Koshi Yomuti, a six year old microfinance project whose name means “banking under a tree” will become Namibia’s first commercial micro finance bank with seed capital of Euro 2.3 million from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), a federally owned international cooperation enterprise based outside of Frankfurt, Germany. The grant money will be used to create the first purely micro finance banking institution in Namibia upgrading the Koshi Yomuti/Ohangwena Pilot Project to a commercial microfinance bank. The bank will be owned by foreign investors, including KfW (on behalf of GTZ), FIDES (Switzerland), Swiss Microfinance Holding (Switzerland), Incofin (Belgium), and Investisseur et Partenaire pour le Development (France).
Search Results for: Triodos Microfinance Fund
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Mercy Corps Buys a Commercial Bank in Bali to Service the Microfinance Sector in Indonesia
Mercy Corps, a global relief organization, announced the creation of a ‘bank of banks’ (BoB), a commercial bank that will partner with other microfinance institutions (MFIs), in Indonesia. The MAXIS (Maximizing Financial Access and Innovation at Scale) program, developed by Mercy Corps to build BoB and provide technical asistance, received USD 19.4 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation‘s Financial Services for the Poor initiative. The total capital supporting the creation of Indonesia’s first microfinance wholesale bank adds up to approximately USD 33 million, with funding from investors such as International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Hivos-Triodos Fund, a joint initiative of the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) and Triodos Bank, based in Netherlands.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Whole Planet Foundation and Silverton Foundation Team with Triodos Bank to Loan $1m to Timorese Microfinance Institution (MFI) Moris Rasik for Increased Micro-lending
Austin-based Whole Planet Foundation and Silverton Foundation recently announced a collaborative commitment of USD 600,000 to microfinance institution (MFI) Moris Rasik of Timor-Leste for rural micro-lending projects. The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) is the poorest country in Asia. The funding for Moris Rasik will be augmented by an additional USD 400,000 from Triodos Bank of the Netherlands.
PRESS RELEASE: ACCION Investment in Tanzania’s Akiba Commercial Bank to Expand Microfinance Services
Source: ACCION International.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos-Doen and the Hivos-Triodos Fund Invests $1.3M in HUMO Micro Lending Fund, Alter Modus Montenegro and Kazakhstan Microcredit Organization Bereke
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported the Triodos-Doen Foundation and Hivos-Triodos Fund of the Netherlands invested USD 1.3 million in three Eastern European and Central Asian (EAC) microfinance institutions. Triodos-Doen invested loans of USD 251,000 in Micro Lending Fund HUMO of Tajikstan and USD 737,000 in Alter Modus in Montenegro. Hivos-Triodos invested USD 301,000 in loans to Kazakhstan Microcredit Organization Bereke.
NEWS WIRE: United States: World Bank Notes Trend of Microfinance Institutions Fighting Climate Change
Source: Development Outreach (World Bank Group).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) Invests USD 2.5 million in Cambodian Microfinance Institutions
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) invested loans totaling USD 2.5 million in Cambodian microfinance institutions, Hattha Kaksekar Ltd. (HKL) and Cambodian Entrepreneur Building (CEB). Hattha Kaksekar Ltd. received USD 1 million dollars in loans this past September 2007, and CEB received USD 1.5 million in January 2008.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Reliance Capital Enters First Phase of Microfinance Initiative in India
As posted by MicroCapital on Thursday, Reliance Capital of India, a publicly-traded financial institution offering a wide range of services and reporting March 2007 total assets of USD 1.5 billion, announced a new microfinance initiative on March 3rd beginning with the financing of two microfinance institutions (MFIs) based in Gujarat state. As stated in the press release, MAS Financial Services Limited (MFSL) and Vardan Trust received the first checks and Reliance Capital plans to continue the first phase of the initiative in Maharashtra state before expanding nation-wide at an undetermined date. Mr. K. V. Srinivasan, the Deputy CEO of Reliance Consumer Finance—a division of Reliance Capital offering loans for a variety of products—expressed that the methodology of the initiative will be to lend to MFIs which will then on-lend to individuals, self help groups (SHGs), and other joint liability microfinance structures. SHGs are unions of individuals, usually connected by geographical location, which organize to take advantage of the financial services that can be utilized from their collective assets.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Calvert Foundation Lends $500,000 to Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank
In another deal coming to us courtesy of Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit community investment vehicle, recently invested USD 500,000 in loans in XacBank, a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in Mongolia.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Makes a $3m Equity Investment in Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed a partnership agreement with XacBank, one of Mongolia’s leading microfinance institutions. On January 16, 2008, the IFC invested USD 3 million for ten percent of XacBank’s outstanding shares and plans to invest a total of USD 15 million in the next three years. The IFC will have a representative seated on the Board of Directors to consult in the expansion of XacBank’s services throughout the region.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos-Doen Invests $1m in Cambodian Entrepreneur Building (CEB) Microfinance Institution
Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported Triodos-Doen, a partnership between Triodos Bank of the Netherlands and the Doen Foundation, invested USD 1 million in loans in Cambodian Entrepreneur Building (CEB) microfinance institution on December 12, 2007. Triodos-Doen has been a shareholder of CEB since 2006 when they initially invested USD 500,000 in equity followed by a USD 3 million loan.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) Lends USD 6 Million to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA)
Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), on behalf of Swiss Confederation, granted a six-year USD 6 million loan to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA), marking the first deal between the two entities. The loan will be applied toward financing micro, small, and agricultural businesses of Azerbaijan; a minimum of USD 3 million will be used exclusively for granting agrarian credit, a bank product that MFBA first launched in August 2007. By supporting Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, SIFEM hopes to foster a diversification of the Azerbaijan economy away from oil and gas sectors.
MICROCAPITAL FEATURE: Marilou van Golstein Brouwers, Managing Director of Triodos Investment Management B.V., Talks to MicroCapital
“I really enjoy my job still after fifteen years,” says Marilou van Golstein Brouwers, the head of the Triodos division that runs its microfinance investments. She has been with the company since they began investing in microfinance, which was at first tried as means to promote sustainable development. “You have to tackle the divide between rich and poor if you are serious about sustainability,” she says.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oikocredit of the Netherlands Lends $1m to Latin America Microfinance Promoter Pro Mujer
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, reported Oikocredit, a co-operative financial development institution in the Netherlands, issued a loan to the Pro Mujer Network. The network reported that the loan was extended to Pro Mujer Peru in the amount of 3.2 million nuevos soles (USD 1 million).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Provides $2m Guarantee to Kyrgyz Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Bai Tushum Financial Foundation (BTFF), a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in the Kyrgyz Republic, with a USD 2 million guarantee for local currency loans from local banks. Bai Tushum will use the finances to on-lend to local micro and small enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Swiss responsAbility Microfinanz-Fonds Loans over $1.3m to Eastern Europe Microfinance Institution MIKROFIN
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse, reported responsAbility Microfinanz-Fonds, a Luxembourg-based fund, has issued a loan of USD 1.36 million to MIKROFIN, an Eastern Europe microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: DOEN Foundation Approves $200k Grant to Help Launch and the International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI)
The DOEN Foundation, the Dutch charitable fund and co-founder of microfinance investment firm Triodos-Doen Foundation, will provide a USD 200,000 grant to aid the establishment of the International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI), according to Program Manager of Financial Sector Development at DOEN Jeroen Loots. The IAMFI is an organization that will seek to increase investment in microfinance from the private sector by disseminating credible industry data, drawing responsible investors, establishing best practices, and exploring opportunities to influence public policy.
WHO’S WHO IN MICROFINANCE: Triodos-Doen Foundation
In 1994, Triodos Bank, a private bank of the Netherlands, and the Doen Foundation, a Dutch organization, jointly founded the Triodos-Doen Foundation, a microfinance investment vehicle. The Triodos-Doen Foundation is managed by Triodos Investment Management as well as a Supervisory Board appointed by the Doen Foundation.