The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued initial tranches of the following loans: (1) The equivalent of approximately USD 882,000 in local currency to be disbursed over three years to Alidé, a microfinance institution (MFI); and (2) the equivalent of approximately USD 336,000 in local currency to be disbursed over two years to the credit union La Coopérative Des Membres Unis Bethel Actions (COMUBA).
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mutual Funds in India Invest $157m in Secured Debentures of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Equitas, Janalakshmi, SKS, Ujjivan
Several mutual funds based in India, including Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Prudential Mutual Fund, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Reliance Mutual Fund and State Bank of India (SBI) Mutual Fund, recently invested in secured debentures issued by several Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.5m to Première Agence de Microfinance – Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued the following loans: (1) The equivalent of approximately USD 676,000 in local currency over three years to Première Agence de Microfinance au Burkina Faso (PAMF – BF), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Burkina Faso; and (2) the equivalent of approximately USD 845,000 in local currency over three years to Première Agence de Microfinance Côte d’Ivoire (PAMF – CI), an MFI in Ivory Coast [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Introduces $33m Pacific Microfinance Facility
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union, has introduced the Pacific Microfinance Facility, a program that aims to support community projects and micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in the Pacific region [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $424k to Sri Lanka’s Janamithu Lanka Limited, $841k to Tajikistan’s Humo and Partners
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued the following two loans: (1) The equivalent of EUR 462,000 (approximately USD 424,000) in local currency over three years to Janamithu Lanka Limited (JLL), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Sri Lanka that offers loans to poor people for education and asset building; and (2) EUR 850,000 (approximately USD 841,000) over one year to Humo and Partners, a Tajikistan-based MFI founded by the local affiliate of Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization CARE International. The MFI lends mainly to farmers and other rural entrepreneurs [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Sells Bonds Worth $11m for South Africa’s SA Taxi
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investment company that focuses on emerging markets, recently announced that it has completed the second tranche of a bond transaction worth USD 11 million to benefit SA Taxi Development Finance (SA Taxi), a South African leasing company that finances “minibus taxi” operators in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MetLife Foundation Donates $1.8m to Opportunity International to Support Financial Access through Microfinance, Education in Rural China
MetLife Foundation, an affiliate of the Chicago-based insurance company MetLife, recently announced the disbursement of USD 1.8 million in grant funding to Opportunity International, a microfinance NGO also based in the US city of Chicago, to support its outreach via bank branches and mobile vans in rural China.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Kigali, Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda to Offer Mobile Financial Services
Bank of Kigali, a Rwandan commercial bank, and the Rwandan branch of Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN), a South Africa-based internet and telecommunications company, recently entered into a partnership that will allow MTN subscribers who are also customers of Bank of Kigali to transfer funds between their Bank of Kigali accounts and MTN’s mobile payments platform, Mobile Money.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Bankmed Partner to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) (Sanad), a Luxembourg-based organization that provides “medium- and long-term”[1] debt and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region, has recently announced the disbursement of a loan of USD 15 million to Bankmed, a Lebanese commercial bank regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission, European Investment Fund (EIF) to Guarantee $107m Through European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), Expect to Generate $213m in Loans to European Social and Micro-enterprises
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, and the European Investment Fund (EIF), an EU-affiliated provider of finance to organizations that lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recently partnered to introduce the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to Loan $7m to FINCA Georgia for On-lending to Micro- and Small Enterprises
FINCA Bank Georgia (FINCA Georgia), the Georgia-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit microfinance organization, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Greece-based international financial institution Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), to receive a loan of USD 7 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO, Oikocredit Invest $8.3 million in Fusion Microfinance of India
Fusion Microfinance (Fusion), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in New Delhi, has received a combined investment of INR 53 crores (USD 8.28 million) from Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries SA (BIO), an investment company backed by the government of Belgium; and the Dutch cooperative investment fund Oikocredit.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aspekt of Macedonia Acquires EuroNetCom to Increase Banking Software Portfolio, Financial Market Share
Aspekt, a Macedonian financial software provider, recently announced that it has acquired EuroNetCom, a banking software supplier that is also based in Macedonia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $75m to Banco Continental of Paraguay for SMEs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced an agreement to provide a loan of USD 50 million to Banco Continental, a commercial bank established in Paraguay in 1980.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Investment Management Raises $71m in First Close of agRIF Fund, Successor to Rural Impulse Funds; Plans to Invest in Agricultural, Rural Enterprises
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds, recently announced the first close of agRIF, a 10-year debt and equity investment fund, at a total value of USD 71 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Donates $28k to Vitas for Microfinance Client Protection in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories
The Luxembourg-based Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) recently donated USD 28,000 to Vitas Group, a commercial holding company created by US-based, international nonprofit organization Global Communities, to train the staff of Vitas Group’s microfinance institutions in the Middle East on client protection.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Planning to Loan $60m to Bank Audi of Egypt for SMEs, Trade Finance
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is planning to loan USD 60 million to Bank Audi Societe Anonyme Egyptienne (SAE), the Egyptian arm of Lebanon-based Bank Audi.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $10m to BasisBank of Georgia for On-lending to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); Energy Efficiency Projects
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, has announced that it is “deepening its partnership”[1] with Georgia’s BasisBank by disbursing it a credit package of USD 31.5 million.