MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Issue Loans to MFIs in Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced that it disbursed loans totaling USD 10 million during August through its Dual Return Funds to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven countries. Although the names of the MFIs and the amounts invested in each have not been disclosed, I-AM does report having invested via the funds in two MFIs for the first time, one each in

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 5th Annual CLIIQ Nexus Latam; September 26-28, 2023; Cuenca, Ecuador

This year’s Cumbre Latinoamericana de Inversión de Impacto (CLIIQ) will bring together impact investors in Latin America for discussions in arenas such as: (1) Diversity and Inclusion: Gender and Beyond; (2) Climate Solutions; (3)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSPs in Ecuador to Evaluate Role of Bias in Financial Access for Women-led MSMEs with Support from IDB Invest, RFD

Red de Instituciones Financieras de Desarrollo (RFD), a network of 53 banks, cooperatives and nonprofit financial services providers (FSPs) in Ecuador, recently agreed to partner with IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, to offer RFD members advisory services relating to boosting their financing of female-led micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). RFD will distribute an online survey designed by the IDB Group to address

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution 4 de Octubre Borrows $1.5m from Aequitas Fund for Onlending in Ecuador

The Canadian NGO Desjardins International Development (DID) recently disbursed USD 1.5 million from its financial inclusion fund Aequitas to 4 de Octubre, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Ecuador, to support the MFI’s

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DID Loaning $2m from Aequitas Fund to Faces Microfinanzas for Microfinance in Ecuador

Aequitas, a financial inclusion fund launched by Desjardins International Development (DID), recently issued a USD 2 million loan to Ecuador-based microfinance institution (MFI) Faces Microfinanzas to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management Disburses $15m from Dual Return Funds to Microfinance Institutions in 7 Countries

Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently disbursed loans totaling USD 15 million from the Dual Return Funds to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and three other countries. Neither the names of the MFIs nor

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Banco Solidario Borrows $3m from MicroVest to Speed MSMEs’ Adjustment to COVID-19 Pandemic

Ecuador’s Banco Solidario recently agreed to borrow USD 3 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, to support the microbank’s financial education of women as well as “the expansion of the company’s SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] portfolio to revive the liquidity needs of small businesses seeking working capital in the post-COVID environment.” Established in 1995, Banco Solidario offers

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Fundacion Espoir Receives $2m Investment from MicroVest, Targeting Women-led Businesses in Ecuador

MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, recently agreed to lend USD 2 million to Ecuador’s Fundacion Espoir, an NGO providing microcredit, insurance and financial education. The goal is to support Fundacion Espoir in assisting women-led micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in recovering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and

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: Symbiotics Partners with Cooperative CACPECO on $14m Bond for Housing, MSME Lending in Ecuador

Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, recently partnered with Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de la Pequeña Empresa de Cotopaxi (CACPECO), a cooperative in Ecuador, to fund it with the proceeds of a bond in the amount of USD 14 million, for a term of 4 years. The funds are to be used for: (1) housing loans with 15-year terms and interest rates of 9.9 percent per year; and (2) business loans of up to USD 1 million for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Of the MSME loans,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC Announces $150m Loan to Produbanco of Ecuador to Support Women’s Enterprise, SME Lending, Green Projects

Banco de la Producción SA (Produbanco), a bank in Ecuador, recently agreed to borrow USD 150 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a government-backed development finance institution. One half of the funding is for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lending $94m to Mitigate Effects of COVID-19 on 29k Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Ecuador

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 93.8 million to Ecuador to on-lend as working capital to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country in an effort to sustain employment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to reach approximately 29,000 MSEs, some via savings and credit cooperatives that will enjoy guarantees from