Indian non-banking financial company Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, which is also known as Grameen Koota, reportedly has received an equity investment of USD 13.5 million from Italy-based private equity firm MicroVentures.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $5m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Tajikistan
Two funds controlled by Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset group C-Quadrat, have distributed credits worth approximately USD 5 million to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, El Salvador and Tajikistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Trust Advisors Sells 7.6% of SKS Microfinance, Decreasing Stake to 4.8%
SKS Trust Advisors Private Limited, the India-based trustee of five mutual benefit trusts benefiting groups who borrow from SKS Microfinance Limited, reportedly has sold a 7.6-percent stake in SKS Microfinance, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI), to an unspecified buyer.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Commercial Bank of Africa, Vodacom Tanzania Launch Mobile Money Service “M-Pawa”
The Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), a privately owned bank that operates in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and Vodacom Tanzania, a subsidiary of UK-based telecommunications company Vodafone Group, recently announced the launch of a money mobile service called M-Pawa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Likely to Loan Azeri DemirBank $50m for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs); $5m to Promote Residential, Business Energy Efficiency
The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering issuing a syndicated A/B loan of USD 50 million to provide capital to Azerbaijan-based, “socially oriented” bank DemirBank for “on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)”[1] in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Centre International de Développement et de Recherche (CIDR) to Expand Health Microinsurance in Senegal
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the Centre International de Développement et de Recherche (CIDR), a nongovernmental organization based in France, recently announced an agreement “to expand micro health insurance in Senegal to low-income and informally employed individuals”[1] through Pool Micro Assurance Santé, a health services provider in Senegal.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers Implementing $27m Western Balkans “Women in Business” Financing Program
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral funder, is considering implementing a Western Balkans “Women in Business Financing Program” (WiB Program) in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Creation Investments Invest Total of $13m in Indian Microfinance Institution Equitas Holdings
Two institutional investors, Lok Capital LLC (Lok Capital), a Mauritius-based investment vehicle, and Creation Investments Capital Management Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company, reportedly have invested a cumulative sum of INR 800 million (USD 13.7 million) in Equitas Holdings Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Amret Receives $10m Loan from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Entwicklungsbank (KfW) for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Cambodia
Amret Microfinance, a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), reportedly has borrowed USD 10 million from German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) for the purpose of expanding Amret’s financing for small businesses in Cambodia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen Fund, Adolf H Lundin Charitable Foundation Invest $1.5m in Farmer Information Service Esoko Networks of Ghana to Expand into East Africa
The Acumen Fund, a New York-based nonprofit venture fund, and the Adolf H Lundin Charitable Foundation, a Liechtenstein-based nonprofit organization, have invested an aggregate sum of USD 1.5 million in an unspecified combination of equity and debt in Esoko Networks Limited (Esoko) of Ghana, a technology platform that aims to strengthen the connection between farmers and markets in Africa with the use of mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Partner Microcredit Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borrows $4m from European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) for Lending to Micro, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently borrowed EUR 3 million (USD 4.1 million) under a senior loan agreement from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle organization promoting economic development.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF) of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borrows $5.5m from Green for Growth Fund (GGF) for Energy Efficiency Financing
Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently borrowed EUR 4 million (USD 5.48 million) under a senior credit agreement from Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Luxembourg-based organization focusing on the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Skoll Foundation Awards Microfinance Institution Fundación Capital of Colombia, 6 Others $1.25m Each for Social Entrepreneurship
The Skoll Foundation, an organization that seeks to promote sustainability, peace and prosperity in the developing world by investing in social enterprises, recently honored seven organizations with the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which is given to social enterprises to fund business initiatives deemed innovative.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Anticipating $1m in Donations to Last Mile Initiative for Latin America
The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced that it is anticipating donations to its Last Mile Initiative totaling USD 1 million after receiving a USD 500,000 donation from David and Susan Russell, which must be matched with an equal amount of funds from other sources.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of India Names Reliance Money Infrastructure a Business Correspondent
The State Bank of India (SBI), an Indian state-owned financial services company, reportedly has finalized an agreement with Mumbai-based Reliance Money Infrastructure Limited (RMIL), a service provider to banks, under which RMIL will take on some of SBI’s transactions as a business correspondent[1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Microfinance Center of Poland Hire Cultural Consultant in Financial Literacy in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with the Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a 110-member network based in Poland, to attempt to improve financial literacy in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gulf African Bank of Kenya to Receive Advisory Services Under International Finance Corporation’s Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Finance Program
The International Finance Corporation, the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, has announced that the Gulf African Bank (GAB), which offers Shariah-compliant products and services in Kenya, has become a member of its Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Finance Program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Russian Payday Lender Bistrodengi Selects Diasoft’s Flextera Banking Software
Bistrodengi, a Russian payday lender that offers payday loans of RUB 1,000 to RUB 16,000 (USD 28 to USD 453) for periods of seven to 16 days, recently selected Flextera Loans, a core banking solution from Diasoft, to support its lending and accounting operations. Diasoft’s software is used by approximately 340 financial institutions worldwide. The company is headquartered in Russia, and it also has offices in China, Cyprus, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.