by Pranav Agarwal -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, UPS Foundation Announce “Unstoppable Women Initiative” to Expand Financial Services in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria

Two US-based NGOs, Opportunity International and the UPS Foundation, recently partnered to launch the Unstoppable Women Initiative to support female entrepreneurs in underserved communities in Colombia, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. The program includes training, business support and

by Pranav Agarwal -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bababos of Indonesia to Expand Digital Platform for Manufacturing SMEs with $3m in Seed Funding

Bababos, an Indonesian raw material procurement startup, recently raised USD 3 million from Singapore-based East Ventures – the lead investor in the funding round – plus Indonesia-based Patamar Capital and US-based Accion Venture Lab. Bababos helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the

by Aarya Dhru -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $40m in Equity in eFishery of Indonesia for Technology Helping Fish, Shrimp Farmers with Feeding, Water Quality, Documenting Sustainable Practices, Market Linkages

Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments recently paid USD 40 million for an equity stake of undisclosed size in eFishery, a company assisting Indonesian fish and shrimp farmers with automatic feeders and mobile apps. The money is sourced from the responsAbility fund Sustainable Food Asia II, which has raised USD 173 million as of 2023.

Founded in 2013, eFishery reports having partnered with 70,000 cultivators, including separate apps for

by Renata Samadova -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Coop TLM Borrows $1.3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance in Indonesia

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has reported disbursing a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 1.3 million to Coop TLM, a nonprofit microfinance institution in Indonesia. Established in 2010 by the Tanaoba Lais Manekat (TLM) Foundation and headquartered in the city of Kota Kupang, Coop TLM seeks

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KOMIDA Secures $3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance for Women in Rural Indonesia

Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA), a microfinance institution in Indonesia, recently borrowed local currency equivalent to EUR 3 million (USD 3 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. The wholesale loan is to be used to

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Invests $6m in Peer-to-peer Lender Amartha from Inclusive Finance Fund, Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) to Increase Group Lending to Female Entrepreneurs in Rural Indonesia

Amartha, a firm offering peer-to-peer lending and other services in Indonesia, recently gained access to USD 6 million in debt financing from the Belgian impact investing firm Incofin Investment Management in an attempt to boost access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. Two thirds of the total invested comes from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), and the remainder is sourced from

by Hasnat Aslam -

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

by Hasnat Aslam -

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

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agents for Impact Disburses $15m in Local Currency from IIV to MBK Ventura of Indonesia for Group Microfinance Loans for Women

Agents for Impact (AFI), a Germany-based impact investing company, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a local-currency loan equivalent to USD 15 million in favor of Mitra Bisnis Keluarga (MBK) Ventura, a microlender in Indonesia, on behalf Invest in Visions (IIV). Established in 2006, MBK Ventura seeks to raise the living standards of low-income women in rural parts of the island of Java by providing access to group microloans for use as

by Divya Deshmukh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Logiq Launching “Super App” in Indonesia to Unite Payment, Microloan, Food Delivery, Insurance, Telemedicine Services

Logiq, a US-based technology services provider, recently unveiled plans to launch an as-yet unnamed “super app” in Indonesia to unify several planned new functions along with its existing payment service PayLogiq and food delivery service GoLogiq. Among the future services is a microlending platform, for which

by Teo Lin-Bianco -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans $2m to Bina Artha for Microfinance, Small Business Loans for Rural Women in Indonesia

Recently, Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) lent USD 2 million from its Incofin CVSO fund to Bina Artha, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Indonesia. Incofin IM acknowledges that

by Sophie Fiala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Amartha Raises $28m in Equity from Mandiri, MDI, UOB, WWB for Credit Scoring, E-commerce, Peer-to-peer Lending for Women Microentrepreneurs in Rural Indonesia

Amartha, a firm offering peer-to-peer lending and other services in Indonesia, recently raised USD 28 million in equity from two previous investors in the firm as well as Indonesia-based Metra Digital Innovation (MDI) Ventures and the Women’s World Banking (WWB) Capital Partners II fund of the US-based nonprofit WWB. The previous investors increasing their stakes are

by Sophie Fiala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grab Offering Insurance, Training People with Disabilities as Mobile Money Agents in Indonesia

Grab, a technology company founded in Singapore, recently partnered with Indonesia’s Communications and Information Ministry and the Indonesian Inclusive Connections Community, an NGO also known as Konekin, to found a program to train disabled people to

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurtech PasarPolis of Indonesia Raises $5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Microinsurance

Indonesia-based insurance technology (insurtech) firm PasarPolis recently raised USD 5 million in equity from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The firm plans to use the fresh funds “to develop infrastructure to connect insurers, digital platforms and customers unserved by the traditional insurance sector” during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The size of the stake

by Anuhya Tadepalli -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KOMIDA of Indonesia Borrows $2.4m in Local Currency from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microenterprise Lending for Rural Women

Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA), a savings and loan cooperative in Indonesia, has secured a three-year loan worth approximately USD 2.4 million in local currency from the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. KOMIDA was established in 2004 to provide collateral-free loans to low-income women in rural areas. As of 2019, it serves 598,000 members through 237 offices. In addition to loans and savings,