by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Crédit Agricole Contributes €50m for the Creation of a Non-Profit Foundation in Cooperation with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh

Crédit Agricole, the largest bank in France, announced that it will contribute EUR 50 million towards the establishment of a non-profit foundation in cooperation with Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi micro-bank. The foundation will finance micro credit providers worldwide through credits, guarantees, and equity capital. In 2009, the foundation will create a fund, open to investors, in order to raise an additional EUR 100 million for operations, according to Crédit Agricole, as reported by Forbes.com.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroCredit Enterprises Lends USD 600,000 to Cambodian Microfinance Institution (MFI) CHC Group Limited

This deal comes to us courtesy of the Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse. MicroCredit Enterprises, a California-based nonprofit organization (NGO) that mobilizes private capital for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the developing world, recently invested USD 600,000 in loans in CHC Limited, a Cambodian MFI.

by Stephen Son -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Dexia Micro-Credit Fund of Luxembourg Lends $3m to Microfinance Institution FINSOL, $2m to Microfinance Institution FUNDESER, $1.5m to Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum, and $100k to Microfinance Institution Sodruzhestvo

The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported that Dexia Micro-Credit Fund, a Luxembourg-based fund, issued loans of USD 3 million to FINSOL, a Honduran microfinance institution (MFI); USD 2 million to FUNDESER, a Nicaraguan MFI; USD 1.5 million to the Bai Tushum Financial Foundation (BTFF), a Kyrgyz MFI; and USD 100,000 to the Fund for SME Support Sodruzhestvo, a Russian MFI.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Calvert Foundation Lends $500,000 to Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank

In another deal coming to us courtesy of Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit community investment vehicle, recently invested USD 500,000 in loans in XacBank, a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in Mongolia.

by Priya Rajdev -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oxfam Novib Lends to ACME, FDL in Early 2008

This story comes courtesy of the Consultative Group to the Poor CGAP), as reported in the January 2008 Microfinance Capital Markets Update, Issue No. 23. Oxfam Novib has made deals to lend USD 440,000 to Association Pour la Cooperation avec la Micro Enterprise (ACME) and USD 1.5 million to Fondo de Desarrollo Local(FDL), two microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. Oxfam Novib is a Dutch philanthropic organization founded in 1956, and is one of twelve members of Oxfam International. As of 2004, Oxfam Novib has dedicated USD 7.8 millionof its total portfolio, USD 28 million, to MFI projects in the LAC region. The fund is managed by Triple Jump Advisory Services.

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: ASA International Secures $125m in Largest Microfinance Equity Commitment to Date

Catalyst Microfinance Investors (CMI) of Mauritius announced on Tuesday that it had raised USD 125 million through the largest microfinance equity sale to date. Investors included private individuals as well as a number of institutional investors such as the Dutch pension fund, ABP and the US financial services organization, TIAA-CREF. The majority of the funds will be channeled to ASA International of Bangladesh, who will use the increased capital to expand operations in Africa and Asia.

by Jennifer Lee -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance Cracking the Capital Markets II

MicroCapital will review the conclusions from last year’s conference in preparation for the upcoming third annual Microfinance Cracking the Capital Markets conference in May, 2008. The conference was summarized in a 16-page publication written by Rekha Reddy and is part of ACCION’s InSight series, available here. The conference was hosted by ACCION International and sponsored by Credit Suisse. ACCION is a private, non-profit microfinance organization founded in 1961 that specializes in global micro-enterprise loans, business training, and other financial services.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Grants $3.1m for Micro and Small Business Development in Peru, Ecuador

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank, a multilateral financial institution, recently approved grants for two technical cooperation projects in Peru and Ecuador, valued at USD 1.6 million and USD 1.5 million, respectively. In addition, each country will contribute approximately USD 1 million as counterpart financing. Both projects will aim to boost income and employment levels among low-income entrepreneurs, while also incorporating this market segment into private-sector business development.

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: India-Based Compulink Sees 1.8 Percent Uptick in Share Price After Announcing Contract to Provide SKS Microfinance of India With Software and Networking Systems

Compulink and SKS Microfinance, both from India, recently entered into a contract wherein Compulink will provide SKS with its entire suite of business applications. The new system will utilize Compulink’s proprietary “Whizible” framework on top of Microsoft’s Net Platform to link all 650 SKS branches using a set of web-based applications. The contract covers all of SKS’s core businesses including microcredit, microinsurance and health insurance as well as providing new accounting systems and a centralized IT infrastructure.

by Jennifer Lee -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: IDB Grants $1.9m to Development of Microfinance in the Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral finance institution, approved a USD 1.9 million grant through its autonomous Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). The grant is part of MIF’s Caribbean Microfinance Capacity-Building Project and will benefit the English-speaking Caribbean. This includes Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Organization of the Easter Caribbean states (OECS).

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a Member of the World Bank Group, Extends $2.5m Loan to Zhong An Credit, a Chinese Microfinance Institution

In a press release, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced that they will supply Zhong An Credit, of Shenzhen, China with a USD 2.5 million convertible loan to “grow its business and extend loans to underserved segments of the market, including microentrepreneurs, small businesses, and other small cash-generation activities that find it difficult to obtain access to finance.”

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Invests $50m in Consumer Finance Company Micro Provident Botswana (Letshego)

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently invested USD 20 million (SZL 147 million) in Micro Provident Botswana, a leading consumer finance company commonly known as Letshego. The investment will help the company expand its financial products and services to under-served segments of the market through local subsidiaries, and support sustainable economic development in Botswana, Swaziland and Zambia.

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Microfinance Raises $37 Million in Equity Sale

SKS Microfinance of Hyderabad, India, recently raised 147 Crore Rupees, the equivalent of over USD 37 million, through its third round of equity sales in recent months. Investors include Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) of California, Columbia Pacific, Sequoia Capital of California, Vinod Khosala of California, and Odyssey Capital.

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a Member of the World Bank Group, Supports Creation of Banco Popular Covelo (Bancovelo), a Microfinance Institution in Honduras

In a press release, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced that it has completed a package to provide up to USD 2 million (11.8 percent of total new capital) of financing and over USD 400,000 of advisory services to create Banco Popular Covelo (Bancovelo), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Honduras. The announcement of the package last year, enabled Bancovelo, the creation of a 2007 merger of Grupo Microfinanciero Covelo’s (GMC’s) Popular Covelo, and its two sister organizations, Fundacion Covelo and Popular Asociacion de Ahorro y Prestamo AAP, to receive its banking license in December of 2007. Other funders and advisers of the newly created bank include ACCION International, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica (CABEI), all with equal equity shares of 11.8 percent.

by the MicroCapital Team -

PRESS RELEASE: African Development Bank (AfDB) Approves $1.1m Equity Investment in Microfinance Institution Advans Bank Congo (ABC)

Micro-enterprises and SMEs in the Democratic Republic of Congo will benefit from an equity investment of USD 1.1 million in Advans Bank of Congo and a technical assistance grant of EUR 650,000 (USD 970,000), approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank.