The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU recently announced the launch of a program under Horizon 2020, a research and innovation effort of the EU. The new program’s budget of EUR 20 million (USD 22.5 million) is expected to reach 200 enterprises in Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania. Elements of the program are limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are defined as having fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million (USD 57 million), while others are also open to mid-caps,
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Lends $10m to OTP Leasing for Rural MSEs in Ukraine
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled microfinance investment vehicle, recently issued a loan of USD 10 million to OTP Leasing, which is a unit of OTP Bank JSC, a Ukraine-based member of the Hungary-based OTP Group. The loan is intended to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Global Outreach & Financial Performance Benchmark Report – 2017-2018;” By Mohita Khamar, MIX
By Mohita Khamar and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) operations team; published by MIX; May 2019; 42 pages; available at https://www.themix.org/mixmarket/publications/global-outreach-and-financial-performance-benchmark-report-2017-2018
This report presents outreach and financial performance data provided to MIX by 762 financial service providers (FSPs) worldwide for FY2017. Year-on-year analysis of the data shows an increase in gross loan portfolio to USD 112 billion
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Research Conference on Microfinance; June 3 – 5, 2019; Paris, France
The sixth annual European Research Conference on Microfinance will focus on the ways in which financial technology (fintech) innovations are shaping the ways that microfinance institutions operate, including the advantages and disadvantages of deploying fintech in developing nations. Many of the topics are centered around
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sustainable Finance Forum; May 22 – 23, 2019; Yerevan, Armenia
The first edition of this event will focus on sharing ideas among impact investors, “venture philanthropists,” commercial banks, microfinance institutions and social entrepreneurs. The main goal of the forum is
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MFC Annual Conference: “Demystifying Digital in Microfinance;” May 30 – 31, 2019; Istanbul, Turkey
The 22nd annual conference of the Poland-based nonprofit Microfinance Center (MFC) will focus on challenges and trends relating to digitalization in financial inclusion. In addition to traditional conference sessions, the event will include a Social Investors Fair and a Fintech Marketplace. Sample workshop topics include Responsible Digital Financial Services; Fintechs [Financial Technology Firms] and Financial Inclusion in Turkey and Beyond; and EU Funding for Microfinance. Pre- and post-conference events include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $2.2m to Mi-Bospo of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Microfinance Lending
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has informed MicroCapital that it issued a loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) to Mi-Bospo, a microfinance institution (MFI) providing loans to micro- and small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
The precursor of Mi-Bospo was launched in 1996 as a program of the nonprofit Bosnian Council for Aid, which also is known as Bospo. Bospo had been formed in 1995 to support post-war reconstruction. Mi-Bospo became an independent entity in 2000.
As of 2019, Mi-Bospo operates in the agriculture, services, production and trade sectors with 32 offices, mainly in northeast BiH. Approximately 64 percent of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Sells 9% Equity Stake in Mobiasbanca of Moldova for $2.9m as Societe Generale Sells Majority Stake to OTP
A shareholder in Mobiasbanca since 2008, the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently exited its holding in Moldova’s Mobiasbanca. EBRD sold this 8.84-percent stake to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Ecuador, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan Borrow from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan have borrowed unspecified amounts of funding from the Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund, which is managed by Austria-based C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM). C-Quadrat AM, a member of the C-Quadrat Investment Group, told MicroCapital hours ago that the transactions occurred during March. While declining to name the MFIs, the firm described
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $776k to Oxus Kyrgyzstan for Microfinance Lending
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has informed MicroCapital that it issued a three-year loan in local currency approximately equivalent to USD 776,000 in favor of Oxus Kyrgyzstan, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was founded in 2006. ACTED, a French NGO formerly known as the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, holds 50.2 percent of the shares of Oxus Kyrgyzstan.
As of 2018, Oxus Kyrgyzstan had a gross loan portfolio of EUR 6.6 million (USD 7.5 million) and 7,000 active clients. The MFI lends mostly for agriculture, livestock breeding and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund Lends to Network Active in Kosovo
The Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund of C-Quadrat Asset Management (AM), a member of the Austria-based C-Quadrat Investment Group, issued a euro-denominated loan of unspecified size during February to an unidentified network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in Africa, China and Kosovo. The MFI in Kosovo was launched in 2000 with UN support and is working to boost the percentage of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest In Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $3m to Armeconom Bank to Support Microfinance in Armenia
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it has loaned USD 3 million to Armeconom Bank of Armenia from IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to financial institutions in developing countries. Launched in 1991, Armeconom offers loans, credit lines, deposit services, payment cards, transfers and other services to individuals and businesses. It accepts deposits in four currencies, with rates ranging from 0.2 percent to 10 percent per year. Its lending products include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Loans $1.1m to Microcredit Foundation Lider to Reduce Energy Costs, Carbon Emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg-based public-private partnership, recently loaned EUR 1 million (USD 1.14 million) to Lider, a microcredit foundation based in Sarajevo, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in rural regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lider will on-lend the funds to households and small-scale farmers to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TriLinc Global Impact Fund II (TGIF II) to Invest in SMEs in Developing Economies
TriLinc Global, a US-based fund manager founded in 2008, recently launched the TriLinc Global Impact Fund II (TGIF II), through which it will lend to companies “committed to responsible, sustainable management and to the creation of positive, measurable impact in” Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. TGIF II seeks to give
MICROFINANCE EVENT: MWC (Mobile World Congress) Barcelona; February 25-28, 2019; Barcelona, Spain
MWC Barcelona, formerly known as Mobile World Congress, is themed “Intelligent Connectivity” this year, showcasing innovations in mobile technology, such as 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), digital commerce and big data. Blockchain, on-the-go payment systems, and
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “A New Kind of Conglomerate: Bigtech in China,” published by Institute of International Finance
This is a summary of a paper published by the Institute of International Finance, November 2018, 33 pages, available at https://www.iif.com/portals/0/Files/private/chinese_digital_nov_1.pdf
This paper focuses on the five largest technology firms in China – Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Ping An and JD.com – and their reach into both the daily life and broader economy of China. The number of internet users in China
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Lend $5.7m to Banka per Biznes (BPB) for On-Lending to SMEs in Kosovo
Under its “Kosovo SME Competitiveness Support Programme,” the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to provide a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 5.7 million) to Banka per Biznes (BPB) of
SPECIAL REPORT: Matching Rules of Thumb with Clients in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Financial Education at EMW
Today 
at European Microfinance Week (EMW), Ewa Bankowska of the Microfinance Centre (MFC), a Poland-based network of approximately 100 microfinance institutions (MFIs), described her organization’s response to lackluster results from the financial education it has delivered to 200,000 people in 22 countries over 15 years.
Evidence suggests that changes in financial behavior are more likely when learners are given simple “rules of thumb,” such as putting a euro in a jar after every shopping trip. Based on this idea, MFC is developing a system to determine which rules of thumb should be suggested to which clients. The organization has drafted an online tool with 13 questions that categorize users into one of four categories. Based on the person’s category, she is given a