MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MIF, Swiss Government Partner to Launch Social Impact Bond Fund to Improve Urban Employment in Colombia, Repayment to Be Contingent on Successful Client Outcomes

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is partnering with the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Colombian government’s Department for Social Prosperity (DPS) to launch a social impact bond fund aimed at increasing urban employment in Colombia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank Buying BSS Microfinance for $21m

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB), a private-sector Indian bank, recently announced plans to acquire BSS Microfinance, a Karnataka-based non-banking financial company run by the Bharatha Swamukthi Samsthe (BSS) Trust, for INR 1.4 billion (USD 21 million)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility to Loan Additional $3m to Bolivian Microfinance Institution Diaconia FRIF

ResponsAbility, a Switzerland-based asset management firm specializing in development investments, recently informed MicroCapital that it is lending an additional USD 3 million to Diaconia Fondo Rotativo de Inversion y Fomento (FRIF), a non-banking financial institution based in Bolivia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Announces $10m Loan to Egyptian AlexBank

The Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises), a provider of loans and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, recently announced that it will lend an additional USD 10 million to AlexBank, an Egypt-based financial services institution, to on-lend to MSMEs in Egypt [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dual Return Funds Managed by C-Quadrat Loan $17m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines

Austria-based C-Quadrat Asset Management recently issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 17 million to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics, UBS Close $50m SME Finance – Loans for Growth Fund

Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment intermediary, and UBS, which is formerly known as the United Bank of Switzerland, recently closed their SME Finance – Loans for Growth Fund with USD 50 million in investments. The fund will provide credit to financial institutions focused on lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in “frontier and emerging markets.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Verdant Capital Arranges $3m Revolving Credit Facility for Zambia’s Pan African Building Society (PABS)

Verdant Capital, a corporate finance firm serving Africa, recently informed MicroCapital that it has arranged a revolving credit facility in the amount of USD 3 million for the Pan African Building Society (PABS), a deposit-taking, non-banking financial institution operating in Zambia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri) Acquires Cambodian Microfinance Institution Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL)

The Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), a Thailand-based subsidiary of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, recently acquired 100-percent interest in Hattha Kaksekar Limited (KHL), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investor Forum, December 7-8, 2016, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Event Name: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investor Forum 2016

Event Date: December 7 – December 8, 2016

Event Location: NH Collection Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Dam 9 1012 JS, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation, Root Capital to Invest $5.2m in Early-Stage Agricultural Businesses in West Africa

Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit investment fund, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard Worldwide, recently announced a partnership aimed at raising incomes for 300,000 smallholder farmers in West Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund Approves $4m Equity Investment in Angel Ventures Pacific Alliance Fund for SMEs in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently announced an equity investment USD 4 million in the newly-established Angel Ventures Pacific Alliance Fund (AVPAF), a Mexico-based venture capital fund targeting “start-up” and “scale-up” businesses in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dual Return Funds Managed by C-Quadrat Loan $17m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in India, Kenya, Namibia, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Including $3m for Education Lending

Austria-based C-Quadrat Asset Management recently issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 17 million to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, Kenya, Namibia, Nicaragua, Peru and Romania.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Maj Invest Raising Additional $25m for Financial Inclusion Fund II for Microfinance in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Maj Invest Group, a Denmark-based asset management and private equity firm, recently announced plans to grow its Maj Invest Financial Inclusion Fund II by USD 25 million to invest in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Nandan Nilekani, Ratan Tata, Vijay Kelkar, R.Venkataramanan Announce the Start of New Microfinance Company, Avanti Finance

Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder of Infosys Limited; Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons; Vijay Kelkar, Chairman of India’s National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; and R. Venkataramanan, Managing Trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, recently announced the launch of Avanti Finance, “a technology enabled financial inclusion vehicle.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s National Microfinance Bank (NMB) Launches AgriBiashara to Bolster Agricultural Value Chains; Wajibu to Increase Financial Literacy, Youth Savings

The National Microfinance Bank (NMB), a microfinance institution (MFI) 51-percent owned by the government of Tanzania, recently announced the launch of two new programs: AgriBiashara, to support agricultural value chains, and Wajibu, a set of youth savings accounts formed through a partnership with Women’s World Banking, a US-based nonprofit that aims to increase access to financial services for low-income women. 

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $4.5m to Microfinance Institution Alter Modus of Montenegro

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, recently announced it will loan the euro-equivalent of USD 4.5 million to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Announces $1.7m Senior Loan to Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves (KRK) for Microfinance in Rural Kosovo

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment fund focused on fostering economic growth in 16 Central Asian and Southeast European countries, recently issued a senior loan in the amount of EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.7 million) to Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves (KRK), a Kosovo-based microfinance institution (MFI) that specializes in “agri-lending” to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $2.3m to Kosovo’s AFK for On-Lending to Rural Microfinance Clients

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently announced a senior loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) to Agjencioni për Financim në Kosovë (AFK), a non-banking microfinance institution operating in Kosovo.