Mentors International, a US-based nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) that seeks to help poor people in developing countries become self-sufficient, recently has signed on to use the banking software of Mambu, a Germany-based technology company that offers cloud-based banking solutions.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Fund (EIF) to Guarantee Loans Disbursed by UniCredit Bulbank to Microenterprises in Bulgaria Under Progress Microfinance Facility
The European Investment Fund (EIF), a provider of finance to organizations that lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Europe, and UniCredit Bulbank, a Bulgarian banking unit of UniCredit Group of Italy, have announced a guarantee agreement that will enable UniCredit Bulbank to support increased financial inclusion of approximately 270 microenterprises in the country [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB), Kenya’s I&M Bank, Rwanda’s RSwitch to Offer Cardless ATM Banking Services in Rwanda
Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Rwanda, the Rwandan branch of South Africa-based mobile telecommunications company MTN, reportedly has announced a partnership with Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB) and I&M Bank, which both offer corporate and retail banking services in Kenya, and RSwitch, an electronic payment service firm based in Rwanda, to offer cardless automated teller machine (ATM) services in Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Qalaa Holdings of Egypt Increases Stake in Microlender Tanmeyah from 50% to 70% for $2.1m
Qalaa Holdings, an Egypt-based private equity firm previously named Citadel Capital, reportedly has finalized an EGP 15 million (USD 2.1 million) increase in its equity holding in Tanmeyah, an Egypt-based provider of loans and microinsurance that focuses on low-income individuals and micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gate Global Impact, RocketHub, United Nations, US State Department to Launch Crowdfunding Projects in Effort to Improve Access to Finance in Developing Countries
Gate Global Impact and RocketHub, US-based organizations that “crowdfund” small amounts of money online from large numbers of people, have developed partnerships with the United Nations Global Compact, a policy initiative aligning businesses committed to operating in accordance with UN human rights standards, and the US State Department, which manages the United States’ international relations and policy.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) $5m; Demir Kyrgyz International Bank (DKIB) $4m for On-lending to Fund Energy Efficiency Improvement Projects
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, has approved the disbursement of a loan of USD 5 million to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), a commercial bank in Kyrgyzstan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Crowdfunders Zafèn, Kiva Announce Partnership to Support Small Growing Businesses (SGBs) in Haiti
Zafèn, a Haitian nonprofit that uses crowd-funding to raise money for “small growing businesses (SGBs)”[1] as well as social and community initiatives, has recently entered into a partnership with Kiva, a US-based nonprofit crowd-funding organization that raises money for microfinance institutions (MFIs) with the aim of alleviating poverty.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suryoday Micro Finance of India Raises $4.5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Aavishkaar Goodwell, Lok Capital
Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently received an equity infusion totalling INR 270 million (USD 4.5 million) from three investors: INR 150 million (USD 2.5 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and INR 62 million (USD 1 million) each from Aavishkaar Goodwell, a for-profit Indian-Dutch joint venture promoting economic development, and Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on microfinance and other social businesses in India [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Capital of India Launches Collateral Bond Obligation (CBO) Backed by $16m in Non-convertible Debentures (NCDs) Issued by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
IFMR Capital, a Chennai-based financial institution that facilitates funding for organizations that serve low-income individuals in India, has launched a collateralized bond obligation (CBO), which it deems the country’s first.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Department for International Development (DFID) to Donate $2m to 12 Pakistani Financial Institutions to Support Innovation in Rural Agricultural Finance
The Department for International Development (DFID), a development agency of the British government, reportedly has pledged to donate a total of PKR 240 million (USD 2.4 million) to 12 Pakistani financial institutions to support the implementation of proposed innovations in rural and agricultural financing.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $25m in Proyectos Educativos Integrales del Peru to Establish Educational Institutions for Low-Income Students
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has announced a USD 25 million investment in Proyectos Educativos Integrales del Peru (PEIP), an education company, to create a university and a network of technical institutes to educate low-income students in Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Woori Bank of South Korea to Acquire Cambodian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Malis Finance for $5m
Woori Bank, a South Korea-based bank, reportedly has agreed to buy Malis Finance, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), for KRW 5 billion (USD 4.95 million) with the aim of furthering its goal of international expansion.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Invests $500k in Equity to Acquire 8% of Kenyan Microinsurer Agriculture and Risk Enterprise (ACRE), Loans $334k to Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) for Technical Assistance
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which is based in Luxembourg and invests in “social businesses,” recently informed MicroCapital that it has made an investment of USD 500,000 in Nairobi-based Agriculture and Risk Enterprise Limited (ACRE), a microinsurance provider that aims to launch products in East and West Africa in exchange for an 8-percent stake in the company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Loans $3m to Indonesia’s Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), $1m to Azerbaijan’s Finance for Development (FinDev)
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which provides financial services to “social businesses,” recently informed MicroCapital that it has provided a three-year local-currency loan equivalent in value to EUR 2.1 million (USD 2.9 million) to Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Indonesia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $25m to Bank of Georgia for On-lending to Micro, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
Bank of Georgia, a Tbilisi-based commercial bank that offers corporate and retail banking, wealth management, brokerage and insurance services in Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus, recently borrowed EUR 18.5 million (USD 25.2 million) under a senior loan agreement from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, government-backed microfinance investment vehicle.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citigroup, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Jointly Loan $10m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) ACBA Credit Agricole Bank of Armenia
Citigroup, a financial services corporation based in the US city of New York, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a government-backed development finance institution based in Washington DC, recently announced that they will partner to fund two jointly funded loans with a total value of USD 10 million for ACBA Credit Agricole Bank (formerly known as the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia), a Yerevan-based microfinance institution (MFI) that specializes in the financing of the agriculture sector of Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Loans $200k to Mec Fadec of Senegal, $680k to TIAVO of Madagascar
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based organization founded by French Bank Credit Agricole and Bangladeshi NGO Grameen Trust, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed the second half of a loan in local currency equal to EUR 152,000 (USD 207,000) to Mec Fadec, a Senegalese microfinance institution (MFI), and a loan of EUR 500,000 (USD 681,000) to Tahiry Ifamonjena Amin’ny Vola (TIAVO), a Madagascar-based MFI.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Increases Syndicated Loan to National Development Bank of Sri Lanka from $125m to $200m for On-Lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has increased the size of the syndicated loan that it provided in March 2014 to the National Development Bank (NDB), a financial services company owned by the government of Sri Lanka, from USD 125 million to USD 200 million.