Visa, a US-based payments company, and Oxfam America, an anti-poverty NGO, announced during the recent COP28 meetings in the UAE that they plan to scale Oxfam’s Building Resilient, Adaptive and Disaster-ready Communities (B-READY) project to deliver relief payments in advance of storms and flooding in Colombia, Kenya and the US territory of Puerto Rico. B-READY was launched in
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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
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UNI2 Microcrédito of Colombia Raises $3m in Debt from Triodos Microfinance Fund, Triodos Fair Share Fund
Netherlands-based Triodos Investment Management recently disbursed a total of USD 3 million from its Triodos Microfinance Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund to UNI2 Microcrédito, a Colombian microfinance institution (MFI), to support the growth of the MFI’s loan portfolio. Established in 2014, UNI2 provides microcredit for purposes such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DAI’s MicroVest Loans $4m to Bayport Colombia, Payroll Lender to Public Sector Workers
US-based MicroVest, a unit of Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI), recently lent USD 4 million to Bayport Colombia, a financial services provider seeking to “expand credit accessibility and financial empowerment” among public sector employees. This transaction marks MicroVest’s third investment in Bayport since 2016.
Established in 2007, Bayport Colombia lends to employees
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, Sura Investments Channeling $25m in Loans to SMEs, Mid-market Firms in Colombia
Colombia’s Sura Investments recently raised COP 100 billion (USD 25 million) for its Sura Private Debt Fund from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The fund was launched in 2020 with an initial volume of COP 38 billion (USD 9.5 million). The goal is to provide local-currency funding on longer terms than are otherwise available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Brick & Mortar Ventures Lead $3.4m Equity Raise for Licify to Expand Vende+ Construction Portal from Colombia to Mexico
Licify, a Colombian company offering construction procurement and related digital financial services, recently secured an investment package totaling USD 3.4 million. The group of investors includes
SPECIAL REPORT: Bancamía of Colombia, Banco FIE of Bolivia, Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Shortlisted for $100k European Microfinance Award on Financial Inclusion for Women
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On the 21st and 22nd September 2022, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2022 (EMA 2022) on “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” chose the three finalists that will go on to compete for the EUR 100,000 (USD 100,000) prize: Bancamía from Colombia; Banco FIE from Bolivia; and Kashf Foundation from Pakistan.
For decades, financial inclusion has ostensibly been about women’s empowerment and autonomy. But too often the sector has paid only lip-service to what this means, focusing merely on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIC-BRED, FMO Commit $30m in Working Capital for Sucafina to Expand Coffee Purchases from Smallholder Farmers in Africa, Colombia
Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch development bank, recently agreed to fund half of a USD 30 million facility provided by the Swiss bank Banque Internationale de Commerce-Banque Régionale d’Escompte et de Dépôt (BIC-BRED) to Sucafina, a Switzerland-based coffee trader. The deal is meant to support Sucafina’s origination activities in East Africa and Colombia and in this way
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: R5 Raises $7m in Equity Investment Round Led By Global Founders for Vehicle-related Fintech, Insurtech in Colombia
R5, a Colombian provider of financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech) services, recently raised USD 7 million in an investment round led by Germany-based Global Founders Capital. Also participating were US-based Accion Venture Lab, Costa Rica-based Carao Ventures, US-based Endeavor Catalyst and Chile-based Magma Partners. Neither the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ABC Fund Lends $3m to Finamiga to Fund 5k Vehicle, Agricultural Loans for Women in Colombia
The Luxembourg-based Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund recently announced it has lent USD 3 million to Finamiga, a Colombia-based lender to rural, small-scale farmers and independent workers, most of whom are women. Finamiga plans to use the wholesale loan to fund
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Investing $2.5m in Rentek of Colombia to Help MSMEs Recover from COVID-19 Downturn
MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, recently agreed to lend USD 2.5 million to Rentek, a Colombian funder of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The goal is to assist Rentek’s clients in recovering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded in 1997, Rentek provides liquidity to businesses via loans, equipment leasing and invoice factoring. It also operates a
SPECIAL REPORT: European Microfinance Week Opens with Daniela Konietzko of Fundación WWB Colombia Arguing Business Leaders Must Fight Gender Inequality
As part of the first day of European Microfinance Week 2021, Daniela Konietzko of Fundación WWB Colombia today discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brunt of which have fallen on women. There has been more domestic violence, neighbors have quarreled more over land disputes, and pregnant women and children have suffered the worst increases in malnutrition. Meanwhile children have missed school, and women have taken on greater unpaid caregiving responsibilities.
As COVID-19 threatens to undo the gains made against poverty in recent years, Ms Konietzko argued that we need to address development with a gender lens for many reasons. Women invest triple
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions (IIV) Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $12m to Bayport for Payroll Lending in Colombia
Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest In Visions (IIV), has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 10 million (USD 12.1 million) to Bayport Colombia, one of the nine financial services providers (FSPs) of Mauritius-based microfinance network Bayport Management Limited. Bayport Colombia is using the cash to fund
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cívico of Colombia Launches “Negocios” App to Help MSMEs Advertise, Sell, Maintain Customer Relationships Online
Cívico, a Colombia-based online marketplace, networking and loan platform for micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently launched a mobile app called Negocios that allows users to “create a digital presence for their businesses, upload and sell their products, and connect with their clients.” Cívico also is using the app to collect data on the MSMEs’ interactions with their customers “to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Latinia Invests in Fintech Ábaco, Microlender in Colombia, Mexico
Spain-based software vendor and financial technology (fintech) investor Latinia recently announced it has invested an unspecified amount of funds in Ábaco, a fintech active in Colombia and Mexico. Based in Colombia, Ábaco makes lending decisions using software that “identifies the behavior of delivery platform workers and freela
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest, DFC, FinDev Canada Loan $390m to Davivienda of Colombia for SMEs, Environmental Sustainability, Women
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group; the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); and FinDev Canada, a subsidiary of government-owned Export Development Canada, recently issued subordinated loans totaling USD 390 million to Colombia’s Banco Davivienda for repayment over 10 years. The deal will “provide new financing for work
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Introduces $10m Bond to Fund Affordable Housing in Colombia via Hipotecaria Compañía de Financiamiento
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform, recently agreed to issue a 4.5-year, senior, unsecured loan of COP 35.8 billion (USD 10.5 million) to La Hipotecaria Compañía de Financiamiento (HCF), a Panama-based mortgage lender, from the proceeds of a social bond Symbiotics is launching for this purpose. The goal is to increase access to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banco W Issuing $40m “Social Bond,” Funded by IDB Invest to Promote Gender Equity in Colombia via Microfinance
IDB Invest, a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently subscribed to a four-year bond of COP 150 billion (USD 39.6 million) to be issued by Banco W, a Colombian credit institution. The funds are slated to reach 25,000 female-led microenterprises and support the “development of the capital markets and thematic bonds in Colombia.” The bond is registered with the Colombian Stock Exchange, and IDB Invest describes it as