by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kookmin Paying $603m to LOLC for 70% Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Prasac of Cambodia

South Korea’s KB Financial Group, whose name derives from its Kookmin Bank, recently issued the first of two tranches it agreed pay for 70 percent of the shares of Prasac, a microbank in Cambodia. Sri Lanka’s LOLC Group, whose name comes from the former Lanka Orix Leasing Company, will take in a total of USD 603 million on the deal, which has been approved by all pertinent regulators. Prasac has 180 branches and 150 automated teller machines (ATMs). As of 2019, it had total assets of USD 3.1 billion, USD 1.8 billion in deposits and a loan portfolio of USD 2.5 billion outstanding to 417,000 borrowers.

KB President Hur Yin said, “With long-term plans to turn Prasac into a

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Thailand-based Thitikorn Buying Microfinance Institution Myanmar Financial International Limited (MFIL)

Thai vehicle-finance firm Thitikorn recently secured agreement from the shareholders of Myanmar Financial International Limited (MFIL), a microfinance provider in Myanmar, to buy the company for no less than two times its audited book value.

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ethiopia Deregulating Mobile Money Market in Bid to Increase Financial Inclusion

As part of a larger economic reform package, Ethiopia’s central bank, the National Bank of Ethiopia, is seeking to increase mobile money usage in the country by issuing mobile money licenses to non-financial institutions. Banks and microfinance companies already offer financial services via mobile phones. To qualify for a license, a firm must be owned by

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank to Loan $300m to Indonesia for Financial Sector Reform, Including Promoting Long-term Savings, Disaster Microinsurance

The World Bank recently agreed to loan USD 300 million to the government of Indonesia for “financial sector reforms that will help sustain economic growth and achieve the country’s shared prosperity goals.” Planned strategies include increasing the range of

by Simrun Kothari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lending $8.1m to Bank Lviv for SMEs in Ukraine

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral investor, recently agreed to provide a four-year loan in local currency equivalent to USD 8.1 million to Bank Lviv, a commercial bank in Ukraine, for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ashot Abrahamyan, the CEO of Bank Lviv, explains that his institution is

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MPower Secures $430k in Equity for Lease-to-own Solar Power in Africa via Crowdfunding Platform Crowdcube

MPower, a Switzerland-based provider of solar products in Africa, recently raised GBP 350,000 (USD 430,000) via British crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, through which retail investors purchased a total of 5.84 percent of the firm’s equity.

by Kiersten Greene -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $10m to Fondation Arrawaj de la Finance Inclusive of Morocco

The Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), recently issued a loan of USD 10 million to Fondation Arrawaj de la Finance Inclusive, a Moroccan microfinance institution

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Credijusto Secures $100m in Debt Financing from Credit Suisse for Online Lending to SMEs in Mexico

Mexican financial technology (fintech) firm Credijusto recently borrowed USD 100 million from Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based financial firm, to help Credijusto become “better equipped to help close the financial gap for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]”. Founded in 2015 and based in Mexico City, Credijusto offers collateral-based loans ranging in size from MXN 200,000 (USD 8,200) to MXN 30 million (USD 1.25 million).

by Kiersten Greene -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Guaranteeing $3.3m Loan to Tasaheel for Microfinance in Egypt

Crédit Agricole Egypt (CA Egypt), a unit of France’s Crédit Agricole Group, recently partnered with the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is Luxembourg, to provide funding to Tasaheel for Microfinance Foundation, a microfinance institution in Egypt, “in the form of

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Liwwa Raises $21m in Debt, Equity for SME Lending Platform in Egypt, Jordan from Investors Including FMO, 500 Startups, Edgo, EFG-EV, Chris Larsen, Wamda

Jordan-based financial technology (fintech) firm Liwwa recently borrowed USD 15 million to expand its facilitation of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt and Jordan. Liwwa also raised equity totaling USD 6 million from its previous investors Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), the Netherlands Development Finance Company; Jordan-based Bank al Etihad; Jordan-based Dash Ventures; and US-based VC firm

by Will Boudreau -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Loans $30m to SEWA’s Sitara for Housing Microfinance for Women in India

The government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which recently took over the work of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has loaned USD 30 million to Sitara, an initiative of India’s SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), for on-lending to improve the housing conditions of poor women in urban areas. Formerly known as SEWA Grih Rin, Sitara offers loans for housing, business, education and other purposes in amounts from

by Kiersten Greene -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $2.2m to NLB Banka Podgorica for Women-led SMEs in Montenegro

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral investor, recently agreed to loan EUR 2 million (USD 2.18 million) to NLB Banka Podgorica, a Montenegro-based bank named for its Slovenian affiliate Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). As part of EBRD’s Women in Business Programme, the loan is to be used to support

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Northern Arc Raises $23m for India Impact Fund to Invest in SMEs

India-based Northern Arc Investments recently completed the first close of its eighth fund, the Northern Arc India Impact Fund, which is its first fund to accept investments from outside the country. The firm plans to use the five-year debt fund to support Indian lenders for microenterprise, small business, agri-business and vehicles. Northern Arc Investments has raised USD 23 million for the India Impact Fund and will look to increase this to a total of USD 100 million to USD 150 million. By 2021, the company plans to execute

by Kiersten Greene -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Guaranteeing Local-currency Equivalent of $25m for Union Bank to Invest in SMEs, Women-led Businesses in Nigeria

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced it will pay up to half of any losses that Union Bank of Nigeria may incur in lending the local-currency equivalent of USD 25 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. In particular, “the bank plans to offer more products and services to women-owned businesses, especially

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas Loans $9.4m to CreditAccess Grameen of India for Microfinance

BNP Paribas, a bank based in France, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed a two-year loan of INR 700 million (USD 9.4 million) to CreditAccess Grameen, the Indian member of CreditAccess Asia, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. CreditAccess Grameen, formerly known as Grameen Koota, offers group microenterprise loans of USD 1,150; individual small business loans of up to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MEDIA OF THE MONTH: Video Summary of SAM 2019, also Known as African Microfinance Week, in Burkina Faso

This five-minute video gives you a taste of what happened when 900 participants from 50 countries met for the 2019 SAM conference in Ouagadougou.

This post is part of a monthly series from MicroCapital pointing you to great media on microfinance and other forms of impact investing. Enjoy!

MicroCapital coverage of the last three SAM conferences, including vignettes demonstrating its value to participants, appears at http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/.

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banca Transilvania Acquiring Microinvest, Microfinance Institution in Moldova

Pending government approval, Romania’s Banca Transilvania (BT) Financial Group is slated to acquire 100 percent of the equity in Microinvest, a Moldovan microfinance institution, for an undisclosed price. The MFI is being sold by a group of European and US-based entities, led by the

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AlphaCredit Raises $125m in Equity for Fintech Lending in Mexico, Colombia from SoftBank Innovation Fund, Other Investors

AlphaCredit, a non-banking financial technology (fintech) firm based in Mexico City, recently raised USD 125 million from a group of investors led by the SoftBank Innovation Fund, a vehicle of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank that focuses on Latin America. AlphaCredit provides loans to individuals in Mexico and Colombia;