The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle that mobilizes capital for microfinance institutions (MFIs), has agreed to issue a loan equivalent to EUR 3.9 million (USD 5.1 million) to Byblos Bank Armenia, an Armenian financial institution with total assets of AMD 36 billion (USD 93.5 million).
Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Lends $30m to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA)-Credit Agricole Bank to Support Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Agribusinesses
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has made a loan of USD 30 million to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA)-Credit Agricole Bank to increase lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agribusinesses in Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II, Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds Acquire Shares of AzerCredit of Azerbaijan
Rural Impulse Fund II, which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, and Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds, have acquired equity stakes in AzerCredit, an Azerbaijani microfinance institution (MFI) with a rural focus.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Lends $1.5m to Microfinance Institutions Tuba Rai Metin of East Timor; Humo and Partners, Arvand of Tajikistan
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based nongovernmental organization, has reported to MicroCapital that it has issued a three-year loan of USD 300,000 to Tuba Rai Metin (TRM), a microfinance institution (MFI) in East Timor [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions in Andhra Pradesh Request Extension to Meet New Capital Adequacy Ratios Imposed by Reserve Bank of India
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh (AP) reportedly have requested that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extend the deadline for MFIs to meet its new capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirements.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mikrofond, Microfinance Centre, Citi Foundation Collaborate on Financial Education Project in Bulgaria
Mikrofond Aktzionerno Druzhestvo, a Bulgarian microfinance institution (MFI); Microfinance Centre, a Poland-based network of MFIs; and Citi Foundation, a US-based organization supporting financial inclusion, have prepared 25 Bulgarian microfinance trainers to give financial education workshops and counseling sessions to poor people in both rural and urban areas.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Uzbekistan Raises Minimum Capital Requirements for Microcredit Organizations
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the country’s central banking authority, has increased the minimum amount of charter capital required of microcredit organizations (MCOs) to the local currency equivalent of USD 129,000 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Muhammad Yunus International Centre for Microfinance and Social Business Launched at Okan University in Turkey
The Okan University in Istanbul, Turkey, has launched the Muhammad Yunus International Centre for Microfinance and Social Business, which aims to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development by “promoting, developing and implementing social business ideas and projects” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance to Further Downsize Workforce, Cap Return on Assets at 3%
SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India, reportedly will continue to downsize its workforce as it has been since the enactment of the Regulation of Microlending Act in October 2010 in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which requires government approval of each microloan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Advising FINO in Effort to Extend Financial Services to 100m Indians Over 3 Years
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide advisory support to Indian for-profit technology and services provider Financial Information Networks and Operation (FINO) in its goal to bring financial products such as microinsurance, remittance and deposit services to 100 million clients in India over the next three years.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Event Highlights SafeSave’s Asset-Building Microloan Product “P9”
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently hosted an event entitled “How Can Microfinance Extend Social Protection in Asian Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs)?” The P9 program, which was developed by Bangladeshi microbank SafeSave, was highly praised.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Lends $1.85m to Microfinance Institutions AgroInvest Holding of Montenegro, Forus Bank of Russia
Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility) recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made loans totaling the equivalent of USD 1.85 million to financial institutions AgroInvest Holding of Montenegro and Forus Bank of Russia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $2.3m in Microfinance Institutions Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan, FINCA Armenia, FinDev of Azerbaijan
responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that manages four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments totaling the equivalent of USD 2.3 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan, FINCA Armenia and Finance for Development LLC (FinDev) of Azerbaijan [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroSave Survey: Reliance on Loan Sharks High, Microfinance Repayment Rates Low in Andhra Pradesh, India
The downturn in the microfinance industry in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has resulted in brisk business for traditional moneylenders according to a study entitled “What are Clients doing Post the Andhra Pradesh MFI Crisis?” from MicroSave, a microfinance advisory firm with offices in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Investors Wary As Return on Equity for Indian Microfinance Institutions Drops from Over 45% to Under 20%
The steep decline in microloan repayments that began in 2010 in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) is continuing to keep private investors away from microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe Lends $24m to AccessBank of Azerbaijan, Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves of Kosovo, Byblos Bank Armenia, Alter Modus of Montenegro
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, has reported to MicroCapital that it has made loans to the following institutions: USD 15 million to AccessBank of Azerbaijan, the equivalent of USD 649,000 to Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves (KRK) of Kosovo, the equivalent of USD 5.27 million to Byblos Bank Armenia and approximately USD 3.89 million to Alter Modus of Montenegro. The loan to Byblos Bank was disbursed in two tranches: a local currency loan of AMD 875 million (USD 2.27 million) and an additional transaction of USD 3 million. The loan to Alter Modus was disbursed in tranches of USD 1.3 million and USD 2.6 million.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Microfinance Product Diversification, Over-indebtedness in Kosovo, Social Inclusion
“Making Microfinance Work: Managing Product Diversification” by Cheryl Frankiewicz, Craig Churchill; published by the International Labour Organization (ILO); December 2011; 612 pages; available for a fee at http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order-online/books/…
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Loan $100m to Small Businesses in the Ukraine, First $10m disbursed to Credit Europe Bank Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed an agreement to loan USD 100 million for the benefit of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Ukraine.