Lidya, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm active in Nigeria, recently announced that it is beginning to lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Czech Republic and Poland, particularly in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and retail sectors. The projected average loan size in these countries is
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MICROFINANCE EVENT: The Microfinance Centre’s (MFC’s) Alternative Finance Forum; October 5, 2017; Warsaw, Poland
Event Name: Alternative Finance Forum
Event Location: Copernicus Conference Centre; Warsaw, Poland
Summary of Event: This forum aims to “introduce new forms of financial services” while covering topics including equity-based crowdfunding, social impact bonds, online lenders to small businesses and peer-to-peer lending platforms. The event has support from the European Union and its European Investment Bank Institute.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Network (EMN) to Host 13th Annual Conference “Who, What and For Whom? Shaping European Microfinance,” June 16-17, 2016, Warsaw, Poland
Event Name: 13th Annual EMN Conference “Who, What and For Whom? Shaping European Microfinance”
Event Dates: June 16-17, 2016
Event Location: Novotel Warszawa Centrum Hotel, Warsaw, Poland
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Microfinance Center of Poland Hire Cultural Consultant in Financial Literacy in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with the Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a 110-member network based in Poland, to attempt to improve financial literacy in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FM Bank of Poland Signs $24.6m Agreement with European Investment Fund (EIF), Guaranteed By European Progress Microfinance Facility (EPMF)
FM Bank, a Polish financial institution specializing in servicing micro- and small enterprises, has signed an agreement for a loan of PLN 68.7 million (USD 24.6 million) from European Investment Fund (EIF), which invests in institutions that finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The loan, which will be used to on-lend to start-up enterprises, will be made under a 75-percent guarantee from the European Progress Microfinance Facility (EPMF), which seeks to enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) within the EU to increase lending to entrepreneurs by issuing guarantees, loans and equity financing. Under the agreement, FM Bank will provide Polish entrepreneurs loans of up to EUR 25,000 (USD 35,600) for enterprises that have been operating for less than one year [1]. Currently, entrepreneurs with less than 12 months of business history are excluded from external financing in Poland according to EIF.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Promote Energy Efficiency in Poland Through $21m Loan to BZ WBK Finance & Leasing
In its effort to boost energy efficiency in Eastern Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently loaned EUR 15 million (USD 21.6 million) to BZ WBK Finance & Leasing, a subsidiary of Polish leasing company Bank Zachodni WBK, that provides medium- and long-term leasing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Center for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (MFC) Implements “Debt Management” Training in Poland
The Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, an international network of approximately 100 microfinance institutions (MFIs), and the Polish Partnership for Financial Education, which is a program of MFC’s Partnership for Financial Education for Vulnerable Adults (FEVA), have introduced a training module for low-income families in Poland entitled “Debt Management.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans Masterlease $28m to Support Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Poland
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, is supporting the diversification of financial services available to small and medium-sized companies in Poland with a loan of PLN 80 million (approximately USD 28.6 million) to Masterlease, a provider of car leasing and fleet services, to support further growth of the company’s portfolio and customer base.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Microfinance Holdings NV Acquires Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Opportunity Albania, Inicjatywa Mikro of Poland and Forus Bank of Russia
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Microfinance Holdings NV, a Dutch private-equity holding company owned by Development Finance Equity (DFE) Partners’ Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund (BFSEF) of the Netherlands and US-based private-equity fund Creation Investments Capital Management, recently announced the purchase of three microfinance institutions (MFIs) located in Albania, Poland and Russia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides €100m ($146m) Credit Line to Bank Millennium to Assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Poland
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a EUR 100 million (USD 146 million) medium term credit line to Bank Millennium of Poland for on-lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This credit line supports Bank Millennium’s recently announced strategy to increase its business in the SME segment of Poland, which has been affected by the financial crisis.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest USD 5 million in FM Bank, Poland’s First Microfinance Bank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank has announced an investment of USD 5 million in FM Bank, a new microfinance bank based in Poland [1]. The investment would help the bank ‘to support the [Polish] microfinance sector and improve access to finance for micro and small businesses’. FM Bank, a spin-off from the operations of the Polish microfinance institution Fundusz Mikro, only recently received a commercial banking license and is reportedly the first microfinance bank in the country [1].
MICROCAPITAL STORY: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides $3.8m Loan to Inicjatywa Mikro with Technical Assistance Funded by the European Commission (EC) to Support the Development of Micro and Small Enterprises in Poland
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing the microfinance institution Inicjatywa Mikro with a 3.8 million USD loan to aid the development of micro and small enterprises in Poland. The loan is supported by technical assistance funded by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. The financing comes under the EU/EBRD Preparatory Action Framework, which supports micro and small enterprises in the new EU member states, and aims to generally provide medium and long-term financing from the EBRD combined with technical assistance funded by the European Commission.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Poland’s Citi Handlowy Launches Microfinance Initiative “CitiBusiness for Start Ups” to Assist Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Citi Handlowy, a Warsaw-based bank and member of international financial conglomerate Citigroup, has begun offering the “CitiBusiness for Start-Ups” (CitiBusiness na Start) package with the aim to provide stable financing for CitiBusiness microentrepreneurs. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that comprise CitiBusiness customers are marked by annual sales less than the equivalent of USD 3.7 million. To qualify for “CitiBusiness na Start” the company may not have been on the market for more than a year.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oikocredit of the Netherlands Loans $10.3m to Microfinance Institutions Opportunity Bank Montenegro, Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijian (MFBA) and Inicjatywa Mikro of Poland
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) reported in its recent list of transactions that Oikocredit, a Dutch investment fund formed by the World Council of Churches, lent USD 6.2 million to commercial bank Opportunity Bank Montenegro, USD 2.5 million to commercial bank Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijian (MFBA) and USD 1.6 million to Inicjatywa Mikro, a Polish microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lidya to Shift from Retail Lending to Providing Fintech Infrastructure
Lidya, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm that has provided digital loans in Nigeria, the Czech Republic and Poland, recently announced it will shift its focus to providing technology infrastructure to financial institutions. Lidya’s credit platform helps lenders “originate, manage and collect loans,” including via the Collect tool, which is intended to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Remitly Acquires Remittance Fintech Rewire
Remitly, a US-based digital payments provider, recently acquired Israel-based payments company Rewire. Established in 2015, Rewire targets
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EasyCash Launches Mobile Payment, Wallet Solutions for Consumers, Merchants in Egypt
The Egyptian firm EasyCash recently launched its eponymous digital wallet and mobile payment solution for both Android and iOS devices. EasyCash partnered with Wallet Factory, a financial technology (fintech) firm based in Poland, to develop the mobile applications, which use
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Centre “Borrow Wisely Campaign” Seeks to Prevent Over-indebtedness
During the month of October, the Microfinance Centre (MFC), a 113-member network based in Poland, is running its annual Borrow Wisely Campaign (BWC) “to make [borrowers] aware of the threat of excessive debt and help them learn how to avoid it.” BWC and its members do this through: