by Oppenheim Asset Management Services, loaned USD 25 million to Serbian Komercijalna Banka, a bank founded in 1970 with 251 branches in Serbia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Invests $15m in Belorussian-Russian Belgazprombank Joint Stock for Microfinance
In August 2010, the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by Oppenheim Asset Management Services, loaned USD 15 million to Belorussian-Russian Belgazprombank Joint Stock, a bank in Belarus with approximately 110,000 institutional and individual customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Report Recommends Withdrawal of Priority Sector Status from Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
An unreleased report by a committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that was recently leaked to the Indian newspaper Economic Times recommended that RBI withdraw the priority sector status of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which allows MFIs borrow at lower interest rates.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AccessBank of Azerbaijan Launches Education Loan Product
AccessBank, a financial institution based in Azerbaijan, recently announced the launch of a new education loan product. The product is intended to finance students’ post-secondary education and offers lower interest rates for students earning high grades.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations and CARE International Complete Financial Empowerment Training Program for Liberian Women
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the development arm of the United Nations, a humanitarian organization promoting peace and better living standards, in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the United Nations’ investment capital and technical advice program, and CARE International, a Swiss non-governmental organization, has completed a week-long financial training program for 100 women representing five community-based organizations in Liberia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s SKS Microfinance’s Market Capitalization Reaches $2b Subsequent to Initial Public Offering
Indian microfinance institution SKS Microfinance’s market capitalization has reached the equivalent of USD 2 billion subsequent to the launch of its initial public offering (IPO) trading commencement on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India on August 16, 2010, as reported by MicroCapital on August 17, 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Suryoday Microfinance Raises $4.5m from Lok Capital and Aavishkaar Goodwell
Suryoday Microfinance Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC), recently announced the closing of its Series B equity financing for a total of INR 175 million (USD 3.8 million), provided by Lok Capital, a new investor in the company, and Suryoday’s existing investor Aavishkaar Goodwell, both of which are social investment/microfinance equity funds operating in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India Proposes Steep Raise in Minimum Coverage for Micro-life Insurance Policies and Steep Cuts in Agent Commissions
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), India’s insurance regulatory organization, recently announced a draft set of regulations for insurers providing micro-life insurance policies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Planning Microfinance Policy Study Tour in Mongolia to Assist Policymakers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced it will conduct a microfinance institution tour in Mongolia from October 12 through October 14, 2010, with policymakers from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides $94m Loan to Credit Europe Bank of Russia for SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based development finance institution, recently announced it is providing an unsecured, five-year loan of RUB 2.9 billion (USD 94 million) to Credit Europe Bank Limited of Russia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Axis Bank and Microfinance Institution Janalakshmi Agree to Expand Access to Financial Services for Country’s Urban Poor
Axis Bank, an Indian financial services firm, and Janalakshmi, an Indian microfinance institution providing both financial and social services, have established a relationship with the goal of expanding access to financial services for poor people in 51 Indian cities by the end of 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments AG of Switzerland Invests $4.31m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) ProCredit Mexico and Pro Mujer
responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) manager, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has executed debt investments totaling the equivalent of USD 4.31 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) ProCredit Mexico and Pro Mujer, with the loan to Pro Mujer being directed to its operations in Mexico.