This 
year’s SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) includes five days of conference sessions, an investors’ fair, an “Innovators’ Village,” research presentations, training sessions and workshops under the theme “Resilience of the African Inclusive Finance Sector.” The two-day conference portion of SAM includes sessions on topics such as how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, financing agricultural value chains, risk management, serving youth, digital infrastructure and post-crisis reconstruction. The other days of SAM include workshops on topics such as social performance,
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SoftBank Leads $400m Equity Funding Round for Fintech OPay of Nigeria as it Eyes International Expansion
The SoftBank Vision Fund 2, a vehicle of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, recently led an investment package totaling USD 400 million in the Nigeria-based financial technology (fintech) firm OPay, a mobile platform for sending payments. The funding round values
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triple Jump via ASN Microkredietpool, NMI, Incofin Place $9.4m in Equity in Light Microfinance for Financial Inclusion of Women in Rural India
Light Microfinance, a non-banking finance institution in India, recently raised equity from three European organizations: USD 4 million from Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership active in Africa and Asia; USD 3 million from ASN Microkredietpool, a microfinance fund managed by Netherlands-based Triple Jump; and EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Invests in Pro Mujer Mexico – Provider of Education, Healthcare, Microfinance – Through Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund
Canada-based asset management company Deetken Impact and US-based nonprofit women’s development organization Pro Mujer recently announced they are making an investment in Pro Mujer Mexico from the investment vehicle they co-manage, the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund. The parties to the transaction wish
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), RAFI Micro-finance Boost Access for Food Retailers to Online Sales, Deliveries to Aid in COVID-19 Adjustment
A unit of Philippines-based Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (RAFI), RAFI Micro-finance Incorporated (RMF), recently began a partnership with Let’s Eat Bai (LEB), an online delivery and advertising service in the Philippine city of Cebu. RMF has linked the Facebook group it has developed for its clients, Tindahan Ni Nanay (TNN), with LEB to provide
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citi, DFC Announce $15m Local-currency Loan to CAME of Mexico to Boost Financial Inclusion of 40,000 SMEs
Consejo de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAME), a Mexican microfinance institution, recently agreed to borrow MXN 300 million (USD 15 million) through a partnership between US-based bank Citi and the government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The proceeds of the term loan are to be
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Invest Lends $15m in Local Currency to CAME of Mexico to Promote Financial Inclusion of SMEs, Companies led by Women
Consejo de Asistencia al Microemprendedor (CAME), a Mexican microfinance institution, recently secured a four-year loan of MXN 300 million (USD 15 million) from IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. CAME’s services include deposits, loans, payments and insurance for microentrepreneurs as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its loan products include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Raises $4.6m via Green Bond for Samunnati Financial for Sustainable Agriculture in India
India’s Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services, whose customers are farmer-producer organizations and other members of agricultural value chains, recently raised the rupee-equivalent of USD 4.6 million in a bond issue handled by Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform. The bond transaction is the first by Symbiotics that specifically promotes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK) Borrows $2.3m from EBRD for Green Housing Loans
Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microfinance firm in Kosovo, recently accepted an unsecured loan of up to EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD’s) Western Balkans Green Economy Financing Facility II (WB GEFF II). KRK plans to on-lend the funds for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC Group, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Agree to $50m Risk-sharing Facility to Boost Trade, Supply Chains in South Asia, Africa
CDC Group, a development finance institution backed by the UK government, recently announced a risk-sharing facility valued at USD 50 million in partnership with Habib Bank Limited (HBL) UK, a subsidiary of Pakistan-based HBL. The facility aims to boost HBL UK’s ability to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Allianz Commits $24m to Final Close of Huruma Fund, Investor in Rural Microfinance
Huruma Fund, a public-private partnership that invests in lenders to smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries, recently accepted an investment of EUR 20 million (USD 23.7 million) from German financial services firm Allianz Group as part of the fund’s final closing, bringing its total size to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEBI Approves $180m IPO by Microfinance Institution Fincare SFB of India
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently approved plans by Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB), an Indian microfinance provider, to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) of up to INR 13.3 billion (USD 180 million), of which
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Approves $250m Loan to HDFC for Housing Finance for Low-, Middle-income Borrowers in India; 25% Earmarked for Green Buildings
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently approved a loan of USD 250 million to Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), a housing lender based in India. Whereas green housing has “largely been regarded as a luxury market in the country,” one quarter of the loan amount is reserved for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA DRC, Flash International Partner to Expand Mobile Access to Financial Services in Congo
FINCA Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a subsidiary of US-based FINCA Impact Finance, recently announced a partnership with Flash International, a DRC-based financial technology (fintech) company. FINCA customers will gain access to Flash App, Flash International’s mobile financial services platform, while Flash customers will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Raises $207m in Equity for COVID-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund – Adding IDB, Visa Foundation as Investors
BlueOrchard Impact Investment Managers, a member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently announced it raised USD 207 million in the second close of its COVID-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund, which is intended to counter “the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic” among micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in low- and middle-income countries. The new investors in the funding round include IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alpha Direct of Botswana Expands Insurance Service to Zambia, Plans Equity Raise
Botswana-based insurance underwriter Alpha Direct recently expanded its operations to Zambia under the name Alpha Insurtech Zambia. Alpha Insurtech is partnering with Zambia-based General Alliance Insurance to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: REGMIFA Raises $10m from FMO to Invest in MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Recently, the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA), a fund that invests in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in 19 countries, accepted an investment of USD 10 million from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership. The purpose of REGMIFA is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agricover Credit IFN Borrows $18m from EIB to Expand Financial Access for Small, Medium-sized Farms in Romania
Recently, Agricover Credit IFN, a non-banking financial institution that specializes in financing agribusinesses in Romania, received a loan of EUR 7.5 million (USD 8.9 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB), an entity of the EU. The agreement is designed to