Asian Credit Fund (ACF), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kazakhstan, recently informed MicroCapital that it has raised an undisclosed amount of cash through a second round of equity financing.
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $30m to Georgia’s Bank Republic for On-lending to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to support economic growth in developing countries, recently announced that it will provide a loan of USD 30 million to Bank Republic, which serves retail and corporate customers in Georgia as a subsidiary of the French financial services provider Société Générale.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union (EU), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Extend Small Business Initiative to Turkmenistan
The European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, have announced the extension of the Small Business Initiative, a program that provides loans and technical assistance to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to Turkmenistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $7m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Cambodia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
During September 2015, Austrian asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 7 million via its two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Cambodia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) to Host European Microfinance Week 2015, November 18-20, 2015, Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
Event Name: European Microfinance Week 2015
Event Dates: November 18-20, 2015
Event Location: Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Japan’s Orix Corporation Acquires Additional 6% Equity in Cambodia’s Acleda Bank
Orix Corporation, a financial services provider based in Tokyo, Japan, recently announced that it has acquired a 6.25-percent equity stake in Acleda Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that provides deposits and microcredit in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $13m to Krygyzstan’s Optima Bank for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral investment institution headquarted in London, England, recently announced that it will loan the local-currency equivalent of USD 13 million to Optima Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Bank Raises $100m for Microfinance Investment Vehicle European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
Deutsche Bank, a Germany-based financial services company, recently announced that it had raised USD 100 million from unspecified private investors for the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Bandhan Bank Sets Deposit Interest Rates, Will Open 3 Branches in South India
Bandhan Bank, an Indian commercial bank based in Kolkata, recently announced that it plans to open one branch each in the cities of Bengaluru, Koramangala and Bannerghatta, all of which are located in southern India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) of India Advises Members to Reduce Interest Rates
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade organization composed of 47 Indian microlenders, has advised its members to reduce their interest rates voluntarily by “at least 25 basis points” [1] by the end of September 2015.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) May Loan $70m to NBK-Egypt for On-lending to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral investment institution headquartered in London, England, is considering extending a credit line of USD 70 million to the National Bank of Kuwait-Egypt (NBK-Egypt), a commercial bank based in Cairo, Egypt.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Belarusbank to Host World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) Meeting, September 30 – October 1, 2015, Minsk, Belarus
Event Name: World Savings Bank Institute (WSBI) Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) Meeting 2015
Event Dates: September 30 – October 1, 2015
Event Location: Renaissance Minsk Hotel, Minsk, Belarus
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Partners With Government of Belarus on Business Environment for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to increase economic growth in developing countries, recently announced that it will partner with the Ministry of the Economy of Belarus “to improve the business environment through measures that will support the growth of small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)”[1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Disburses $15m in Local Currency to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Primarily in Rural Areas
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently announced that it will disburse a syndicated loan in local currency equivalent to USD 15 million to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan, a subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA) Buys 25% Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Elet-Capital of Kyrgyzstan
For an undisclosed price, Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a Singapore-based equity investor in small, Asian microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently purchased a 25-percent stake in Elet-Capital, a Kyrgyzstan-based MFI.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Ujjivan Financial Services Raises $7.85m from Mutual Funds for On-Lending To Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Bangalore, India, recently announced that it has raised INR 500 million (approximately USD 7.85 million) from United Trust of India (UTI), a mutual fund company based in Mumbai, India, through the issuance of secured, non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $25m to Azerbaijan’s AccessBank for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to increase economic growth in developing countries, recently announced that it will provide a subordinated loan of USD 25 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan that is associated with Germany’s Access Microfinance Holding AG (AccessHolding), to enable it to serve more micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Fund, Apis Partners, Raises $157m for Financial Technology Startups in Africa, South Asia
Apis Partners, a London-based private equity firm, has raised USD 157 million in investments for the Apis Growth Fund that it launched in 2014 to target technology firms working in payments, savings, investments, credit and insurance in Africa and South Asia.