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: I&M Bank of Kenya Secures $15m Guarantee from FMO to Support MSME Growth

Investment and Mortgages (I&M) Bank, a subsidiary of Kenya-based I&M Group, recently signed an agreement with Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, whereby FMO will deploy a guarantee from its Nasira risk sharing facility to encourage USD 15 million in lending by I&M Bank to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: POSRocket Raises $5m to Expand Point-of-sale Payment Systems, Related Technology for Small Businesses in MENA

POSRocket, a Jordan-based provider of point-of-sale (POS) technology, recently raised USD 5.1 million in an equity round led by Algebra Ventures, an Egypt-based firm that invests in technology, and Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based vehicle targeting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The other participating investors are

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: REGMIFA Raises $10m from FMO to Invest in MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa

Recently, the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA), a fund that invests in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in 19 countries, accepted an investment of USD 10 million from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership. The purpose of REGMIFA is to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Launches Equity Sub-Fund II with $23m from BMZ, EU to Invest in Financial Inclusion, Job Creation in Middle East, North Africa

The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched its Equity Sub-Fund (ESF) II, to invest in financial intermediaries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. The sub-fund’s mandate includes

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) Local-currency Equivalent of $687k

The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCA) has told MicroCapital that it lent Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ), an affiliate of UK-based Agora Microfinance Partners, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 687,000. AMZ offers loans and insurance services – including

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Mulling $17m Loan to Belinvestbank of Belarus for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering assembling a loan of up to EUR 50 million (USD 58.2 million) for Belinvestbank, a bank in Belarus, for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The loan would include at least EUR 15 million (USD 17.4 million)