Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently opened credit lines for entities involved in the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire with ceilings of: EUR 3.5 million (USD 4.3 million) for Entreprise Coopérative Kimbe (Ecookim), a union of
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rent-to-Own Car Financier Planet42 of South Africa Secures Final Tranche of $13m Debt, Equity Package
Planet42, a car financier in South Africa, recently secured the closing portion of a funding package arranged by Verdant Capital, an African financial advisory firm, totaling USD 13 million in debt and equity. The names of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Loans $100m to COFIDE of Peru to Support Energy Efficiency, Renewables, SMEs
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending institution of the EU, recently loaned USD 100 million to Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo (COFIDE), a development bank owned by the Peruvian government, to provide support to small businesses and projects to reduce the climate impacts of energy usage. This includes investments
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $25m to Aklease to Support Renewable Energy in Turkey
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private partnership also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned USD 25 million to Aklease, a leasing subsidiary of Turkish bank Akbank, to be used for solar energy projects. Through this loan, Aklease aims to increase the “green” portion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Singapore, Rwanda Implementing 1st Rollout of E-commerce Platform Proxtera; Promising SMEs International, Domestic Connections to Customers, Vendors, Logistics, Financial Services
Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently signed a deal to implement the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) platform Proxtera in Rwanda. As the successor to Business sans Borders, Proxtera
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Loans $50m to BRDE to Support MSMEs in Southern Brazil in Retaining Employees During Pandemic
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which is owned by 48 member nations, recently issued a loan of USD 50 million, with a term of 15 years and a 5.5-year grace period, to Banco Regional de Desenvolvimento do Extremo Sul (BRDE), which is owned by three states in southern Brazil. BRDE will on-lend the funds through its Recupera Sul credit line product in an effort to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary goal is to help these firms to preserve employment in order to hasten economic recovery after the pandemic, decreasing the burden on social programs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FEI OGEF Loans $4m to Bboxx to Expand “Pulse” Electric Power Management, Pay-as-you-go Solar Energy in DRC
The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (OGEF), a debt fund of the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), recently lent USD 4 million to Bboxx, a UK-based solar energy installation and financing firm that is active in Africa and Asia. The loan proceeds are slated to help Bboxx meet its agreement with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank-Genie, Cufa to Distribute BanqIn Digital Banking Platform to 23 Credit Unions in Rural Myanmar
Bank-Genie, a Singapore-based financial technology (fintech) firm, recently partnered with Cufa, an Australia-based NGO, to deploy Bank-Genie’s BanqIn platform in Cufa partner credit unions. The BanqIn platform will house the credit unions’ customer datasets,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: COFIDES Launches $145m Huruma Fund to Deliver Microfinance to 45k Farmers on 4 Continents
Compañia Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES), a development finance institution controlled by the Spanish government, recently launched the Huruma Fund, an investment vehicle with commitments of EUR 120 million (USD 145 million) to assist rural farmers in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean via a range of intermediaries. Seventy percent of Huruma’s portfolio will be deployed via
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nasira Guaranteeing $35m in Digital Lending by Sasfin to SMEs Owned by Migrants, Women, Youth in South Africa from Emergency COVID-19 Facility Funded by EU, FMO
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private partnership also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently selected Sasfin Bank of South Africa to be the first beneficiary of an emergency risk-sharing facility intended to counter the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility is part of FMO’s Nasira fund, which guarantees bank loans to
SPECIAL REPORT: Danone, Incofin, Water.org: WASH Sector is Already Investible
During 
one of the Friday sessions of European Microfinance Week 2020, Dina Pons of Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management explained a partnership with France-based food company Danone through which the organizations are building a 10-year equity fund to invest in expanding access to clean water in developing countries. Since 2007, the Danone Communities arm of Danone – mostly funded by its employees – has invested in access to drinking water on a proof-of-concept basis. Now Danone believes the sector has matured from the incubation stage to the investible stage. The company selected Incofin to help it invest in proven models, with a technical assistance component and monitoring of factors such as affordability, limiting plastic usage and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Stanbic IBTC of Nigeria to Borrow $75m from CDC Group for On-lending in Sectors with Significant SME Supply Chains
The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government’s Department for International Development, recently agreed to lend
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Raises $140m for “COVID-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund” from Schroders, Japan, UK, US
BlueOrchard Impact Investment Managers, a member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently partnered with Schroders and three development finance institutions to launch an initiative to fund lenders serving micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group of investors, which has committed a total of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deposit Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Renews Credit Line from EBRD with 40% Lower Ceiling
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to provide a “standby credit line” in the amount of EUR 30 million (USD 35.2 million) to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) to help it
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Loans $750m to BNDES to Support MSMEs in Brazil During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 750 million to Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian government’s development bank, to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Brazil that have seen significant drops in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan is expected to enable
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Easypaisa of Pakistan Partners with NADRA, Enabling Access to 12k Kiosks; Receives $45m in Equity from Ant, Telenor
Easypaisa, a digital payment platform owned by Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB), recently partnered with government-backed National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Technologies Limited,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Greenlight Planet Secures $90m in Debt, Equity for Pay-as-you-go Solar in Africa, South Asia
Greenlight Planet, a for-profit social business with offices in Kenya, India and the US, recently secured USD 90 million in debt and equity to expand its sales of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar products. The investors are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Isbank Georgia, IFC Agree on Cross-currency Interest Swaps, $10m Loan for SMEs
Isbank Georgia, a subsidiary of Turkey-based bank Türkiye Is Bankasl, recently agreed to borrow USD 10 million from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Isbank is to use the funds to on-lend primarily to