The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, England, recently announced that it will provide a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 5.9 million) to the Albanian
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Arranges $68m Syndicated Loan for Lebanon’s LGB Bank, with Participation from OFID, OeEB
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan in the amount of USD 67.5 million for the Beirut-based Lebanon and Gulf Bank (LGB Bank) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon. The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Buys $50m Bond from Turkey’s Sekerbank to Support 4k Rural SMEs
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently agreed to fund a private bond placement by Turkey’s Sekerbank in the amount of TRY 192 million
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Invest in Ecuador, 13 Other Countries
C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, disbursed the equivalent of USD 40 million during December to 15 microfinance institutions (MFIs) from its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds. The MFIs, whose identities remain confidential, span 14 countries. One is a cooperative located in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equator Raises $62m for ShoreCap III from AfDB, CDC, EIB, KfW, OeEB to Invest in Financial Inclusion in Africa
Equator Capital Partners, a US-based manager of “impact” funds, recently announced the first close of its third ShoreCap fund, which will invest in African firms offering services such as microcredit, microinsurance, leasing, housing finance, and banking for small and medium-sized enterprises. Equator is seeking to raise a total of USD 150 million for ShoreCap III to invest over 10 years in about
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Syndicates $220m Loan for Togo-based Ecobank, with Participation from BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund, Symbiotics, Oikocredit, DEG, Proparco, OeEB, BIO
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan in the amount of USD 220 million for Togo-based Ecobank Transnational Incor
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Arranges Syndicated Loan of $110m for Aklease to Support Energy Efficiency in Turkey, with Participation from EBRD, Green for Growth Fund, OFID
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan in the amount of USD 110 million for Ak Finansal Kiralama AS (Aklease), a leasing subsidiary of the Turkish bank Akbank, to support energy-efficiency and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $18m to Garanti Leasing of Romania to Finance MSMEs
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled fund that promotes economic development primarily through financing micro- and small enterprises, recently extended a senior loan of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Armenia’s Ameriabank Borrowing $30m from FMO for Youth-owned SMEs
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will loan USD 30 million to Ameriabank CJSC, a closed joint stock company in Armenia, to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Lending $5m to Kashf Foundation of Pakistan to Support Women Microentrepreneurs
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will lend USD 5 million to the Pakistan-based Kashf Foundation in order to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Aavishkaar Bharat Fund Attracts $95m for Impact Investing from Investors Including CDC, SIDBI, Munjal Family Office (Hero Corporation), TIAA
Indian fund advisor Aavishkaar recently completed the first close of the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund, with commitments of INR 6.2 billion (USD 95 million), of which it has INR 5.9 billion (USD 92 million) in hand. The fund will support businesses in India that further Aavishkaar’s mission to “enhance livelihoods and reduce vulnerabilities for the low-income population” in “a range of sectors, namely agriculture, dairy, education, energy, handicrafts, health, water and sanitation, technology for development, microfinance and financial inclusion.” Aavishkaar will seek to do this while generating a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Greenlight Planet Nets Equity, Debt Totaling $60m for Sun King Solar Product Line from Apis, Eight Roads, Bamboo, Deutsche, Global Partnerships, Other Investors
Greenlight Planet, which has offices in Kenya, India and the US, recently raised a total of USD 60 million in equity and debt “to expand its solar-energy product lines, distribution networks, and financing capabilities in Africa and Asia.” Three entities purchased stakes of unspecified sizes in Greenlight, including Apis Growth Fund I, the lead investor in the funding round, which is managed by Nigeria- and UK-based Apis Partners. The other two entities increased existing stakes in Greenlight: Eight Roads Ventures, a private equity firm with offices in seven countries; and Bamboo Capital Partners, an investor seeking “economic, social and environmental
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexico’s Adobe Capital Raises $21m to Finance Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Latin America
Adobe Capital, the venture-capital unit of Mexico-based New Ventures, recently raised USD 21 million for its second investment vehicle, Adobe Mezzanine Fund (AMF) II, which is intended to finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFI in Bosnia and Herzegovina Borrows from Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
A microfinance institution (MFI) in Bosnia and Herzegovina borrowed a portion of the equivalent of USD 47 million that C-Quadrat Asset Management, a unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, disbursed during November via the Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds. The other borrowers are located elsewhere in Europe as well as Latin America and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International EduFinance, FINCA Microfinance Bank Nigeria to Offer Education Loans to Students’ Families, Schools
FINCA Microfinance Bank Nigeria, an affiliate of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently partnered with Opportunity International (OI) EduFinance to lend money for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, KfW, OeEB Renew $310m in Commitments to Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF)
The Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), which was established in 2009 to provide liquidity to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently negotiated an extension until 2025 of its investments from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the development banks of Germany and Austria. These investments total USD 310 million out of MEF’s total assets of approximately USD
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alternative Credit Scorers Lenddo, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) Merge
Two organizations that facilitate lending to people and small businesses with limited credit histories, US-based Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) and Singapore-based Lenddo, recently merged. Prior to the merger, the organizations had completed a total of 5 million
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Visa Foundation Issues Inaugural Grant of $20m to Women’s World Banking for Microinsurance, Financial Training, Leadership Development
Visa, a “global payments technology” company headquartered in the US state of California, recently announced that the first grant from its newly initiated Visa Foundation will benefit Women’s World Banking, a nonprofit organization based in the US city of New York that works through a network of 49 financial institutions across 31 countries to help