Good Return, the Australia-based affiliate of the US-based NGO World Education, recently partnered with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to support women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a credit guarantee scheme in Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal and Samoa. Under the program, “International impact investors will be providing the funds to be guaranteed to partner financial institutions” in
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans $2m to Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) of South Africa from Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF)
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently disbursed a loan of USD 2 million to the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF), a microlender in South Africa, from the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF). According to Kevin Kamemba, Incofin’s Regional Director for Africa, “SEF has enabled thousands of vulnerable women in South Africa to sustainably
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Network Gojo Takes $14m Equity Stake in Satya Microcapital of India
Japanese microfinance holding firm Gojo and Company recently increased its minority equity holding in New Delhi-based Satya Microcapital with a share purchase in the amount of INR 1.05 billion (USD 13.9 million). Satya plans to use the capital to expand its work with migrant laborers and other poor people to create and preserve jobs, especially to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Satya CEO Vivek Tiwari said, “the capital infusion will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Brazil Launching Open Banking Regulations in Partnership with TecBan, Ozone
Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), the central bank of Brazil, is introducing open banking regulations “enabling licensed institutions to share customer data” with the goal of encouraging “the rise of comparison platforms, financial management tools and more customer-friendly payment initiation procedures.” The central bank plans to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Loans $5m to Vitas Palestine for Microfinance
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned USD 5 million to the microfinance institution (MFI) Vitas Palestine. FMO sourced the funding from MASSIF, an investment vehicle it manages for the Dutch government that is meant to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ipak Yoli Bank of Uzbekistan, IFC Collaborate to Manage Currency Risk, Increase Local-currency Financing for SMEs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Uzbekistan’s Ipak Yoli Bank recently signed an International Swaps and Derivatives Association Master Agreement under which they plan to execute currency-swap transactions. Saidabror Savdakhmedov, Chairman of the Board of Ipak Yoli, explained that the goal is to “help expand our lending to customers in local currency, while effectively mitigating financial risks and managing our currency-risk exposure.” In particular, the bank plans to increase local-currency financing to small and medium-sized
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wave Money – Joint Venture of Telenor, Yoma – Raises $74m in Equity from Ant Financial for Mobile Money in Myanmar
Ant Financial Services Group, a member of the China-based Alibaba Group that operates the online payment service Alipay, recently agreed to invest USD 73.5 million in Wave Money, a joint venture of the Telenor Group and the Yoma Group that provides digital financial services in Myanmar. Ant Financial will take a “substantial minority stake” in Wave Money, which seeks
SPECIAL REPORT: One Size Does Not Fit All – Restructuring for Uncertain Times, from Verdant Capital
This sponsored content was written by Edmund Higenbottam and Patrick Ball, who serve, respectively, as the Managing Director and a Director of Verdant Capital. Verdant Capital is a leading specialist financial advisory firm that operates across Africa.
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combination of factors is challenging the economic sustainability of financial institutions and other businesses large and small across Africa. Globally, the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdowns have had the effect of “calling the end of a long bull market” that has run since the credit crisis of 2008. In most African markets, however, the bull market had already ended some years before the pandemic. Instead, in Africa, the pandemic has compounded previously existing difficulties, such as weaker commodity prices, sovereign credit challenges, volatile exchange rates and uncertain public policy regimes. Despite some differences, there are many commonalities among the issues facing traditional banks, microfinance institutions and operating companies. From an investment
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Invests $19m in Microfinance for Women via Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
The Japan-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company recently invested JPY 2 billion (USD 18.6 million) in a “Microfinance and Gender Loan” scheme, which was arranged by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB), a member of the France-based Crédit Agricole Group. The funding will allow the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, “to support microfinance institutions focusing [on]
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Takes Equity Stake in Pintek of Indonesia, Provider of Online Loans to Students, Schools
Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion, recently placed an equity investment in Indonesian financial technology (fintech) firm Pintek. While the size and price of the stake remain confidential, the typical size of an investment by Accion Venture Lab is USD 300,000 to USD 500,000. Pintek lends to private universities, secondary schools and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lending $94m to Mitigate Effects of COVID-19 on 29k Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Ecuador
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently loaned USD 93.8 million to Ecuador to on-lend as working capital to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country in an effort to sustain employment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to reach approximately 29,000 MSEs, some via savings and credit cooperatives that will enjoy guarantees from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Garanti BBVA of Turkey Borrows $699m from EBRD, IFC, Commercial Banks with Elements for Renewable Energy, MSMEs, COVID-19 Relief
Garanti BBVA, a Turkish subsidiary of Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), recently entered loan agreements with the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), and a syndicate of unidentified commercial banks. The sizes of the first two loans
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $14m to COFINA for Microfinance, SMEs in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, which is also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently disbursed a loan to Guinea-based microfinance group Compagnie Financiere Africaine (COFINA) to be distributed to its subsidiaries in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Of the loan proceeds, EUR 7.5 million (USD 8.2 million) is flowing to COFINA Senegal, and EUR 5 million (USD 5.5 million) is going to COFINA Côte d’Ivoire, which is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sindhuja Microcredit of India Raises $8.7m in Equity Sale to Carpediem Capital, Nordic Microfinance Initiative
The majority owners of Sindhuja Microcredit, a lender to women in India, recently sold minority shareholdings to Carpediem Capital, an India-based private equity fund manager, and the Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a public-private partnership based in Norway, for a total of USD 8.7 million. The sizes of the stakes have not been released. Carpediem also invested USD 4 million in Sindhuja in 2019. India’s Vidura Capital served as advisor on the transaction.
The promoters of Sindhuja, Abhisheka Kumar and Malkit Didyala, issued a statement that, “Our customers, self-employed rural women, are the most vulnerable in the COVID–19 world… with their livelihoods under direct threat, this funding will be used to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aviator EMF Invests $3.1m in Midland Microfin for Microfinance for Women in India
Aviator Emerging Market Fund (EMF), a Mauritius-based entity, recently invested USD 3.1 million in Midland Microfin Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides women in India with small business loans and insurance services. Most of the loans that the MFI issues are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LinkAja, Ovo, Gojek’s GoPay May Help Facebook Launch Mobile Payments in Indonesia
Facebook, a US-based social networking company, is discussing launching a mobile payment service in Indonesia in partnership with three Indonesian mobile payment services: the government-backed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 9 Microfinance Investment Vehicles Coordinate Response to Effects of Pandemic on MFIs, MSMEs in 80 Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reduce its health impacts have had major negative economic consequences for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). These enterprises thus are having difficulty repaying the loans they have outstanding from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other retail lenders, leading to liquidity challenges for these lenders. In response, nine investors in these lenders, which have an aggregate of USD 15 billion invested in 80 low- and middle-income countries, are working together to support the long-term viability of the retail financial services providers (FSPs).
The nine investors, which manage a range of microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) and other funds seeking to generate positive social impact, have arrived at a non-binding agreement to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Impact Capital Opens $15m Credit Line for FINCA, Owner of 20 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
Calvert Impact Capital, a US-based NGO, recently opened a five-year credit line of USD 15 million for FINCA Impact Finance to use in support of its 20 microfinance institutions in Africa, the Americas and Eurasia. The funding is available for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) as well as for