The Canadian Minister of International Development, Christian Paradis, recently announced that the Canadian government will provide CAD 309 million (USD 279 million) to the African Development Fund (ADF), a fund that provides loans and grants to its 40 African member countries, to support the 13th replenishment of ADF’S budget funds.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) May Loan $38m to Raiffeisen Leasing Romania for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, is considering disbursing a senior, local-currency loan in an amount equivalent to EUR 30 million (USD 38 million) to Raiffeisen Leasing Romania, a subsidiary of Austria-based Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank, Tunisian-Kuwaiti Bank, Tunis Entrepreneurship Network Plan to Loan $52m to Tunisian Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Luxembourg-based long-term lending bank of the European Union (EU); the Banque Tuniso-Koweitienne [Tunisian-Kuwaiti Bank] (BTK), a financial institution founded by the governments of Tunisia and Kuwait; and the Tunis Entrepreneurship Network (TEN), an association that assists entrepreneurs and small businesses in Tunisia, reportedly have announced a draft agreement to finance micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tunisia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF) Lends $2m to Microinvest of Moldova for On-Lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.6 million) to Microinvest, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Moldova that was founded by Soros Foundation – Moldova, an affiliate of the US-based Open Society Foundations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Acquires Minority Stake in Brazilian Insurer Austral Participações for $36m to Support Sectors such as Agriculture
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced that it has invested BRL 80 million (USD 36 million) to acquire a minority stake in the Brazilian firm Austral Participações, whose holdings include Austral Seguradora, an insurance company focusing on the oil, engineering and surety markets; and Austral Resseguradora (Austral Re), a reinsurance company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dutch Development Bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Loans $20m to Armenia’s Ameriabank
The Dutch development bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently agreed to loan USD 20 million to Ameriabank Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) (Ameriabank), a commercial bank in Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) of Sri Lanka Pays $20m to Acquire 60% Stake in Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) from Developing World Markets, TPC Employee Association
Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) (TPC), a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently informed MicroCapital that Developing World Markets Asset Management (DWM), a US-based investment fund manager, has sold 55-percent equity stake in TPC to LOLC Micro Investments Limited (LOMI), a subsidiary of Sri-Lankan financial services group Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Myanmar Investments International Announces Joint Venture with Microfinance Institution (MFI) Myanmar Finance
Myanmar Investments Limited (MIL), a subsidiary of British Virgin Islands-based investment company Myanmar Investments International Limited (MIIL), recently entered into a conditional joint venture agreement with Myanmar Finance Company Limited (MFC), a Myanmar-based microfinance institution (MFI), to create Myanmar Finance International Limited (MFIL), which will be based in Myanmar and provide microfinance services in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asociación de Bancos del Perú (ASBANC) Partners with Ericsson to Implement Mobile Money System
The Asociación de Bancos del Perú (ASBANC), an association of 23 financial institutions in the country, has announced a partnership with Ericsson, a Sweden-based telecommunications company, with the aim of implementing a mobile money platform in Peru called Mobile Money.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus Seed Fund Raises $7m in Capital for Equity Investment in Indian Startups
Unitus Seed Fund, a venture capital fund with offices in Bangalore, India, and the US City of Seattle, recently secured USD 7 million from multiple investors, bringing its fund size to USD 20 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Issues First Disbursements from $1.36b Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) After 2 Years of Delay
President Goodwill Jonathan of Nigeria officially launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Fund at the eighth MSME finance conference in Abuja, Nigeria, where he announced the provision of NGN 870 million (USD 5.36 million) from the NGN 220 billion (USD 1.36 billion) fund to four beneficiaries
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin, Triodos Invest in Microfinance Institution (MFI) Arvand of Tajikistan
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), a private company that manages funds investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs), and Netherlands-based Triodos Investment Management (Triodos), the subsidiary of Triodos Bank that manages funds in “energy and climate, emerging markets, arts and culture and sustainable real estate”[2], jointly acquired a 36-percent equity stake in Microcredit Deposit-Taking Organization Arvand (Arvand), an MFI that operates in and around Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan as well as in the country’s Sughd region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Announces Purchase of $110m Equity Stake in Cambodian Acleda Bank from International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a Japanese financial services company, reportedly announced plans to purchase a 12.25-percent equity stake consisting of approximately 27.6 million shares in Acleda Bank (Acleda), a Cambodian commercial bank, for a total cost of USD 110 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group to Provide Funding of $42m to Lao People’s Democratic Republic to Support Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Hydropower and Mining Sectors
The World Bank Group (WBG), a group of five multilateral organizations that invest in developing countries, recently approved plans to disburse a total of USD 42 million to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the hydropower and mining sectors of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Announces $1m in Advisory Services to Airtel Zambia to Strengthen Financial Inclusion
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced that it will enter into an advisory services agreement with Airtel Zambia, a subsidiary of the Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations’ International Labour Office, World Bank Group (WBG) to Provide Index Microinsurance in Developing Countries in Africa, Asia
The International Labour Office (ILO), an agency of the United Nations
that deals with labour standards, and the World Bank Group (WBG), a
group of five multilateral organizations that invest in developing
countries, reportedly have entered into a three-year partnership with
the aim of providing index microinsurance products in Africa and Asia
through ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF), which provides grants to organizations to develop microinsurance products, and WBG’s Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), a trust fund that supports disaster and weather index insurance markets.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lends $5m to DemirBank of Azerbaijan to Promote Residential, Business Energy-Efficiency Projects
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development bank that operates in eastern Europe, central Asia and northern Africa, has loaned USD 5 million to DemirBank, a commercial bank in Azerbaijan that focuses on lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the intention of promoting projects that reduce energy use in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Canada, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Support Small, Medium-sized Agricultural Enterprises in Ukraine
The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) recently informed MicroCapital that the government of Canada and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, plan to work together to provide an unspecified level of financial support and technical advice to small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in Ukraine.