The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, has launched an information campaign to increase awareness of “the value of external advice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)”[1] in Kyrgyzstan.
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Fund (EIF) to Guarantee Loans Disbursed by UniCredit Bulbank to Microenterprises in Bulgaria Under Progress Microfinance Facility
The European Investment Fund (EIF), a provider of finance to organizations that lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Europe, and UniCredit Bulbank, a Bulgarian banking unit of UniCredit Group of Italy, have announced a guarantee agreement that will enable UniCredit Bulbank to support increased financial inclusion of approximately 270 microenterprises in the country [1].
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance “Banana Skins” Risk Assessment; Effects of Microloans from Compartamos in Mexico; Youth Financial Inclusion Video
“Microfinance Banana Skins 2014: Facing Reality;” published by Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation; July 2014; 84 pages; available athttp://csfi.org/files/Microfinance_Banana_Skins_2014_-_WEB.pdf
This report, which is based on data collected by surveying 306 people associated with the microfinance industry, examines 19 risks faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the globe.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Development (DFATD) Commits $20m to Ukrainian Agriculture
The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) has announced the launch of a business development project in Ukraine with the aim of supporting the country’s agricultural sector.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) $5m; Demir Kyrgyz International Bank (DKIB) $4m for On-lending to Fund Energy Efficiency Improvement Projects
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral institution headquartered in London, has approved the disbursement of a loan of USD 5 million to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), a commercial bank in Kyrgyzstan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Loans $3m to Indonesia’s Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), $1m to Azerbaijan’s Finance for Development (FinDev)
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which provides financial services to “social businesses,” recently informed MicroCapital that it has provided a three-year local-currency loan equivalent in value to EUR 2.1 million (USD 2.9 million) to Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a microfinance institution (MFI) located in Indonesia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Biniog Sathi Banking Model Employs Islamic Concept of Zakat in Effort to Minimize Credit Default
Mabroor Mahmood, who operates the online “Ideas for Development” think tank, recently began selling his Biniog Sathi banking model, which incorporates Zakat, a Muslim practice of giving charity, to protect against credit default [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $25m to Bank of Georgia for On-lending to Micro, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
Bank of Georgia, a Tbilisi-based commercial bank that offers corporate and retail banking, wealth management, brokerage and insurance services in Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus, recently borrowed EUR 18.5 million (USD 25.2 million) under a senior loan agreement from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, government-backed microfinance investment vehicle.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Harry Potter” Cinema Actress Emma Watson to Serve as Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations (UN) Women
United Nations (UN) Women, the UN organization “dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” has announced Emma Watson, a British actress, will serve as Goodwill Ambassador for the organization.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citigroup, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Jointly Loan $10m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) ACBA Credit Agricole Bank of Armenia
Citigroup, a financial services corporation based in the US city of New York, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a government-backed development finance institution based in Washington DC, recently announced that they will partner to fund two jointly funded loans with a total value of USD 10 million for ACBA Credit Agricole Bank (formerly known as the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia), a Yerevan-based microfinance institution (MFI) that specializes in the financing of the agriculture sector of Armenia.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION WRAP-UP: “FinDev Azerbaijan: Retaining Key Staff Through a ‘Pay for Performance’ Culture;” by Sevda Huseynova, Jalal Aliyev, Kinga Dabrowska; published by Microfinance Centre
“FinDev Azerbaijan: Retaining Key Staff Through a ‘Pay for Performance’ Culture;” by Sevda Huseynova, Jalal Aliyev and Kinga Dabrowska; published by the Microfinance Centre; March 2014; 7 pages; available at http://www.mfc.org.pl/sites/mfc.org.pl/files/FinDev_SP_Fund_ENG.pdf
The authors of this paper describe Finance for Development Limited Liability Company (LLC) (FinDev), an Azerbaijan-based institution that offers economic opportunities for poor people, particularly the evolution of its “staff performance appraisal system and salary compensation scheme.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Likely to Loan Mongolian XacBank $5m for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs); $10m for Sustainable Energy
The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering disbursing a local-currency loan equivalent to USD 5 million to XacBank, a lender to micro-, small and medium-sized businesses in Mongolia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $9.4m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tanzania
Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an arm of Austria-based asset group C-Quadrat, recently informed MicroCapital that it has distributed credits worth approximately USD 9.4 million through its two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Peru, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $47m to Garanti Bank Romania to Support Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Mostly Those Owned by Women
MICROCAPITAL PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microcredit Summit Campaign Report; responsAbility Financial, Social Impact Assessment; Microinsurance Education in Zambia
“Resilience: The State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report, 2014;” published by RESULTS Educational Fund; 2014; 68 pages; available in web format at http://stateofthecampaign.org/2014-report-executive-summary/or for purchase as a PDF or in print form at http://www.scribd.com/doc/229959504/Resilience-The-State-of-the-Microcredit-Summit-Campaign-Report-2014
This report examines the reach and effectiveness of microfinance institutions (MFIs) on a global scale using data as recent as from 2012.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $12m to Araratbank of Armenia to Support Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, has announced that it is loaning USD 12 million to Araratbank Open Joint Stock Corporation (OJSC), an Armenian bank that provides financial services to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Fund (EIF) to Guarantee $9m in Microloans Disbursed by Romania’s Libra Internet Bank Under Progress Microfinance Facility
The European Investment Fund (EIF), a provider of finance to lenders to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and Libra Internet Bank, a Romania-based bank that conducts the majority of its business online, have signed a guarantee agreement to help Libra lend RON 30 million (USD 9.26 million) to 400 microbusinesses in Romania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity Bank Serbia; MDO Arvand of Tajikistan; Bai Tushum, Kompanion of Kyrgyzstan Receive Smart Campaign Client Protection Certification
The Smart Campaign, a consumer-protection initiative launched in 2010 by the US-based nonprofit Accion, recently granted its “Smart Certification” to four microfinance institutions (MFIs): Opportunity Bank Serbia, which is controlled by US-based NGO Opportunity International; Microcredit Deposit-Taking Organizaition (MDO) Arvand, an MFI in Tajikistan that provides financial services to entrepreneurs; Bai Tushum Bank, a microfinance institution serving entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan; and Kompanion, an MFI that offers “development products and services”[1] to entrepreneurs and individuals in Kyrgyzstan.