Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Maquita Cushunchic, a financial institution founded by women in Ecuador, recently accepted a loan of USD 2 million from Aequitas, a fund managed by a holding of Desjardins International Development (DID), which in turn is a member of the Canada-based cooperative Desjardins Group. Maquita Cushunchic, which mainly serves micro- and small enterprises, was founded in 1997 and since has grown to serve
Tag: MFI
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Annapurna Raises $35m from Accion, Encourage Capital, Oikocredit to Support Green Microfinance, Digitalisation
Annapurna Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian state of Odisha, recently raised INR 193 billion (USD 35 million) from US-based NGO Accion, US-based impact investor Encourage Capital and Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit. The funding is to be used to boost the digitalisation of Annapurna’s operations and for developing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.7m to Assilassimé Solidarite of Togo, Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ)
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced its disbursal of local-currency loans to Togo-based Assilassimé Solidarite in an amount approximately equivalent to
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
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investor Forum: “Responsible Finance for Digital Inclusion: Investing for Impact;” April 3 – 4, 2019; Washington DC, USA
This forum is intended to bring together a wide range of investors to share insights on “social performance and impact management,” particularly as related to digital financial services (DFS). This will include discussions of the Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services, which were established in 2018. These 10 guidelines cover
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest In Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $3m to Armeconom Bank to Support Microfinance in Armenia
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has loaned USD 3 million to Armeconom Bank of Armenia from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to financial institutions in developing countries. Launched in 1991, Armeconom offers loans, credit lines, deposit services, payment cards, transfers and other services to individuals and businesses. It accepts deposits in four currencies, with rates ranging from 0.2 percent to 10 percent per year. Its lending products include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $1.1m to Microcredit Foundation Lider to Reduce Energy Costs, Carbon Emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-based public-private partnership, recently loaned EUR 1 million (USD 1.14 million) to Lider, a microcredit foundation based in Sarajevo, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in rural regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lider will on-lend the funds to households and small-scale farmers to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $5m to Al Majmoua for Enterprise, Housing Microfinance in Lebanon
Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investor in lenders to micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), recently loaned USD 5 million to Al Majmoua, a provider of financial and business development services to underserved groups in Lebanon. The funds are to be on-lent to low-income individuals for housing improvements and to very small enterprises for business needs.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Ten Key Principles of Digital Finance;” published by Proxfin, Développement international Desjardins (DiD)
This is a summary of a paper published by Développement international Desjardins’ (DiD’s) Proxfin, October 2018, 2 pages, available at:
https://www.did.qc.ca/media/documents/en/autres-publications/10_key_principles.pdf
This document addresses best practices for microfinance institutions transforming their services from analog to digital format. The authors describe digital transformation as being more about business than technology. Rather than being tempted by “passing trends,” planners should focus on consumers’ ease of use. The authors argue customers should be able to expect a customized “end-to-end” experience consisting of “a straightforward, engaging, value-added process that makes use of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin; Microfinance Institutions Fundenuse, Fundeser, MiCrédito Operate Satellite-based Weather-index Microinsurance for Coffee, Grain Farmers in Nicaragua
Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management recently launched an insurance plan with Nicaraguan microfinance institutions (MFIs) Fundacion para el Desarrollo de Nueva Segovia (Fundenuse), Financiera Fundeser and MiCrédito to help 6,000 coffee and grain farmers be better prepared for climate change. The program utilizes “satellite imagery to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Ghana Restores Losses to Customers of Failed Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), but $150m of Savings Remain “in Jeopardy” in Advance of Deposit-insurance Rollout
After the collapse of approximately 100 licensed microbanks in Ghana over four years, the country’s central bank, the Bank of Ghana, has announced it will refund deposits of up to GHS 10,000 (USD 2,000) per retail
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bangladesh to Mandate More Bank Lending to Farmers at Interest Rates Below 10%
Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, reportedly is drafting a policy to reduce the microloan interest rates that some farmers pay from a range of 20 percent to 25 percent to a range of 9 to 9.5 percent.
Banks currently must direct 2.5 percent
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sa-Dhan, Accion’s Smart Campaign, IFC Launching Tool to Monitor Over-indebtedness Among Microfinance Borrowers in India
Sa-Dhan, an association of 190 financial services providers in India, and the Smart Campaign of US-based NGO Accion recently announced the launch of an online monitoring tool intended to increase consumer protection and reduce over-indebtedness