MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CEB, EU Expand Roma Housing Microfinance, Financial Inclusion Program to Bulgaria

The multilateral Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and two EU institutions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, recently launched the Housing and Empowerment for Roma (HERO) program in Bulgaria. As part of the program, Tokuda Bank, which is based in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, will provide 200 members of the Roma community with microloans totaling EUR 490,000 (USD 550,000) as well as financial literacy training. The purpose of the loans is to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pay-per-use Option from Software Group Targets Smaller FSPs Offering Branchless Banking in Nigeria

Software Group, a Bulgaria-based technology company serving financial services providers (FSPs), recently released a “Fast Track” version of its agency banking software. While the firm’s traditional agency product carries a subscription fee, the new version has a pay-per-use pricing structure, which can be more

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Places $18m in Equity in BlackPeak Capital to Support SME Growth in Southeast Europe

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently issued an equity investment of EUR 15 million (USD 18 million) to BlackPeak Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund (BlackPeak Fund I), which is