The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it is considering lending USD 10 million to Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) Limited, a privately owned commercial bank in Bangladesh. The funding would be for financing imports and exports
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $59m in Local Currency to ProCredit Bank of Bulgaria for On-lending to SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development bank, recently loaned EUR 50 million (USD 59 million) to ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) EAD, a provider of financial services to individuals and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Letshego of Botswana Borrows $26m to Lend More in Africa
Letshego Holdings Limited, a provider of financial services in 11 African countries, recently raised the approximate equivalent of USD 26 million, accessible via foreign-exchange hedges in Botswanan pula,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s agRIF Buys 10% Equity Stake in Armenia’s Inecobank from IFC, DEG
A microfinance investment vehicle of Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, agRIF, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire a 10-percent stake in Inecobank, a commercial bank in Armenia whose mission is “to promote private sector development acting as a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KEP Trust Borrows $2.3m from IFC, Global Agriculture & Food Security Program (GAFSP) for Microfinance Lending in Kosovo
KEP Trust, a nonprofit microfinance institution formerly known as the Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP), recently agreed to borrow EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) for on-lending to farmers as well as micro- and small enterprises in Kosovo. Of the total loan package, 30 percent is sourced from the IFC-managed Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which pools investment from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Guarantee $20m in Lending by Bank al Etihad to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan
Bank al Etihad, whose shares are traded on the Amman Stock Exchange, recently secured an agreement from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to share risk on USD 20 million in lending by Bank al Etihad to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. The borrowers – most of which are expected to be medium-sized firms – will be able to access
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $6.5m to KMF for Microfinance in Kazakhstan
Germany-based Invest in Visions, (IIV) recently reported that in April it disbursed a loan of USD 6.46 million to KazMicroFinance (KMF), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Kazakhstan, from its microfinance investment vehicle IIV Mikrofinanzfonds. Also during April, IIV lent a total of USD 13 million to
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Innovation Summit (AIS); June 6 – 8, 2018: Kigali, Rwanda
Summary of Event: The theme of this conference is facilitating development in Africa by empowering entrepreneurs across the continent. The topics include Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in Africa; Building a Resilient and Competitive Economy for Africa’s Future; 21st Century African Cities; Financing and Scaling up
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund Lends $9m to MFIs in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia
C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment, disbursed a total of USD 9 million during April from its Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund to microfinance institutions (MFIs) Costa Rica, Ecuador and Indonesia. Although the identities of the MFIs and the amount each borrowed remain confidential, C-Quadrat Asset Management tells MicroCapital that the Indonesian MFI
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swedfund Lends $5m to Kenya’s Victoria Commercial Bank for SMEs; Tracking Working Conditions, Environmental Impact
Swedfund International, a development finance institution owned by the Swedish government, recently issued a seven-year, subordinated loan of USD 5 million to Victoria Commercial Bank, primarily for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A portion of the funds will support the development of a system for Victoria Commercial to use to track its borrowers’ environmental impacts and the working conditions of borrowers’ employees. The loan is the bank’s first
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Guarantee $20m in Local-currency Lending by Malaysia’s Maybank to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar
The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently agreed to guarantee USD 20 million in local-currency lending by Maybank, a Malaysia-based bank, to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar. The deal is part of ADB’s Microfinance Risk Participation and Guarantee Program, which has supported local-currency loans valued at a total of USD 670
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Lends $24m to BT Leasing for Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Romania
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled microfinance investment vehicle, recently lent EUR 20 million (USD 24 million) to BT Leasing, a member of Romania’s Grupul Financiar Banca Transilvania (BT). BT Leasing CEO Ionut Morar explained, “We are glad to receive this funding that allows us to support Romanian entrepreneurs, especially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Verdant Raises $7.5m in Debt Financing for Retail Capital for Merchant Cash Advances to South African SMEs
Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm operating in Africa, recently raised local currency totaling the equivalent of USD 7.5 million from unspecified international investors for South Africa’s Retail Capital to expand its merchant cash advance business. Retail lends to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make repayments on the loans daily, based on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BBVA Colombia Borrows $150m from IFC for Housing Lending, Expects Government to Subsidize Mortgage Rates
BBVA Colombia, a unit of Spain’s Grupo Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), is borrowing USD 150 million from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to on-lend for housing. This comes as the government of Colombia is considering a plan to “reduce prices on the acquisition of housing loans for the middle class through subsidies to mortgage interest rates.”
Oscar Cabrera Izquierdo, the Executive President of BBVA Colombia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Impact Loans $5m to Global Communities’ Vitas Palestine, Ryada for Housing Microfinance, Mortgages in West Bank, Gaza
Calvert Impact Capital, a US-based NGO that raises money for organizations with “a social and/or environmental focus,” recently disbursed a three-year loan to Global Communities, a US-based NGO that provides financial, health, urban-management and other services in 43 countries. Global Communities will use the funds to support housing lending in the West Bank and Gaza via its for-profit holding company, the Vitas Group.
Calvert Investments Director Songbae Lee said, “This investment is interesting to us because it expands our traditional microfinance investing with a focus on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $50m to Caja de Compensacion de Asignacion Familiar (CCAF) Los Heroes of Chile for Lending to Low-income Workers, Retirees
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to issue a five-year loan of USD 50 million to the Chilean nonprofit Caja de Compensacion de Asignacion Familiar (CCAF) Los Heroes. In Chile, cajas de compensacion, which form part of the nation’s social security system, are the only institutions authorized to provide payroll loans.
Marcelo Castellanos, IFC Manager for the Financial Institutions Group in Latin America and the Caribbean, explained that this is the “first
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: RSA Advisory, FMO Syndicate $80m Loan for One Bank of Bangladesh for On-lending to Smaller Firms, Environmental Efforts with Participation from PROPARCO, Norfund, OeEB, FMO-Actiam SME Finance Fund
RSA Advisory, a Bangladeshi firm founded in 2014, and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, recently arranged a syndicated loan totaling USD 80 million for One Bank of Bangladesh, mainly for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and projects that reduce environmental impact.
The funders include – in unspecified portions – the SME Finance Fund and three government-backed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enda Tamweel Raises $30m in Equity for Microfinance in Tunisia from BIO, PROPARCO, Sanad Fund for MSME, SIDI, Triodos, WWB
Enda Tamweel, a microlender primarily held by Tunisian NGO Enda Inter-Arabe, recently raised equity funding of TND 72 million (USD 30 million) in unspecified portions from six new