Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), has granted a sponsorship of INR 4,100,000 (USD 103,000) to Microfinance Insights, a quarterly microfinance magazine published by Intellecap, an Indian investment and consulting firm. The sponsorship will enable Microfinance Insights to increase its international reach and content, host events in conjunction with each issue, build a website, and continue to disseminate domain knowledge. According to SDC India’s Deputy Country Director Adrian Marti, SDC’s grant to Microfinance Insights stems from its belief that the knowledge sharing is a key factor in promoting the sustainable growth of the microfinance sector.
Category: Deals
NEWS WIRE: Azerbaijan: Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan Re-Distributes Shareholder’s Stocks
Source: Trend Capital.
PRESS RELEASE: Standard Chartered and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation Sign $2.8m Loan and Co-operation Agreement
First loan facility by an international bank to a microfinance institution in China
MICROCAPITAL STORY: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Signs $700,000 Agreement with Venezuelan Microfinance Institution Banco del Pueblo Soberano
According UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) spokesperson William Spindler at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the UNHCR has signed an agreement worth USD 700,000 with Venezuelan microfinance institution (MFI), Banco del Pueblo Soberano. The grant will be used by the bank to distribute micro-credits to about 10,000 Colombian refugees and asylum seekers in Venezuelan border states of Zulia, Táchira and Apure, and some 200,000 unregistered Colombians who are seeking international protection in Venezuela from civil conflict.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Announces Second Loan of EUR 4 Million to Local Microfinance Institution Kosovo Enterprise Programme (KEP)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced, in a press release, a second loan of EUR 4 million (USD 5.9 million) to Kosovo Enterprise Programme (KEP), a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in Kosovo. The loan will help KEP finance loans to local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) for launching new operations or expanding existing ones. In February 2007, MicroCapital reported on EBRD’s first loan to KEP, valued at EUR 3 million (USD 3.9 million).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) Lends USD 6 Million to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA)
Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), on behalf of Swiss Confederation, granted a six-year USD 6 million loan to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA), marking the first deal between the two entities. The loan will be applied toward financing micro, small, and agricultural businesses of Azerbaijan; a minimum of USD 3 million will be used exclusively for granting agrarian credit, a bank product that MFBA first launched in August 2007. By supporting Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, SIFEM hopes to foster a diversification of the Azerbaijan economy away from oil and gas sectors.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Investment Bank (EIB) Supports Tunisian Microfinance with EUR 2 million Loan to ENDA Inter-Arabe
In a recent press release, the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), a division of the European Investment Bank (EIB) dedicated to the economic development of nine Mediterranean countries1, announced that it granted a long-term loan of TND 3.6 million (EUR 2 million/USD 2.9 million) to ENDA Inter-Arabe, a Tunisian microfinance institution (MFI). Based on an earlier MicroCapital report in July 2006, this marks EIB’s second loan to ENDA, and will be used to generate micro-loans and stimulate local investment.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Old Mutual (OM) Supports Expansion of Women’s Development Bank (WDB) Microfinance into KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with USD 710,000
Old Mutual (OM), the largest financial services provider in South Africa, recently released a press release announcing a donation of ZAR 5 million (USD 710,000) to the Women’s Development Bank (WDB) Microfinance, a South African non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides micro-loans and training for poor, rural women.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Developing World Markets (DWM) Provide Tajik Farmers with Microfinance via Loans, New Facility
In an effort to boost Tajikistan’s economy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will facilitate lending USD 7.2 million to two Tajik banks in order to extend microfinance loans to the agricultural sector. These will be the first syndicated loans in Tajikistan. The financing, provided under the new Tajik Agricultural Finance Framework (TAFF), will allow small farmers, many of whom have never received a loan before, to purchase farming equipment and other supplies.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC Co-Arrange USD 40 Million for Mibanco in First International Syndication in Latin American Microfinance
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, a subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation, have co-arranged a USD 40 million syndicated financing agreement for Mibanco (Banco de la Microempresa S.A.), a leading private commercial microfinance bank in Peru. As the first international syndication for a microfinance institution in Latin America, this transaction will allow Mibanco to offer longer loan maturities to its clients, as well as reach more rural customers.
MICROCAPITAL SPECIAL FEATURE: 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks, Part 3 of 3
December 10, MicroCapital.org featured Part 2 of a series on 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks. Previously, detailed information was provided on institutions with less than USD 100 million in assets. Here, in Part 3, we provide detailed financial and outreach information on microbanks with total assets greater than USD 100 million and less than USD 200 million. The institutions are presented in ascending order based on asset size.
NEWS WIRE: Peru: International Finance Corporation (IFC) And Wachovia Arrange $40m Package For Microfinance Institution Mibanco
Source: Business News Americas.
PRESS RELEASE: With Loan From SNS Institutional Microfinance Fund, Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan Claims First Deal From Abroad in Local Currency
MFBA and SNS Institutional Microfinance Fund, advised by Developing World Markets, concluded the first Azeri Manat Loan funded by international private capital
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan Receives First Private Investor Loan in Manat Currency (AZN)
The Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA), a central Asian and eastern European microfinance institution (MFI) in Azerbaijan, received a loan of AZN 4.2 million (USD 4.95 million) from the SNS Institutional Microfinance Fund, a Dutch investment fund. It is the first loan from an international private-sector financial institution denominated in Azerbaijan’s local currency, the Manat. The loan will be used to lend to small businesses in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL SPECIAL FEATURE: 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks, Part 2 of 3
On December 5, MicroCapital.org featured Part 1 of a series on 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks. Here, in Part 2, we provide detailed financial and outreach information on microbank’s with total assets under USD 100 million. The institutions are presented in ascending order based on asset size.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oikocredit of the Netherlands Lends $1m to Latin America Microfinance Promoter Pro Mujer
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, reported Oikocredit, a co-operative financial development institution in the Netherlands, issued a loan to the Pro Mujer Network. The network reported that the loan was extended to Pro Mujer Peru in the amount of 3.2 million nuevos soles (USD 1 million).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Rural Impulse Fund Lends $300k to Latin America Microfinance Institution Fundación ESPOIR
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, reported the Rural Impulse Fund, an investment fund managed by Icofin, based in Antwerp, Belgium, issued a loan of USD 300,000 to Fundación ESPOIR, a Latin America microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds Loans $1m to Eastern Europe Microenterprise Development Fund Kamurj and $2.5m to Eastern Europe Azerdemiryolbank
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, reported Swiss Microfinanz-Fonds issued a loan of USD 1 million to Microenterprise Development Fund Kamurj and a loan of USD 2.5 million to microfinance institution (MFI) Azerdemiryolbank of Azerbaijan.