by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KKR Planning $1b Global Impact Fund to Invest in Green Energy, Education, Environmental Firms

KKR, a private equity firm that manages USD 168 billion as of 2017, reportedly is looking to raise USD 1 billion for a Global Impact Fund that would invest in medium-sized enterprises involved in fields such as education, renewable energy and other environmental issues. The fund’s goals would be to earn market returns while supporting work toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One source indicates the managers would disburse roughly 10 investments of USD 50 million and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agricover Credit of Romania Borrowing $12m in Local-currency from EBRD for Agricultural Microfinance

Agricover Credit, a member of Romania’s Agricover Holding, is borrowing the local-currency equivalent of USD 12 million from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for on-lending to farmers in Romania.

Established in 2008, Agricover Credit lends exclusively to the Romanian agricultural sector. Established seven years earlier, the Agricover Group has 850 employees serving 4,500 customers. Its primary holdings are Agricover Credit and Agricover SA, which trades agricultural inputs and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFIs in Armenia, Kazakhstan Borrow $11m from C-Quadrat Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund

Two microfinance institutions (MFIs) – one in Armenia and one in Kazakhstan – recently borrowed a total of USD 11 million from Austria-based C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Fund. The identities of the MFIs and the amounts each borrowed remain confidential. C-Quadrat Asset Management, the unit of C-Quadrat that manages the fund, tells MicroCapital that the Kazakhstani MFI was founded in the 1990s and provides

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Georgia’s Lazika, Tajikistan’s Humo Each Borrow $1.5m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance Lending

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing three-year loans of approximately USD 1.5 million each to microfinance institutions Lazika Capital of Georgia and Humo of Tajikistan.

Lazika is a non-banking institution that provides financial services to individuals with low and middle incomes for purposes including trade, agriculture and consumption. Its growth is focused on

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kazakhstan Increasing Funding for Microloans by $31m, Capping Mortgage Interest Rates at 7%

President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan reportedly has announced that his government will increase its funding of “soft loans for small businesses” from USD 31 million to USD 62 million while offering unspecified “special incentives for rural entrepreneurs.”

Mr Nazarbayev also said that the government will lower the cap on mortgage interest rates to 7 percent per year from approximately 16 percent. Meanwhile, it will extend the maximum mortgage term from 20 years to 25 years.

In addition, the number of scholarships for higher education

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MetLife Foundation Donates $5.4m to Accion to Boost Microfinance Customer Capabilities in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Myanmar

MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic unit of US-based insurer MetLife, recently agreed to donate USD 5.4 million to US-based microfinance NGO Accion for an effort called Building Financial Capabilities and Strengthening Institutions through Customer-Centered Innovations. The project includes: (1) partnering with the Microfinance Centre, a Poland-based nonprofit network, to create and share tools for financial service providers to use in identifying and addressing client barriers to “financial well-being;” (2) identifying and partnering with six financial institutions in

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Funding EBRD’s Regional Small Business Program in Uzbekistan to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Central Asia

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently launched a Regional Small Business Program in the city of Tashkent to support financial institutions that serve micro-, small, medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Uzbekistan and nearby countries. The program is to include a digital knowledge-sharing platform as well as classroom

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ameriabank Borrows $11.5m from Symbiotics for On-lending to Microenterprises, SMEs in Armenia

Ameriabank, the primary member of Armenia’s Ameria Group, recently accepted a senior loan of USD 11.5 million from Switzerland-based Symbiotics. Ameriabank CEO Artak Hanesyan explained that the funding is “aimed at micro and SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] financing, which is a strategic priority for Ameriabank.” Symbiotics sourced the loan from

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Turkey’s Yapi Kredi Bank Sells $60m in Covered Bonds to EBRD for Residential Energy Efficiency

Yapi Kredi Bank, a Turkish member of Italy-based UniCredit Group, recently sold the local-currency equivalent of USD 60 million in covered bonds to the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The bonds, which are backed by housing loans, are slated to fund residential energy efficiency projects carried out by homeowners, housing managers and firms dealing in energy-efficient equipment.

The funding is supported by a concessional loan of USD 15 million from

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: GGF Lending $1.9m to Microcredit Foundation Sunrise Sarajevo for Energy-efficiency Measures Expected to Prevent 2k Tons of Annual Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Microcredit Foundation Sunrise Sarajevo, which the World Bank founded in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996, recently borrowed EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.9 million) from the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which is domiciled in Luxembourg, to on-lend to homeowners, farmers, and micro- and small enterprises to fund energy-efficiency measures. GGF will also provide an unspecified amount of technical assistance funding to Sunrise for capacity development and marketing.

Samir Bajrovic, the director of Sunrise said, “Our organization is committed to continuously support programs and activities resulting in the reduction of energy poverty, improvement of air quality and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3m in Local Currency to Asian Credit Fund of Kazakhstan, Oxus Tajikistan for Microfinance

Two microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central Asia are among those that recently borrowed from the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. Both of the loans are denominated in local currency and have terms of three years. Neither MFI accepts deposits.

The Asian Credit Fund, an MFI controlled by US-based NGO Mercy Corps, borrowed the equivalent of

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund Nets $19m in Equity from BMZ to Boost Funding of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Projects via Microfinance Institutions, Banks

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which invests in reductions in pollution and energy usage in Eurasia and North Africa, recently accepted an investment of EUR 15 million (USD 19 million) from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is also known by its German acronym BMZ, to boost the fund’s investment in

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Achieving SDGs by Supporting SMEs, Engaging Youth in Financial Services via Social Media, Effects of Financial Education on Credit Card Usage

“SMEs and SDGs: Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” by Maria Teresa Zappia and Lisa Sherk, published by BlueOrchard, November 2017, 28 pages, available at http://www.blueorchard.com/smes-sdgs-supporting-small-medium-enterprises-achieve-sustainable-development-goals-insights-blueorchard-survey/

In this report, the authors explore how improving the business climate for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), may help achieve many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 guiding principles intended to help combat poverty, protect the environment, and encourage economic and political stability.

Ms Zappia and Ms Sherk surveyed financial institutions that lend to SMEs in the Caucasus, Central and South America, East Asia and

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Organization Crystal of Georgia, VisionFund’s Monte Credit of Montenegro Borrow $3.6m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it has disbursed three-year loans denominated in euros to two microfinance institutions. Crystal Microfinance Organization, a joint stock company in Georgia, borrowed the equivalent of

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Index of Women Entrepreneurs; Investing in Affordable Housing; Comparing Impact, Traditional Investment Returns

“Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2017,” published by Mastercard, March 2017, 31 pages, available at https://newsroom.mastercard.com/eu/files/2017/03/Report-Mastercard-Index-of-Women-Entrepreneurs-2017-Mar-3.pdf

This tool is intended to measure the evolution of women’s participation in business around the world. The authors apply a set of 37 indicators to data from 54 economies to explore the variations in: (1) women’s advancement; (2) knowledge assets and financial access; and (3) supporting entrepreneurial conditions. One of the primary women’s-advancement indicators is the percentage of CEOs and managers that are women in a given country. Six of the top 10 performers are upper-middle-income countries, with Canada and New Zealand being the only