MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Macedonian Aspekt, Bosnian EKI Sign Deal to Implement Microfinance Software

Aspekt, a Macedonia-based computer technology company, has signed an agreement with Microcredit Foundation EKI, a Bosnia-based microcredit foundation that aims to reduce poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to implement Aspekt’s microfinance software solution to support EKI’s microcredit services [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) Lend $3.5m to TBC Kredit of Azerbaijan for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently reported that it will lend USD 2.5 million to Tbilisi Business Centre (TBC) Kredit LLC, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Azerbaijan, to support on-lending micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Azerbaijan.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $27m Loan to BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Baltic Region

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently revealed the pending approval of a EUR 20 million (USD 26.7 million) loan facility for the BaltCap Private Equity Fund II for investments in equity-related securities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) in the Baltic region.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Austria’s Absolute Portfolio Management Issues Credits Worth $4m to Microfinance Institutions in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia

In July 2013, Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austria-based asset management company that offers investment and advisory services to microfinance institutions, issued approximately USD 4 million in credit to microfinance institutions (MFIs) located in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Honduras and Indonesia through its two microfinance funds, Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loans $50m to AccessBank of Azerbaijan for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Rural Areas

AccessBank, an Azerbaijani for-profit microfinance institution (MFI), recently notified MicroCapital that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, will provide a USD 50 million five-year senior loan facility to AccessBank.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pasha Bank Underwrites Inaugural Bond Issue of $12.7m to FINCA Azerbaijan to Support Micro and Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs

Pasha Bank, an Azerbaijan-based financial services provider, recently underwrote a three-year inaugural bond issue of AZN 10 million (USD 12.7 million) to the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based microfinance network.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $2m to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves of Kosovo

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently loaned EUR 1.5 million (USD 2 million) to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves Limited Liability Company (KRK), a non-bank microfinance institution (MFI) that serves rural areas in Kosovo, for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and residential clients in Kosovo for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management’s Dual Return Funds Invest $9.5m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) of Eight European, Asian, Latin American Countries

In June 2013, Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, issued loans totaling the equivalent of USD 9.5 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Poland though its two Vision Microfinance funds, Dual Return Fund- Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund- Vision Microfinance Local Currency Fund.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $33m to UniCredit for Business, Home Loans in Serbia

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, government-backed microfinance investor that aims to foster regional development, recently announced that it has provided loans totaling EUR 25 million (USD 33 million) to UniCredit Serbia to support its small enterprise lending operations and its homes and housing improvement program [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $4m to FINCA Georgia to Support Micro- and Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced that it will provide a USD 4 million loan to the Republic of Georgia-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based microfinance network, for on-lending to micro and small businesses as well as entrepreneurs in rural regions of Georgia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considering $85m Facility for DeltaCredit Bank of Russia for Residential Mortgage Loans

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently revealed the pending approval of a finance facility of up to the equivalent of USD 85 million disbursed in a mix of USD and RUB to DeltaCredit Bank, a commercial bank in Russia that specializes in mortgages for residential housing loans.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AccessBank of Azerbaijan Receives $60m Syndicated Loan from FMO, OeEb, PROPARCO

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development finance institution, recently notified MicroCapital that it has arranged a USD 60 million syndicated loan facility for AccessBank, a for-profit microfinance institution located in Azerbaijan.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $100m Loan to Sberbank Kazakhstan (SBK) for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution, is reviewing a proposal to invest KZT 15 billion (USD 100 million) in the Subsidiary Bank Sberbank of Russia Joint Stock Company (SBK) in Kazakhstan, a commercial banking subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia, to increase financial access for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan. The EBRD board of directors will consider the proposal in July 2013.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loans $106m to Banca Comerciala Romania (BCR) for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently approved a EUR 80 million (USD 106 million) loan to Banca Comerciala Romania (BCR), a member of Austria-based financial service provider Erste Group Bank AG, for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Romania.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $9.3m to Mikrofin Banja Luka, MF Banka of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Micro- and Small Enterprise (MSE) in Rural Areas

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based government-backed investor in microfinance, has loaned a total of EUR 7 million (USD 9.3 million) to Mikrofin Banja Luka, a microfinance institution based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MF Banka, a subsidiary of Mikrofin formed in 2010, for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Loan $4m to Mikrokreditna Fondacija Mi-Bospo of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently notified MicroCapital that it has opened a EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.9 million) credit line for Mikrokreditna Fondacija Mi-Bospo, a microlender in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that loans exclusively to women [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $13m to Newly Launched Sberbank BH of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Housing, Micro- and Small Enterprise (MSE)

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment company, and Sberbank BH, the Bosnia and Herzegovina branch of government-owned Sberbank of Russia, recently signed a EUR 10 million (USD 13.3 million) loan agreement.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $33m Loan to European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution established in 1991, is reviewing a proposal to invest EUR 25 million (USD 33 million) in the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment company, to provide funding for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in sixteen countries in Southeast Europe and neighboring countries.