YellowPepper, a US-based mobile payments provider, recently signed an agreement with 12 unspecified Colombian banks to launch its services in Colombia in an effort to replace cash payments and provide greater access to financial services for the country’s unbanked population.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Macedonian Aspekt, Bosnian EKI Sign Deal to Implement Microfinance Software
Aspekt, a Macedonia-based computer technology company, has signed an agreement with Microcredit Foundation EKI, a Bosnia-based microcredit foundation that aims to reduce poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to implement Aspekt’s microfinance software solution to support EKI’s microcredit services [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard, South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Distribute 10m Biometrically Secured Debit Cards to Social Grant Beneficiaries
MasterCard Incorporated, a US-based global payments and technology company, and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), a government-funded organization that distributes social grant funds, have distributed 10 million active MasterCard debit cards to individual beneficiaries in South Africa, replacing cash payments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) Lend $3.5m to TBC Kredit of Azerbaijan for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently reported that it will lend USD 2.5 million to Tbilisi Business Centre (TBC) Kredit LLC, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Azerbaijan, to support on-lending micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest Up To $28m in Trustco of Namibia for Higher Education, Insurance in Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced plans to make an investment of ZAR 300 million (USD 28.8 million) in Trustco Group Holdings, a Namibia-based company specializing in microcredit and microinsurance, to increase the number of student loans in Namibia and expand microinsurance into unspecified countries in Sub-Saharan Africa [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Gate Global Impact Partners with Greenearth.travel to Increase Funding to Developing Country Tourism
In August 2013, Gate Global Impact Incorporated, a US-based subsidiary of Gate Technologies that provides market infrastructure for the impact investment industry, and Greenearth.travel, a Belgian company that aims to create partnerships to promote environmentally friendly economic growth and tourism, collaborated to develop GATEtrip, an impact investment platform for the tourism sector in developing countries [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group, National Housing Bank, Government of India Sign $100m Agreement for Low-Income Housing Finance Project
The World Bank Group, a US-based international financial institution; the National Housing Bank (NHB), an Indian bank and regulatory authority; and the government of India recently signed a USD 100 million credit agreement for a Low-Income Housing Finance Project, which will aim to improve accessibility to housing loans for low-income households in India to purchase, build or renovate homes.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bharti Airtel, MicroEnsure Launch Mobile Microinsurance Service in Africa
Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications services provider with operations in 150 countries, has partnered with MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, to provide MicroEnsure’s microinsurance services to Airtel customers in Africa via mobile phone.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: eServGlobal, Zain Group Bring Collaborative Mobile Money Service to Africa and the Middle East
eServGlobal, a France-based provider of mobile financial services to emerging markets, recently announced that it has entered a three-year framework agreement with Zain Group, a mobile telecommunications provider that operates in eight markets across Africa and the Middle East, in order to provide eServGlobal’s mobile money solution services to Zain Group’s customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Social Investments Increases Chase Bank of Kenya Debt Exposure to $15m
In June 2013, responsAbility Social Investments, a Switzerland-based social investment company, indicated to MicroCapital that it has increased its senior debt exposure to Chase Bank of Kenya, a privately-owned bank that focuses on the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Western Union, eTranzact Launch Mobile Money Product in Nigeria
The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services company, reportedly is partnering with eTranzact, a Nigeria-based mobile money service provider, to launch a mobile money service in Nigeria. The service is expected to allow customers on the eTranzact mobile money platform, PocketMoni, to receive mobile money transfers from 23 “sender” countries using their mobile phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, Amsterdam’s Agora Microfinance Collect Equity Stakes in Cambodia’s Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea
Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based microfinance investment fund manager, and Agora Microfinance NV (AMNV), an Amsterdam-based microfinance holding company, have acquired minority stakes in Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea (AMK), a microfinance institution (MFI) that distributes loans to approximately 300,000 clients in Cambodia [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $27m Loan to BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Baltic Region
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently revealed the pending approval of a EUR 20 million (USD 26.7 million) loan facility for the BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for investments in equity-related securities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) in the Baltic region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Loans $6m to Asian MFIs ASA Philippines Foundation, Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura of Indonesia
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), a UK-based financial services company, recently notified MicroCapital that it has disbursed a total local-currency equivalent of USD 5.7 million to ASA Philippines Foundation (ASA) and Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK) of Indonesia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Loans $13m to Indian MFIs Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited, Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), a UK-based financial services company, recently notified MicroCapital that it has disbursed local-currency loans equivalent to USD 13 million to Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited (JFS) and Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited (UFS).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Foundation, Grameen Bank, Brazil Foods (BRF) to Invest in Small Businesses, Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Haiti
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunus reportedly announced in June 2013 a new partnership between the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit of which Yunus serves is a board member, the Grameen Bank, a Bangladesh-based microfinance institution (MFI) founded by Dr Yunus, and Brazil Foods (BRF), a Brazil-based food production and processing company, to offer an unspecified amount of money through microfinance loans to small businesses in Haiti that are engaged in the production of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), particularly in the poultry industry [1,2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WorldRemit Launches Direct Worldwide Money Transfer Service through Telesom’s Zaad Service
WorldRemit Limited, a UK-based online money transfer service that enables customers to send remittances to family and friends in approximately 100 receiving countries, reportedly has partnered with Somaliland-based communications company Telesom’s Zaad, a mobile banking service that allows customers to use their mobile phones for money transfers and purchases, to launch a mobile money transfer program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Lenders Association of Ghana Signs Memorandum of Understanding to Provide Members with Microinsurance Products
The Money Lenders Association of Ghana (MLAG), an umbrella organization for 350 money-lending organizations in the country, and Star Microinsurance Services Limited, a company that provides microinsurance products to low-income households in Ghana, reportedly have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide MLAG’s clients with microinsurance products, including a funeral policy, micro-healthcare policy and a child education policy [1].