by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nicaraguan MFI Among Those Borrowing $12m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds

A unit of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that a Nicaraguan microfinance institution (MFI) was among the beneficiaries of the equivalent of USD 12 million that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent during October. The other borrowers are located elsewhere in Central and South America as well as

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Triodos, Accion Invest Equity in Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution Financiera FAMA

Entities of two Dutch institutions, the government-controlled development bank FMO and the foundation-controlled Triodos Bank, recently invested equity in Nicaragua’s Financiera FAMA for the first time. In addition,

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uzbekistan’s NBU Borrowing $70m from EBRD to On-lend to MSMEs

The National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan (NBU) recently opened credit lines totaling USD 100 million with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution. USD 70 million of the total is earmarked to on-lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, with the remainder allocated to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Raises $6.5m from KfW for Fairtrade Access Fund, DRC-focused FPM

Belgium’s for-profit Incofin Investment Management recently received investments from German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in two funds that it advises, the Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF), which invests in initiatives supporting farmers in developing countries, and FPM SA (Fonds pour l’inclusion financière en République Démocratique Congo), which lends “medium-term” funds

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit Sells Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru to Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas

Oikocredit, a cooperative based in the Netherlands, recently sold its stake in Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI), to Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas, which was launched by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in 1998. The size and price of the stake, which Oikocredit assembled in multiple purchases

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Microfinance Investment Vehicles, MFIs “Speed Date” at SAM Investor’s Fair in Ethiopia

Both the “speed dating” and “free meeting” sessions for microfinance institutions (MFIs) to sit down with investors were very popular at SAM Conference 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopiathe SAM (Semaine Africaine de la Microfinance) conference in Addis Ababa. Representatives of dozens of organizations met each other for the first time and renewed old connections.

Duncan Frayne of Switzerland-based Symbiotics Group spoke on behalf of REGMIFA (the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa), for which his company serves as investment manager. He said, “The value for me is meeting up-and-coming MFIs as well as

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Lend $31m to MFIs in Asia, Latin America

C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 31 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in five Asian countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, as well as three Latin American countries, Ecuador, Mexico and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Egyptian Mobile Payment Platform Fawry Sells Equity Stake to Private Equity Firm Managed by responsAbility

An entity managed by Switzerland’s responsAbility Investments recently purchased a stake of undisclosed size and price in Fawry, a mobile payments platform in Egypt. Fawry has 20 million customers, whom it enables to pay bills and make retail purchases via mobile phones, credit cards, automatic teller machines, accounts at 23 banks, and point-of-sale machines at 65,000

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peer-to-peer Lender HuaXia Finance of China Launches Escrow Services with Ping An Bank

HuaXia Finance, an online peer-to-peer lender in China, recently began holding customer funds at Ping An Bank, a Chinese bank, under a “formal online banking depository management system” in order to comply with tightened requirements of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Michael J Beda, the Director of Expat Investment at HuaXia, tells MicroCapital that his is “the first company to

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Water.org’s WaterEquity Borrowing $20m from Overseas Private Investment Corporation for WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Finance Water, Sanitation Systems in Asia

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a self-sustaining agency of the US government, recently agreed to lend USD 20 million to the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3, which will invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations that facilitate the deployment of safe water and sanitation systems. The goal of the fund is to raise USD 50 million to reach 4.6 million people in South and Southeast Asia over

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Asia, Central America Borrow $10m from C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds

C-Quadrat Asset Management, an arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 10 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Guatemala, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $12.5 to MFIs in Latin America, Southeast Asia

An arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 12.5 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four Latin American countries – Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru – as well as