MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Issues $2b in Bonds for Climate-focused, Infrastructure, Women-entrepreneurship Projects in Developing Countries

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently raised USD 2 billion via a bond issue to finance projects in developing countries that are focused on mitigating climate change, developing infrastructure, increasing opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and expanding financial resources

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Invests $9m in Kredobank Bond Issue for Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Lending in Ukraine

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled microfinance investment vehicle, recently invested UAH 312 million (USD 11 million) in Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Kredobank, a Ukrainian bank owned by the Polish financial services firm, Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci (PKO) Bank Polski Spolka Akcyjna.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $7.1m to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK); Advans Group to Refinance in DRC, Myanmar

The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing loans to: (1) Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) in the amount of EUR 1.4 million (USD 1.6 million),

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Impact Loans $5m to One Acre Fund for Agricultural Inputs, Clean-energy Equipment Leasing to Smallholder Farmers in East Africa

Calvert Impact Capital, a US-based NGO that raises funds for organizations with “a social and/or environmental focus,” recently loaned USD 5 million to One Acre Fund, a US-based NGO active in the agriculture sector in Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $45m to Bank CenterCredit of Kazakhstan, Mostly for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Run by Women Outside Major Cities

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently disbursed three-year loans totaling USD 45 million to Bank CenterCredit, a commercial bank in Kazakhstan.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Disburses $148m for Energy-efficiency Projects for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay via UN’s Green Climate Fund

With funds drawn from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a UN-managed investment vehicle for mitigating the effects of climate change, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the US-based IDB Group, recently made three loans totaling USD 140 million to finance energy-efficiency projects undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $29m to Turkish Leasing Firm QNB Finans Finansal Kiralama for Energy-efficiency Investments

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently loaned EUR 25 million (USD 29 million) to Qatar National Bank Finans Finansal Kiralama (QNB Finans Leasing), a subsidiary of the Turkish commercial bank, QNB Finansbank.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triple Jump, MicroVest Lend $10m to Indian Microfinance Institution Aye Finance

Aye Finance, a non-banking financial company-microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI) in India, recently issued USD 10 million in non-convertible debentures in undisclosed portions to two microfinance fund management firms, Netherlands-based Triple Jump BV and US-based MicroVest Funds. Aye intends to use the proceeds to expand its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan portfolio.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $1.5m to Microfinance Organization Crystal of Georgia

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-based lender to projects deemed beneficial to the environment, recently loaned USD 1.5 million to Joint Stock Company Microfinance Organization Crystal, a microfinance institution primarily serving microentrepreneurs and farmers in rural Georgia. Crystal plans to use the proceeds

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $93m to Mahindra Finance for Microloans Targeting Farmers, SMEs, Women in India

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, recently loaned INR 6.4 billion (USD 93 million) to Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (Mahindra Finance), a non-banking financial company owned by the India-based Mahindra Group. Mahindra Finance plans to use the funding to expand its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $59m to Qatar National Bank (QNB) Tunisia for Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Financing

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently loaned EUR 50 million (USD 59 million) to Qatar National Bank (QNB) Tunisia, a subsidiary of the Qatar-based QNB Group. QNB Tunisia will use the proceeds from the loan to on-lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia. This is the first transaction between EBRD and QNB Tunisia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Invests $2.5m in Equity in Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Sambandh Finserve

Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Private Limited, a microfinance investment firm in Singapore, recently invested USD 2.5 million to buy a stake of undisclosed size in Sambandh Finserve Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution that is organized as a non-banking financial company.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Supports $100m IFC Loan to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) to Boost Digital Financial Services in Vietnam

With funds from the government-backed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) and other sources, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently loaned USD 100 million to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) of Vietnam. TPBank plans to use the proceeds of the five-year loan to expand its lending via its website and mobile app.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) Buys $23m Equity Stake in India’s Annapurna Microfinance

The Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), a private equity investor associated with the governments of India and Oman, recently placed an equity investment of INR 1.6 billion (USD 23 million) in Annapurna Microfinance Private Limited, a non-deposit-taking microfinance institution (MFI)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $33m in Local Currency to Exim Bank Tanzania for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Financing

The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently loaned TZS 75 billion (USD 33 million) to Exim Bank Tanzania Limited, a commercial bank active in Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti and Uganda. The bank has allocated the funds for lending to micro-,

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility-managed Private Equity Vehicle Acquires 51% Stake in Bank Lviv, Lender to SMEs, Agricultural Firms in the Ukraine

A private equity investment vehicle managed by responsAbility Investments AG, a Switzerland-based asset manager specializing in impact investments in developing countries, recently paid an undisclosed sum to buy a 51-percent

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s RBL Bank Completes Ownership of Microfinance Institution (MFI) Swadhaar Finserve with Equity Purchases from Accion, Individual Investors

RBL Bank Limited, an Indian commercial bank formerly known as Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL), recently bought out the other owners of Swadhaar Finserve Private Limited (SFPL), a microfinance institution (MFI) providing loan, deposit and insurance services to low-income households as well as micro-, small