Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited (Utkarsh), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has raised equity commitments of INR 15.8 crores (USD 3.2 million) from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, a public-private partnership (PPP) that provides technical and financial support to “emerging” microfinance institutions; INR 6 crores (USD 1.2 million) from Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company (AG), an Indo-Dutch for-profit private investor in Indian MFIs; and INR 3.2 crores (USD 650,000) from International Finance Corporation, the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group [1].
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MICROFINANCE EVENT: Royal Netherlands Embassy, Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) to Host Roundtable Discussion on “Real” Banking for the Real Economy: Can Values-based Banking Sustainably Finance the Future?, September 22, 2011, in Washington DC, USA
Event Name: “Real” Banking for the Real Economy: Can Values-based Banking Sustainably Finance the Future?
Event Date: September 22, 2011; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Event Location: Washington, DC, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Disburses $4m in Loans and Equity to Bai Tushum of Kyrgyz Republic; Arnur Credit, Bereke of Kazakhstan
responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it made investments totaling the equivalent of USD 4 million in Bai Tushum of the Kyrgyz Republic, Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan and Bereke of Kazakhstan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) Raises $150m from Institutional Investors, Commercial Banks
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) and member of the BASIX Group of companies, has reportedly raised INR 7 billion (USD 150 million) in debt and equity commitments from institutional investors and commercial banks, in what has been described as a “lifeline” by BASIX chairman Vijay Mahajan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $8m to Kompanion of Kyrgyz Republic, Eskhata of Tajikistan, XacBank of Mongolia
responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it made debt investments totaling USD 8 million through MIVs it manages in the following institutions: USD 3 million to Kompanion Financial Group Microfinance Closed Joint Stock Company, an MFI in Kyrgyzstan; USD 2 million to Eskhata Bank, an institution in Tajikistan that lends to micro- and small businesses; and USD 3 million to XacBank, a community development MFI in Mongolia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $49m to Support Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Through Raiffeisen Banka Serbia, ProCredit Bank Macedonia, Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments worth a total of EUR 34 million (USD 49.7 million) in three banks that support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs): Raiffeisen Banka Serbia, ProCredit Bank Macedonia and Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $29m to Raiffeisen Bank Bosnia and Herzegovina
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments worth a total of USD 29 million in Raiffeisen Bank Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a bank that provides corporate, retail and investment banking services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Loans $1.1m in Local Currency to Cameroonian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Advans Cameroun
BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based BlueOrchard Microfinance Investment Managers, has announced that it will provide a local-currency loan of XAF 500 million (USD 1.1 million) to Advans Cameroun, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Cameroon.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ImpactAssets Includes 22 Microfinance-Focused Fund Managers in List of Top 50 Impact Investors
ImpactAssets, a US-based nonprofit company specializing in impact investment, recently released its “2011 ImpactAssets 50,” a list of investment fund managers that “achieve financial performance with positive social and environmental impacts,” including 22 microfinance-focused funds.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Finance Platform Fundamo, Bank Andara Aim to Extend Access to Financial Services to 40m in Indonesia
Mobile finance platform vendor Fundamo is aspiring to extend financial services to 40 million Indonesians in poor regions as part of a new partnership with Indonesia’s Bank Andara, a wholesale lender to microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Expands in Rural Kyrgyzstan as Lending Shifts to Agriculture
Kyrgyzstan’s microcredit sector reportedly has been growing in recent years and extending to outlying regions. The growth of microcredit in rural regions has corresponded to an increase in agricultural business following the June 2010 ethnic riots in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance in Cambodia Grows 10%, Described as “Trap”
Mr Simon Marks from the Asia Sentinel, a website based in Hong Kong, recently cited data collected by the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA), a network of microfinance industry officials in Cambodia, indicating that as of the end of the first quarter of 2011, total loans outstanding from its members amounted to approximately USD 712 million, which represents an increase of nearly 10 percent over the last quarter of 2010 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investor in Microfinance, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Matrix Partners India Raises $300m
Matrix Partners India, the Indian subsidiary of US-based private equity firm Matrix Partners, recently announced that it raised USD 300 million for its second fund. With the closing of this fund, Matrix Partners India currently has approximately USD 677 million in assets under management.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Goodwell Investments Expands Beyond Microfinance to Include SME Finance, Health, Renewable Energy
Goodwell Investments, a business development company based in the Netherlands, has announced that it will expand the scope of its impact investing services from a focus on microfinance to include small and medium-sized enterprise finance, water & sanitation, health care and renewable energy [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance” (PIIF) Created as Separate Work Stream Within United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI); CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Standards Observed
The Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF) initiative has been created as a separate work stream housed within the United Nations’ (UN) Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a set of principles devised in 2005 by 20 institutional investors to encourage investors to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues into their internal policies and investment strategies. (As of February 2011, UNPRI has 876 signatory investors). PIIF provides a framework for responsible investment focusing on providing access to finance to poor and vulnerable populations. The seven principles of PIIF and its charter signatories are listed in the February 2011 MicroCapital.org story announcing the launch of the initiative: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-special-report-%E2%80%9Cprinciples-for-investors-in-inclusive-finance%E2%80%9D-launched-at-responsible-finance-forum-in-the-hague-netherlands/ [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund Completes First Distribution to Investors of $7.5m
BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund (BOPE Fund), an investment vehicle of Switzerland-based, commercial microfinance intermediary Blue Orchard, has announced its first distribution to investors. The USD 7.5 million distribution comes three years after the fund’s first close and includes proceeds from a partial exit from indirect shareholding in TenGer Financial Group, the single owner of XacBank, a Mongolian community development bank and microfinance institution (MFI). BOPE Fund remains a direct shareholder of TenGer Financial Group which reported total assets of MNT 322 billion (USD 256 million).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Social Capital Marketplace (SOCAP) and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Company (PYMWYMIC) Present SOCAP Europe Conference in Amsterdam, May 30 – June 1, 2011, to Address Impact Investing
Event Name: SOCAP Europe
Event Date: May 30 – June 1, 2011
Event Location: Beurs Van Berlage, Amsterdam, Netherlands
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Explores Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance Through New Blog Series
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank, recently launched a series of entries on its microfinance blog to facilitate discussions on over-indebtedness. The series aims to offer weekly articles posted by experts involved in research and practice.