The European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced a joint program to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Movistar, MasterCard Collaborate to Launch Mobile Money Service “Tu Dinero Móvil” in Peru
Movistar, the Spanish mobile phone operator owned by Telefónica S.A., and MasterCard, the US-based payments and technology company, recently launched “Tu dinero móvil” (Your mobile money), which reportedly is the first electronic money service operating in Peru [1]. The service will allow Movistar’s 16 million mobile users in Peru to perform financial transactions such as depositing and withdrawing money, refilling mobile balances and purchasing goods in the 65,000 establishments in Peru that are affiliated with MasterCard [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF) Loans $2m to ACBA Leasing of Armenia to Boost Energy Efficiency for SMEs, Large Companies
The Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy sources, recently disbursed a senior loan of USD 2 million to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia Leasing (ACBA Leasing).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) Loans $100m to Banco do Nordeste do Brasil to Expand Microcredit
Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian government’s development bank, reportedly has announced that it will loan USD 100 million to Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), a public bank operating in Brazil’s Northeastern Region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Disburses Loans to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Lenders in Cambodia, Colombia, India, Jordan, Uzbekistan
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of undisclosed amounts to Annapurna Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI); Asociacion Fondo de Desarrollo (FDL), an MFI in Nicaragua; Crezcamos, a Columbian MFI; Hamkorbank, a commercial bank in Uzbekistan; Intean Poalroath Rongroeurng (IPR), an MFI in Cambodia; Intellegrow, a nonbanking financial company (NBFC) serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India; and Vitas Jordan, an Amman-based MFI [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Manappuram of India Acquires 70% Stake in Asirvad Microfinance of India for $21m
Manappuram Finance, an India-based non-banking finance company, recently acquired 70 percent of the shares of Asirvad Microfinance, a microfinance company based in India that provides enterprise loans, for INR 136 crores (USD 21.4 million). Manappuram will acquire the shareholding via a combination of purchasing shares from existing shareholders and subscribing to new equity shares of Asirvad.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.6m to Hattha Kaksekar Limited of Cambodia, $1.2m to Sri Lanka’s VisionFund Lanka
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) EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.6 million) to Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), an MFI based in Cambodia that was founded in 1994 by Organisation Canadienne pour la Solidarite et le Developpement (OCSD) and Oxfam International; and (2) EUR 1.1 million (USD 1.2 million) to VisionFund Lanka, a unit of US-based VisionFund, which offers financial services to families living in poverty in the developing world through a network of MFIs in 36 countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.2m to Oxus DRC, DRC’s Hekima, Burkina Faso’s ACFIME
The Grameen Crédit 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 three loans: (1) EUR 630,000 (USD 732,000) over a two-year period to Oxus DRC, a for-profit MFI based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was launched in 2013 by the France-based Oxus Group; (2) EUR 271,000 (USD 314,000) over a three-year period to Hekima, a nonprofit specialising in providing group loans to “economically active” poor people in eastern DRC; and (3) EUR 198,000 (USD 230,000) over a three-year period to Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME), a microfinance institution serving low-income populations in Burkina Faso [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.2m to Kenya’s Juhudi Kilimo, Uganda Microcredit Foundation (UMF), Uganda’s Encot
The Grameen Crédit 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 three loans in local currency equivalent to: (1) EUR 482,000 (USD 555,000) over a two-year period to Juhudi Kilimo, a for-profit provider of microloans and microinsurance in Kenya; (2) EUR 293,000 (USD 339,000) over a three-year period to Uganda Microcredit Foundation (UMF), a microfinance institution offering financial services to “economically active” Ugandans; and (3) EUR 257,000 (USD 297,000) over a three-year period to Encot, a provider of microloans to rural enterprises in Uganda [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Invests in Tunisia’s Enda Inter-Arabe, Uganda’s Entrepreneur Financial Centre
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of unspecified sizes to Enda Inter-Arabe, a Tunisian financial services provider that is part of Senegal-based non-governmental organization Enda Third-World, and Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Uganda, a microfinance institution that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Sustainable Trade Fund Opens $2m Credit Line for Thai Organic Rice Company Urmatt, Cocoa Producer ICAM Uganda
The Triodos Sustainable Trade Fund, which provides trade finance loans to co-operatives and private companies operating in “sustainable” agricultural value chains, recently opened a credit line for Urmatt Limited, a Thai company producing and processing certified organic rice, and ICAM Chocolate Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of the Italian firm Industria Cioccolato e Affini Morbegno (ICAM) that sources organically grown green cocoa beans directly from local farmers in Uganda. The funding, which is capped at USD 2 million [3], is intended to enable these two companies to pay “fair” prices to farmers and improve their cash flow management [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Labs for Financial Inclusion in East Africa Launched with $19m Donation from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
MasterCard, a US-based global payments and technology company, recently announced that it is launching the MasterCard Labs for Financial Inclusion, which is intended to generate new ideas and financial tools to promote financial inclusion in East Africa via a three-year grant in the amount of USD 11 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that supports innovations in health, education and other fields.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $7m to TuranBank of Azerbaijan to Fund Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Rural Enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it will loan USD 7 million to TuranBank Open Joint Stock Company (TuranBank), a retail and corporate bank in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Loans $30m to Paraguay to Fund Small, Medium-sized Enterprises
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution that operates in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently approved a loan of USD 30 million to the government of Paraguay.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank Loans $200m to Yes Bank of India to Fund Women’s Self-Help Groups, Small-Scale Farmers
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development finance institution based in the Philippines, has recently approved a loan of up to USD 200 million to Yes Bank Limited, an Indian commercial bank based in Mumbai.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investview Acquires Gate Global Impact, Gateway 2.0 Will Continue to Link Social Enterprises, Funders
Gate Global Impact (GGI), a US-based, regulatory-compliant electronic marketplace that focuses on impact investing, has been acquired by Investview, another US-based financial services company [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Purchases Entire $42m Issuance of Bonds by Rural Microfinance Institution Bancamía of Colombia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it purchased the entire stake of ordinary bonds recently issued by Bancamía S.A. (Corporation), a Colombian microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $8.3m in Local Currency to Patria Credit of Romania
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced that it will disburse a senior loan equivalent to EUR 7 million (USD 8.3 million) but denominated in Romanian leu to Patria Credit IFN SA (Non-banking Financial Institution Corporation), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Romania.