The European Investment Fund, a member of the European Investment Bank Group providing financing to small and medium-sized enterprises, recently loaned EUR 2 million (USD 2.53 million) to Vitas, a Romanian microfinance institution, through European Progress Microfinance, a microfinance investment vehicle supported by the EU’s European Commission and the European Investment Bank.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sodexo, Bluedrop Learning, Global Impact Announce Commitments to Middle East, Women-Owned Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) at 10th Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
The tenth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of US-based nonprofit Clinton Foundation, is being held in the US city of New York from September 21-24, and has entertained new commitments as well as progress reports on earlier commitments to address global challenges [1][2]:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lends $5m to DemirBank of Azerbaijan to Promote Residential, Business Energy-Efficiency Projects
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development bank that operates in eastern Europe, central Asia and northern Africa, has loaned USD 5 million to DemirBank, a commercial bank in Azerbaijan that focuses on lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the intention of promoting projects that reduce energy use in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Donates $1m to Kiva Partnership “Change is in Your Hands,” Supporting Microlenders in Middle East, North Africa; Offers Additional $1m in Matching Funds
Kiva, a US-based nonprofit crowdfunding organization that raises money for microfinance institutions (MFIs), and Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Limited, a Cyprus-based nonprofit joint venture of the US-based Grameen Foundation and Saudi Arabia-based Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, have reportedly entered into a partnership to launch the “Change is in Your Hands” campaign, an initiative which uses the website http://www.kiva.org/middleeast to support lending initiatives that will provide financing to entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Lends $9m to Tunisie Leasing to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tunisia
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), a Germany-based fund providing loans in the Middle East and North Africa, has agreed to loan EUR 7 million (USD 9.4 million) to Tunisie Leasing, a Tunisian leasing company that focuses on serving MSMEs in Tunisia and Algeria.
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: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Commits $15m to Private Equity Fund EuroMena III to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Middle East, North Africa
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly has committed USD 15 million to EuroMena III, a 7-year closed-end private equity fund that aims to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA International Raises $30m in Debt in Nine Local Currencies to Support Financial Inclusion of Microentrepreneuers
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has announced that it has raised debt funding equivalent to USD 30 million in nine local currencies to support the financial inclusion of low-income microentrepreneurs through its Local Currency Microfinance Note III [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kaah Express, Silatech, American Refugee Committee (ARC) to Launch Kaah Islamic Microfinance Services in Somalia
Kaah Express, a US-based international remittances company, reportedly has partnered with Silatech, a Qatar-based enterprise focused on increasing employment and entrepreneurship among youth in the Middle East and North Africa, and the American Refugee Committee (ARC), a US-based nonprofit that offers humanitarian aid across the globe, to create Kaah Islamic Microfinance Services (KIMS), a commercial microfinance institution (MFI) in Somalia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Signs Deals with AB Bank Rwanda, IHS Holding of Nigeria, Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda to Expand Microfinance, Telecommunications
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly has signed deals with AB Bank Rwanda (ABR), a microfinance bank (MFB) affiliated with Access Microfinance Holding of Germany; IHS Holding Limited, a mobile services infrastructure company based in Nigeria that operates in five African countries; and Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB), a foreign-owned Rwandan MFB, in an effort to increase access to telecommunications and financial opportunities in Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EFSE to Loan $16m to FINCA Azerbaijan to Support Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Agricultural Lending
Through two unrelated transactions, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based microfinance network, received local-currency loans totaling USD 16 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, and the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a government-backed microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Seven International Lending Institutions Launch Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF)
The Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF), an alliance focused on creating a sustainable financial market for small agricultural businesses, recently was launched by seven international lending institutions at the 11th Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship in Oxford, United Kingdom.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Loan $6.9m to Elana Agrocredit of Bulgaria to Expand Land Lease Financing
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, recently announced that it will extend a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 6.9 million) to Elana Agrocredit, a Bulgaria-based financial institution that provides lease financing to agricultural producers for farmland purchases.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union to Provide Technical Assistance to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia
The Small Business Support (SBS) team of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based financial institution, recently began operations in Tunisia, with plans to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with technical tools and management skills in order to help them innovate, increase efficiency and boost productivity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Supports Sovereign Lending for Public Sector Projects, Private Investments in Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based financial institution, is putting together an economic support package for Ukraine that includes sovereign lending for public sector projects such as infrastructure development and increased funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Considers $104m Loan to DenizBank of Turkey for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Agribusiness Sector
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral financial institution, is considering offering a loan of EUR 75 million (USD 104 million) to Turkish commercial bank DenizBank for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agribusiness sector.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Women and Mobile Financial Services in Uganda; Quantitative Poverty Scoring Methods; European Investment Bank’s Rural Impulse Fund II Symposium in Africa
“Research on Women and Usability of Mobile Financial Services in Uganda;” published by Grameen Foundation; February 2014; 40 pages; available at http://www.grameenfoundation.org/resource/use-mobile-financial-services-among-poor-women
This presentation gives an overview of the Uganda-specific results of a series of studies undertaken by the US-based nonprofit Grameen Foundation with the goal of understanding how mobile-phone usability, or lack thereof, impacts the ability of poor women to access mobile financial services in India, the Philippines and Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Support 100 Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt
The European Union and the Small Business Support program of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based financial institution, recently held an event in the Egyptian city of Alexandria to highlight their support for approximately 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).