Gojo and Company, an investor in financial inclusion in Asia, recently raised USD 48 million in a Series E equity round led by three of its ongoing investors, which were joined by 18 new investment firms and several individual investors. The plan for the fresh cash includes “strengthening the
Tag: Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zubaida Bai Is New CEO of Grameen Foundation
Zubaida Bai has been selected to lead the Grameen Foundation, a US-based NGO that works to reduce poverty in Africa and Asia via “community agents,” who support people – especially women – in learning how to use digital financial services and farm in a “climate-smart” manner. Ms Bai is the founder of Ayzh, a provider of maternal and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Via InsuResilience Investment Fund II, KfW Seeks to Grow Climate Microinsurance in Africa, Asia, Latin America
German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) recently funded the InsuResilience Investment Fund Private Equity II (IIF PE II) to invest in firms helping people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to manage climate risks. In particular, the fund targets
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.4m to Chamroeun for Microfinance in Cambodia
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently announced it has disbursed a loan of USD 3.4 million to Chamroeun, a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI). Chamroeun offers loans for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bankingly of Uruguay Raises $11m in Equity Round Led by Dalus Capital to Help Financial Institutions Boost Digital Inclusion in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Uruguay’s Bankingly recently secured an investment package totalling USD 11 million, which it plans to use to expand in Latin America and Africa as well as enter Southeast Asia. Bankingly provides financial institutions with software-as-a-service (SaaS) that helps them serve customers via websites, mobile apps, chatbots and other tools, thus “facilitating the financial inclusion of millions of people…”. Bankingly CEO and Founder, Martin Naor, expressed the hope that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Louis Dreyfus Company Borrowing $100m from ADB to On-lend to Small-scale Farmers to Boost Climate Resilience, COVID-19 Recovery
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution based in the Philippines, recently agreed to lend USD 100 million to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a Netherlands-based firm active in agriculture, food processing and shipping. LDC plans to use the funds to finance “coffee, cotton and rice inventories” for 50,000 smallholder farmers who supply the firm’s operations in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. Among the goals of the project are to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management Loans $11m from Dual Return Microfinance Funds to MFIs in East Timor, Ecuador, Kosovo, Nicaragua
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently disbursed loans from Vision Microfinance and Vision Microfinance Local Currency, the two sub-funds of the Dual Return Fund family, that total the equivalent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PPro Acquires Alpha Fintech to Boost Payment Infrastructure for Financial Services Providers
PPro, a digital payments infrastructure firm based in the UK, recently announced its acquisition of Alpha Fintech, an Ireland-based financial technology (fintech) firm. PPro helps financial services providers accept payments through third-party platforms such as China-based Alipay and US-based PayPal. Among the goals of the deal is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Donates $8.9m to Huruma Fund for Technical Assistance Facility Promoting Agricultural Microfinance, Market Development
Huruma Fund, a Spain-based vehicle supporting rural financial services providers in low- and moderate-income countries, recently received a donation of EUR 7.7 million (USD 8.9 million) from the EU for a technical assistance facility (TAF) set up by the two primary entities behind Huruma, Gawa Capital Partners and Compañia Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES), both of Spain. The TAF will support companies, such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SaltPay Acquires Paymentology, Tutuka to Boost Cloud Payments in Africa, Asia, Europe
SaltPay, a UK-based payment technology firm serving small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe, recently struck deals to acquire International Tutuka Holdings, a provider of payment cards that is based in South Africa, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Energy Catalyst Community Seeks to Boost Commercialization of Solar, Wind, Battery, Payment, Other Innovations in Africa, Asia
Energy Catalyst, “a UK government-funded programme designed to accelerate access to sustainable energy” in Africa and Asia, recently launched its Energy Catalyst Community, offering a set of documents on commercializing energy innovations. The next phase of the project will allow companies funded by Energy Catalyst to collab
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nordic Microfinance Initiative Raises $5m from Lauritzen Fonden to Invest in Women in Africa, Asia
Denmark-based Lauritzen Fonden recently invested USD 5 million in “Fund IV” of the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that invests in microfinance institutions and agricultural initiatives in developing countries. The new investment is specific to microfinance, mainly for women in Africa and Asia.
Lauritzen describes itself as a “commercial foundation.” It earns income from shipping concerns and investments in real estate, technology, software and equipment and then disburses approximately DKK 40 million (USD 6 million) per year to support youth and
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Uniglobal Asia Pacific Microfinance Forum; October 22-23, 2019; Singapore
The second annual iteration of this conference will focus on the influence of financial technology (fintech) on the barriers to entry, efficiency and costs of microfinance institutions (MFIs), including how to implement and optimize various technologies. Sessions will cover skills such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loan to Regional Development Bank of Sri Lanka to Leverage Up to $533m for Rural Microfinance, SME Lending
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral institution based in the Philippines, recently loaned USD 50 million to Sri Lanka’s state-owned Regional Development Bank (RDB) for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises outside the city of Colombo. These enterprises are to include 500 led by women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL) Approved to Issue $20m in Bonds to Support Microfinance in Cambodia
Having received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a Cambodian microfinance institution, is set to become the first company in the country to issue corporate bonds. The initial offering will be for KHR 80 billion (USD 19.7 million) with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Canada to Invest $6m in Afghanistan’s Zardozi to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment
The government of Canada recently announced it will donate USD 5.9 million from 2016 to 2020 to Zardozi, an Afghanistan-based NGO supporting women in establishing microenterprises.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Household Responses to Village Bank Access in Laos; Mobile Banking in Kenya; The Role of Banks in Driving Financial Inclusion
“Household Responses to Access to Finance Through GIZ-AFP Village Banks;” published by the Laos-Australia Development Learning Facility; February 2016; 50 pages; available at: http://ladlf.org/images/publications/030516_LADLF_GIZ_HH_Response_to_A2F_Final.pdf