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]. The investments have been made through three MIVs: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) and responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds.
rAMLF and Mikrofinanz-Fonds made a combined debt investment of USD 800,000 in Arnur Credit, an MFI that provides microcredit services. As of December 31, 2010, Arnur Credit reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 7.5 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 6.1 million, 3,100 active borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 2.23 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 6.13 percent.
FINCA Armenia, subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International, received a combined local-currency debt investment equivalent to USD 1.2 million from rAGMF and Mikrofinanz-Fonds. As of December 2010, FINCA Armenia reported to MIX total assets of USD 27.8 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 25.1 million, 38,000 active borrowers, ROA of 4.90 percent and ROE of 22.0 percent.
FinDev received USD 300,000 from Mikrofinanz-Fonds. FinDev reported to MIX total assets of USD 12.6 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 11.3 million and approximately 8,580 active borrowers as of September 2011.
By Nisha Koul, Research Associate
About Arnur Credit: Arnur Credit is a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides microcredit in Kazakhstan. As of December 31, 2010, Arnur Credit reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US-based nonprofit data provider, USD 7.5 million in assets, a gross loan portfolio of USD 6.1 million, return on assets (ROA) of 2.23 percent, return on equity (ROE) of 6.13 percent and 3,175 active borrowers.
About FINCA Armenia: Founded in 1999, FINCA Armenia is a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International. It aims to provide financial services to the “world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living.” As of December 31, 2010, FINCA Armenia reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 27.8 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 25.1 million, 38,000 active borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 4.90 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 22.0 percent.
About FINCA International: Founded in 1984 by Dr John Hatch, a pioneer of the village banking model, the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International is a microfinance network based in Washington, DC, that serves approximately 700,000 people through its subsidiaries in 21 countries. As of 2010, FINCA reported total assets of USD 496 million, with an operating profit of USD 10 million.
About Finance for Development LLC (FinDev): Finance for Development LLC (FinDev) is an Azerbaijan-based financial institution that began operations in 1997 as a savings and credit project of humanitarian organization Oxfam Great Britain. Registered in 2002 as an independent entity, it provides a variety of group and individual loans, mainly in rural areas of Azerbaijan. As of September 2011, FinDev reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 12.6 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 11.3 million and approximately 8,580 active borrowers. As of December 2010, FinDev reported return on assets (ROA) of 4.77 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 15.9 percent. FinDev does not offer deposit services.
About responsAbility: Founded in 2003, responsAbility Social Investments AG is a Swiss investment company whose products aim to enable investors to earn a financial return while assisting people in emerging markets to access information and markets in sectors such as microfinance, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing, fair trade and independent media. As of September 2011, responsAbility reported total assets under management of approximately USD 1 billion. responsAbility is backed by Swiss financial institutions and a social venture capital company as founders and shareholders including Baumann & Cie, Banquiers, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen Schweiz, Swiss Re, Bank Vontobel AG as well as George Avenue.
About responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF): The responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF) is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by responsAbility Social Investments that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other MIVs, mostly through short- to medium-term debt securities. rAGMF also invests up to 10 percent of its assets in the equity of MFIs. In April 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. rAGMF reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) fund assets of USD 532 million in 2011.
About responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF): The responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) invests in large microfinance institutions (MFIs) through debt securities and equity investments. In April 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. rAMLF reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) fund assets of USD 155 million in 2011.
About responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds (rAMF): Mikrofinanz-Fonds is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) that was launched in 2007, is managed by responsAbility Social Investments AG of Switzerland and is funded by German financial institutions Bank im Bistum Essen and Stadtsparkasse Dusseldorf. It invests in short- to medium-term income-bearing debt securities of microfinance institutions (MFIs). In April 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. Mikrofinanz-Fonds reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) fund assets of USD 141 million in 2011.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Data submitted by responsAbility Social Investments AG to MicroCapital, January 2012
MicroCapital.org story, October 24, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $5.5m in Microfinance Institutions TBC Kredit of Azerbaijan, Kazmicrofinance of Kazakhstan; Microfinance Investment Vehicle ACCION Investments in Microfinance,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-responsability-invests-5-5m-in-microfinance-institutions-tbc-kredit-of-azerbaijan-kazmicrofinance-of-kazakhstan-microfinance-investment-vehicle-accion-investments-in-microfinanc/
MicroCapital.org story, September 13, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $2.5m in Microfinance Institution Asian Credit Fund of Kazakhstan, Bank Eskhata of Tajikistan, XacLeasing of Mongolia,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-responsability-invests-2-5m-in-microfinance-institution-asian-credit-fund-of-kazakhstan-bank-eskhata-of-tajikistan-xacleasing-of-mongolia/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Arnur Credit, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Arnur+Credit
MicroCapital Universe Profile: FINCA Armenia, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FINCA+Armenia
MicroCapital Universe Profile: FINCA International, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FINCA+International
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Finance for Development LLC (FinDev), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Finance+for+Development+%28FinDev%29
MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Social Investments AG, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsibility
MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility+Global+Microfinance+Fund+%28rAGMF%29
MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility+Mikrofinanz-Fonds
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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