Kafo-Jiginew, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Mali, has borrowed EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation to support microlending in Mali. Kafo-Jiginew, which is organized as a credit union, seeks to
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Bond Issue Ever on Cambodian Securities Exchange Is by Microfinance Institution Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL) to Benefit Farmers, Other Rural Entrepreneurs
With encouragement from the Cambodian government, microfinance institution Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL) recently issued the first corporate bonds ever on the Cambodian Securities Exchange (CSX). The issue raised the USD equivalent of 30 million
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Access Bank Buying Diamond Bank to Reach Total of 12m Customers
Nigeria-based Access Bank recently agreed to purchase Nigeria’s Diamond Bank for cash totaling NGN 72.5 billion (USD 199 million) plus stock in Access Bank. Diamond Bank shareholders will receive the equivalent of NGN 3.13 per share
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rural MFI in El Salvador Borrows from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
A microfinance institution (MFI) in El Salvador has borrowed an unspecified amount of cash from the Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund of Austria-based C-Quadrat. C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM), the unit of C-Quadrat that manages the fund, has
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fusion Microfinance Raises $72m in Equity from Warburg Pincus, Creation Investments; Provides Exits to Incofin, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, SIDBI, BIO
US-based investors Warburg Pincus and Creation Investments recently placed INR 520 crore (USD 72 million) in equity in Fusion Microfinance, a provider of group loans and financial literacy training to women in rural areas of northern and central India. As part of the funding round, the following investors sold their stakes in the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Voyager Innovations of the Philippines Raises $215m in Equity from Tencent, KKR, IFC to Bring Digital Financial Services to Rural Areas
Voyager Innovations, which is controlled by the Philippines Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT), recently raised a total of USD 215 million in equity from China’s Tencent Holdings; KKR, a US-based investment fund formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC pledged
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UAE Funding $100m in Loans to SMEs in Jordan
The governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan recently signed an agreement through UAE’s Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Jordan’s Crown Prince Foundation, whereby UAE will provide USD 100 million for lending
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $9m to Microfinance Institution Letshego Kenya
Letshego Kenya, a microlending unit of Botswana-based Letshego Holdings Limited, recently borrowed USD 9 million from Germany-based Invest in Visions’ (IIV’s) IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries. IIV Mikrofinanzfonds loaned additional amounts – denominated in a mix of euros and US dollars – totaling the equivalent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hatton National Bank (HNB) Secures Partial Guarantee from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for $20m in Lending to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) recently entered an agreement with the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enable up to USD 20 million in lending by HNB to Sri Lanka’s microfinance sector. The deal is part of ADB’s Microfinance Risk Participation and Guarantee Program, a “credit enhancement program
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vision Microfinance Fund of C-Quadrat Lends to MFI in Madagascar
A unit of Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently told MicroCapital it has disbursed a loan from its Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund to an unidentified microfinance institution (MFI) Madagascar. The MFI was founded in 2006 and serves micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with the dual goals of improving clients’ standard of living and developing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $113k to Société Sénégalaise des Filières Alimentaires (SFA) for Rice-storage Facility in Senegal
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently issued a loan of EUR 100,000 (USD 113,000) to Société Sénégalaise des Filières Alimentaires (SFA) to finance a rice storage facility. SFA buys rice from 1,500 farmers in the Senegal River Valley; processes it into
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, CoopMed Loan $2m to FINCA Jordan for Microfinance Lending
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently partnered with CoopMed Fund, which is managed by Inpulse Investment Manager of Belgium, to loan a total of USD 2 million to FINCA Jordan, an affiliate of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit that seeks to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab, Oikocredit Invest $5.7m in Equity in Sempli of Colombia to Expand Fintech Services for SMEs
The multilateral Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently closed an investment of USD 5.7 million in Colombian financial technology (fintech) company Sempli to increase its services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The amount invested by each organization
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFI in Ecuador Borrows from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
A microfinance institution (MFI) in Ecuador recently closed on a loan from Austria-based C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund. C-Quadrat Asset Management, the unit of C-Quadrat that manages the fund, tells MicroCapital that the MFI was founded in 1996 and provides microentrepreneurs with loans; insurance; and non-financial services, such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO, EIB, PROPARCO Participating in $2.6m agTAF Technical Assistance Fund Launched by Incofin for Rural Entrepreneurs
Belgium-based impact investor Incofin Investment Management recently signed agreements with three government-backed institutions, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) of France and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), to commit
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Yoma Bank Increasing Loan Exposure to BRAC Myanmar by $4.4m for Microfinance Lending to 15k More Borrowers
Yoma Bank of Myanmar recently agreed lend MMK 6.8 billion (USD 4.4 million) to BRAC Myanmar Microfinance Company
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Disburses 4-year Loan of $873k to CAURIE-MF for Microfinance in Senegal
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently issued a four-year loan approximately equivalent to USD 873,000 in favor of Coopérative Autonome pour le Renforcement des Initiatives Économiques par la Micro Finance (CAURIE-MF) to support its microlending in Senegal. CAURIE-MF is a savings and credit cooperative supporting the “economic and social promotion
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin-managed Funds Buying $10m in Equity in Financiamiento Progresemos for Financial Inclusion of Micro-, Small Enterprises in Mexico
A Belgium-based manager of microfinance funds, Incofin Investment Management, recently announced an investment of