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
Tag: Georgia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends Credo Bank $10m for MSMEs in Georgia
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently agreed to loan Credo Bank, a commercial bank in Georgia, GEL 28.8 million (USD 10 million) to expand its financing of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The floating-rate loan is synthetic, meaning it is denominated in euros but
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Albania, Georgia, Vietnam Borrow $8m from C-Quadrat Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced it has disbursed loans totaling USD 8 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Albania, Georgia and Vietnam through its Dual Return Funds. One of these loans was
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $23m to TBC Bank, TBC Leasing to Boost Technology Investments by MSMEs in Georgia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development finance institution, recently committed loans to two members of Georgia’s Tbilisi Business Centre (TBC) Bank Group: one in local currency up to the equivalent of USD 20 million to TBC Bank and another of up to EUR 3 million (USD 3.1 million) to TBC Leasing. The purpose of the “medium- to long-term” loans is to enable micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Georgia to acquire technology that helps them meet EU standards of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC, Gazelle Finance Announce Technical Assistance Funding for SMEs Displaced from Ukraine to Georgia by War
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Georgia-based Gazelle Finance recently launched a facility to assist Ukrainian enterprises that have been displaced to Georgia as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In particular, the funding is for technical assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). DFC CEO Scott Nathan noted the intent of the facility to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lazika Capital of Georgia Borrows $1.6m in Local Currency from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Agricultural Lending, Microfinance
Lazika Capital, headquartered in western Georgia, has acquired loans totaling the approximate local-currency equivalent of USD 1.6 million from the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. Established in 2000 by the British member of the NGO Stichting Oxfam International, Lazika is a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Georgia Borrowing $200m from ADB, JICA for MSMEs, Especially Those Owned by Women
The Bank of Georgia (BOG), a UK-based institution active in Georgia, recently obtained a loan of GEL 617 million (USD 200 million) to on-lend micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially those owned by women. Half of the loan is from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a development finance institution active in Asia and the Pacific, and the other half is funded by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Terabank Georgia Borrowing $7m from EIB to Aid MSMEs in Adjusting to COVID-19 Pandemic
The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) recently opened a credit line of EUR 6 million (USD 6.8 million) – usable in synthetic Georgian lari – for Terabank Georgia, which is owned by the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group. Terabank, which focuses on retail customers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), seeks to use the credit line to help
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Issues $5m Sustainability Bond to Fund Microfinance Institution Crystal of Georgia
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform, recently issued a bond whose proceeds are funding a three-year, unsecured loan to Crystal, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Georgia. The proceeds of the bond, Georgian lari equivalent to USD 5 million, are earmarked to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Georgia Seeks to Ease MSMEs’ Adjustment to COVID-19 with World Bank Funding for Fintech, Loan Guarantees, Grants
The World Bank recently approved EUR 85 million (USD 103 million) for a project called “Relief and Recovery for Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs),” which will support businesses in Georgia that have been affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project includes funding to expand Georgia’s financial infrastructure, such as to support online banking, know-your-customer (KYC) protocols and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends $12m to Credo Bank for Microfinance in Rural Georgia to Offset Effects of COVID-19 on Food Production
Credo Bank, a microfinance institution in Georgia, recently accepted a local-currency loan in an amount approximately equivalent to USD 11.8 million from the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB). Credo will use the funds to on-lend primarily as working capital for people living in rural areas,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $35m in Local Currency to Bank of Georgia for Microfinance, SMEs – Including Women-owned Enterprises
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced it is lending GEL 100 million (USD 35 million) to the Bank of Georgia, a commercial bank owned by the UK-based Bank of Georgia Group, for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, which is cosponsored by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: JSC Credo Bank Has Acquired Microfinance Portfolios of MFO BIG, MFO Credit Plus Georgia
Joint Stock Company (JSC) Credo Bank, a Georgian bank, recently announced that it has purchased the microfinance portfolios of two microfinance organizations (MFOs), BIG and Credit Plus Georgia, for