The Unitus Equity Fund invested $1 million in Credex. The for-profit microfinance institution began in 2002 as a financial services provider for Mexico’s poor. According to a Credex press release, it has fifteen branches serving 12,000 clients, and manages a $5 million loan portfolio. The company does not report to MIX Market, the microfinance information clearinghouse.
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Laos received two loans worth $10 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The first loan of $7.684 million has been allocated to improving microfinance regulation in the country. A further $2.316 million loan will help strengthen the government-owned Agriculture Promotion Bank’s internal processes like accounting and risk management. The loans have maturities of 24 and 32 years, respectively, at 1% annual interest for the first eight years and 1.5% thereafter. These are consistent with historical loan terms from the ADB.
Continue reading “$10 Million in Loans from Asian Development Bank to Laos for Microfinance Regulation and State Agriculture Bank”
Fundusz Mikro, the Polish microfinance institution, will apply the guarantee towards a $1.5 million credit line negotiated with commercial bank Fortis. The ACCION Global Bridge Fund started as an offshoot of ACCION Latin America Bridge Fund in 2005. It provides short-term debt guarantees of 18-60 months to microfinance institutions worldwide. This helps to increase access to capital to the microfinance industry as a whole. Rates of interest for which debt is guaranteed ranges from 1.625% to 2.875%, depending on time to maturity, while the minimum guarantee amount is $2,000. The Global Bridge Fund had capitalization at mid-year 2006 of $2.89 million, while the Latin America Bridge Fund stood at $4.35 million. ACCION International was founded in 1961 as a nonprofit microfinance network. According to its key statistics, its partners have made $9.4 billion in loans to about 4 million people since 1996.
Continue reading “ACCION Global Bridge Fund Extends $1 Million Loan Guarantee for Fundusz Mikro”Commercial banks ICICI, Andhra, and Canara made separate takeover proposals of United Western Bank. The action comes at a time of rising interest in Indian microfinance from commercial banks. According to Indian news service Moneycontrol, “ICICI Bank had been planning a major foray into agricultural and rural lending, [and] the branch network of UWB will come in handy in achieving that target in this sector.” United Western has experienced severe stock price volatility following a Reserve Bank of India moratorium issued September 2, 2006. As a result, the bidding banks have not yet released valuation details. United Western has not responded to the three proposals.
Gray Ghost has acquired 41% of shares in the Latin America Challenge Investment Fund, SA (LA-CIF) through purchasing all of the shares previously held by The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund). The sale makes LA-CIF one of first microfinance funds established by development investors to be sold on to a private investor. The sale price of the shares was not disclosed.
Cashpor, an Indian microfinance institution founded in 1997, is receiving a loan for 50 million Indian Rupees (or US$1.1 million) with a US$110,000 guarantee from the Grameen Foundation. As of March 31, 2006, Cashpor served over 123,000 borrowers, composing a gross loan portfolio of $11.4 million. Assets totaled $13.9 million; return was negative 11.44%.
The Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) joined as an Associate Member of the European Microfinance Network (EMN). The Center was established in 2002 with help from the USAID-sponsored Russia Microfinance Sector Support Program. It provides a range of services for the Russian market, including training for microfinance practitioners, consulting for all stakeholders, and information dissemination. MIX Market classifies the RMC as a microfinance “Program Developer and Service Provider”.
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The Association of Cambodian Local Economic Development Agencies (ACLEDA Bank) received a $5 million long-term loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The loan will be utilized to help the bank expand its microlending to both individual borrowers and small and medium enterprises.
Continue reading “IFC commits $5 million loan in Microfinance Investment in Cambodia’s ACLEDA Bank”Fundación AgroCapital received a $1 million credit line from Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund. The Bolivia-based Fundación AgroCapital provides short- and medium-term loans for microenterprises involved in rural production, transportation, and distribution. Founded in 1992, it had assets of $19.8 million and $16.3 million in outstanding loans at year end 2005. Return on assets stood at 1.81% while debt to equity was 92.35%. All figures are from MIX Market.
MIBANCO is Peru’s largest microfinance bank. Established in 1992, it had over 150,000 active borrowers at year end 2005. The gross loan portfolio was over $200 million. Total assets reported to the MIX Market were $250.5 million, with a return of 6.74%. $275,599 worth of shares in the bank were purchased by the Triodos-Doen Foundation, the Hivos-Triodos Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund, all managed by Triodos International Fund Management, part of the Triodos Bank Group of the Netherlands.
Edpyme Confianza of Peru sold shares worth 875,000 in Peruvian Nuevo Sol (PEN), or approximately US$282,100 to Incofin. This increased Incofin’s shares in Confianza from 10 to 15%.
The French company Danone will form a joint venture with the Grameen Group to facilitate entry into Bangladesh. The innovative approach to market penetration involves making loans to dairy farmers, who will supply a Danone-built yoghurt factory. In a recent comment, the company’s chief executive said that "we want to test this economic model; if it works we can think about [using it in] countries where our classic model doesn’t work.”
responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund loaned $800,000 to BlueOrchard Loans for Development (Bold) 2006, Worldwide.
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A Swiss microfinance investment fund founded in 2003, responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund reported over $70 million in total assets as of July 31, 2006, with $65.6 million allocated to microfinance investments.
Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), was established in 1996. Total assets reported to the MIX Market were $4.2 million with a return of 5.12% as of year end 2005. The gross loan portfolio totaled $3.8 million, serving 8,475 active borrowers. Total equity was reported at $1.6 million, with a debt to equity ratio of 169.19%.
Apoyo Integral received $500,000 from the Hivos-Triodos Fund. Apoyo Integral is an El Salvador-based program that has provided housing solutions to about 6000 families. Founded in 1990, it participates in designing, managing, and financing projects. At year end 2005, the program had assets of $19.6 million, with a return of 1.92%. It has a $16.7 million loan portfolio, and a debt to equity ratio of 457%.
MAS Financial Services Limited of India sold $1.5 million in Common and Preferred Shares to the Bellwether Microfinance Fund. MAS, a non-banking finance company, is downscaling operations to focus on microfinance. Bellwether’s investment is aimed to assist MAS in enlarging its microcredit portfolio, which it hopes to increase to 75% of its total portfolio over the next five years. MAS Financial does not currently report to the MIX Market, and no further financial information is currently available.
The Microfund for Women received a $500,000 loan from the Triodos-Doen Foundation. The Microfund for Women began as a pilot lending program initiated through Save the Children in 1994. It is now a leading microfinance institution in Jordan, with a gross loan portfolio of over $5 million serving over 17,000 active borrowers. At year end 2005, total assets totaled $7 million, with a return of 10.37%. Total equity was $5.3 million, with a debt to equity ratio of 31.41%.