Joint Stock Company Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture (FFSA), a government-owned institution that provides credit and insurance services on a retail and wholesale basis in rural Kazakhstan, has reportedly pledged to allocate KZT 3 billion (USD 20 million) for microfinance in rural areas of Kazakhstan in 2012.
Category: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union Funds International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Support Microfinance Institution Arvand’s Agricultural Loans in Tajikistan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that supports private-sector development, has announced plans to assist Arvand, a deposit-taking microfinance organization based in Tajikistan, in developing its agricultural loan portfolio in the Sughd province.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Transactions International of Zambia Receives $3.2m Equity Investment from Omidyar Network, ACCION
Omidyar Network, a US-based social investment firm, and ACCION International, a US-based nonprofit that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs), have invested USD 3.2 million in equity in Mobile Transactions International, a Zambia-based mobile financial services company, to expand financial access to poor and underserved populations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Loans $15m to National Cooperative of Educators in Costa Rica (Coopenae) for Enterprise Microfinance
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member that aims to support private–sector development, has announced that it will assist the National Cooperative of Educators (Coopenae), a Costa Rican financial services company, to increase access to financial services for micro- and small enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bandhan Financial Services Sells $112m in Securitized Loans to Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Axis Bank, Development Credit Bank
Bandhan Financial Services, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has sold INR 550 crore (USD 112 million) of its agricultural loan portfolio to the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), a public – sector bank; Axis Bank, an Indian financial services company; and Development Credit Bank, an Indian private – sector bank, according to a statement attributed to Banhan managing director Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UK’s CDC Group Invests $10m in Progression Eastern African Microfinance Equity Fund (PEAMEF)
The CDC Group, a development finance institution owned by the UK government’s Department for International Development, has announced that it has invested USD 10 million in the Progression Eastern African Microfinance Equity Fund (PEAMEF), which will support microfinance institutions in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FirstBank of Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, GLO Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria to Partner On Mobile Money
FirstBank of Nigeria PLC (FirstBank), a financial service provider in Nigeria, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), Globacom Limited Nigeria (GLO) and Etisalat Nigeria, three mobile phone service providers, to work together in an effort to provide secure, affordable and user-friendly mobile financial services in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Federación Nacional de Comerciantes (FENALCO) Insures Education Loans of Colombian Microfinance Institution Cresca Creditos
Colombian business organization Federación Nacional de Comerciantes (FENALCO) has agreed to insure all of the education loans issued by Cresca Creditos, a start-up microfinance institution based in Colombia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Hans Dieter Seibel Calls for Liberalisation of Myanmar’s (Burma’s) Financial Sector; UK’s Department for International Development Commits $15m to Support Rural Microfinance
In an interview with the Myanmar Times newspaper, rural microfinance specialist Dr Hans Dieter Seibel discussed his views on Myanmar’s (Burma’s) financial sector and calls for a liberalized regulatory framework.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Ujjivan Financial Services Raises $25m in Equity from FMO, Wolfensohn, LOK, IFIF, Sequoia, Unitus, Elevar
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Ujjivan Financial Services has raised INR 127.9 crore (USD 25 million) in its fifth round of equity financing.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Provides $2.71m Loan Guarantee to Cambodian Microfinance Institution Thaneakea Phum to Support Agriculture
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a four-year agreement to provide a 50-percent guarantee on a loan of up to USD 2.71 million for Cambodian microfinance institution Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) Limited (TPC). Sok Voeun, TPC’s chief operations officer, reportedly said that USAID “will support us in providing more loans to the agriculture sectors in the four provinces” referring to Kampong Thom, Pursat, Battambang and Siem Reap.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Lends $30m to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA)-Credit Agricole Bank to Support Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Agribusinesses
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has made a loan of USD 30 million to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA)-Credit Agricole Bank to increase lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agribusinesses in Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Technical Assistance Facility of Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II Receives $2.4m from French Public Finance Institution Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), a French public development finance institution, has donated EUR 1.8 million (USD 2.4 million) in technical assistance (TA) funding to Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II. Valued at EUR 120 million (USD 173 million), Rural Impulse Fund II is one of two funds managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management that invest in rural microfinance institutions [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II, Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds Acquire Shares of AzerCredit of Azerbaijan
Rural Impulse Fund II, which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, and Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds, have acquired equity stakes in AzerCredit, an Azerbaijani microfinance institution (MFI) with a rural focus.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Lends $1.5m to Microfinance Institutions Tuba Rai Metin of East Timor; Humo and Partners, Arvand of Tajikistan
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based nongovernmental organization, has reported to MicroCapital that it has issued a three-year loan of USD 300,000 to Tuba Rai Metin (TRM), a microfinance institution (MFI) in East Timor [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Inks $45m Investment in Habitat for Humanity Housing Initiative, Microbuild Fund
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance agency of the US government, has finalized its commitment to issue a 10-year loan of USD 45 million to the Microbuild Fund, a Habitat for Humanity initiative to provide loans via microfinance institutions for poor people to improve their housing situations and funding for related technical support [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen Fund Loans $1m to Indian Microfinance Institution Gramalaya Urban and Rural Development Initiatives and Network (GUARDIAN)
Acumen Fund, a US-based nonprofit fund that invests in entrepreneurial approaches to reduce poverty, has made a loan amounting to USD 1 million to Gramalaya Urban and Rural Development Initiatives and Network (GUARDIAN), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that focuses on lending to increase access to clean water and sanitation facilities [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United International Group (UIG) of Pakistan to Purchase Network Microfinance Bank (NMB), Rename it as Apna Microfinance Bank
The United International Group (UIG) of Pakistan reportedly completed purchase of the Network Microfinance Bank Limited (NMB) on January 16, 2012, for an undisclosed sum of money.