The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has announced that it will provide a loan worth NGN 450 million, the equivalent of over USD 3 million, to AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria Limited, a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI) [1,2,3]. In turn, AB Microfinance Bank will provide loans to “microenterprises and low-income entrepreneurs in Nigeria” [1]. The tenor of the loan is five years, and is denominated in Nigerian Naira [1]. This will eliminate foreign exchange risk for AB Microfinance Bank, thus allowing the MFI “to offer long term Naira products to its customers” [1]. In October of 2008, the IFC provided AB Microfinance Bank with a NGN 150 million loan, the equivalent of over USD 998,000, which was used to help the MFI begin operations [1]. AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria Limited was created in 2008 by Access Microfinance Holding AG, an investor in MFIs, and Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund, a fund managed by Incofin Invesment Management [3,4,5].
Search Results for: Incofin
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Koota, India-Based Microfinance Institution (MFI), Receives Rs 27.5 Crore ($5.88m) in Equity Capital
Grameen Koota, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI) that is a division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, has raised equity capital worth INR 27.5 crore, the equivalent of over USD 5.88 million [1,2].
The funds were raised through investments from four funds: Italy’s MicroVentures SpA, Luxmbourg’s MicroVentures Investments (an affiliate of MicroVentures SpA), Belgium’s Incofin, and Aavishkaar Goodwell, an “Indian-Dutch joint venture” [3,4,5]. This is Grameen Koota’s second round of equity funding, after receiving an equity investment in 2008 of INR 9.2 crore, the equivalent at the time of over USD 2.3 million, from Aavishkaar Goodwell [6]. According to Suresh Krishna, the Managing Director of Grameen Koota, this investment will be used to increase the MFI’s number of borrowers in the Indian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, to expand lending to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh, and to “invest in technology development” [1,7].
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: ACCION Investments in Microfinance SPC
Overview:
The ACCION Investments in Microfinance, SPC fund (ACCION Investments) is a microfinance investment vehicle which mobilizes funds for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: MFX Solutions Closes First Currency Hedge Transaction; $4 million Currency Swap With MicroVest
MFX Solutions Inc., a company providing currency hedging solutions designed specifically for microfinance, closed its first hedging transaction, a USD 4 million currency swap with MicroVest I, LP. The cross-currency swap transaction allowed MicroVest I, a Washington DC-based microfinance investment fund, to make a USD 4 million, 3-year loan in Columbian pesos to Fundacion Mundo Mujer, a Columbian-based microfinance institution. [3]
MICROFINANCE EVENT: European Microfinance Week, Presented by the European Microfinance Platform, November 24-26, 2009, Abbaye Neumünster, Luxembourg
European Microfinance Week, presented by the European Microfinance Platform, November 24-26, 2009, Abbaye Neumünster, Luxembourg
Costs: The fees for participants are as follows:
Registration Fee : 300€ (USD 430), Students (limited number) : 50€ (USD 72) . To register for European Microfinance Week 2009, please see here.
Summary of event: The theme for the 2009 meeting will be ‘Microfinance in a new financial era’ and will examine how the microfinance sector has reacted in the face of the global financial crisis. A combination of plenary, workshop and roundtable sessions will ensure participants make the most of their opportunity to stay informed, debate and contribute to discussions.
This 2009 final program summary is still pending. A draft of the program will be available shortly.
Please see here for 2008 conference for additional reference.
Previous 2008 Summit Speakers Included:
- J. Glisovic-Mezieres, CGAP Survey “CGAP MIV Benchmark 2008”
- Challenges in the distribution of Microfinance Investment Vehicles (Panel discussion)
- C. Speckhardt, responsAbility
- M. Schneider, Deutsche Bank
- E. de Lutzel, BNP Paribas
- R. Dominicé, Symbiotics Regulatory frameworks on foreign direct investments in microfinance
- de Ville, Chairman e-MFP The role of e-MFP in the global microfinance industry: challenges and opportunities
- Velasco, Co-Founder and Director, Pro Mujer International in Latin America Expectations of Latin American MFIs towards European Microfinance actors
- M. Toure, General Manager UM-Pamecas Senegal Expectations of African MFIs towards European Microfinance actors
- P. Sakellaris, Vice-President EIB Microfinance: fluctuat nec mergitur?
- R. Mersland, Consultant and Researcher Overview of the European Microfinance Week
- L. de Canniere, Incofin The role of private investors on social responsibility and social performance – the case of Incofin
- M. Adler, KfW Dimensions of responsible finance in microfinance practice
- Minh Huy Lai, Planet Finance Social Responsibility – the MFI inside perspective
- Koning, EU/ACP MF Program/CGAP Responsible Finance – the ‘What’, ‘Why’ and the ‘How’
- R. Annibale, Citigroup
- J.-P. Klumpp, Blue Orchard
- E. Schröder, Invest in Visions
- R. Dominicé, Symbiotcs
Online Registration: Please click here.
Important Dates: Tuesday, November 24 to Thursday November 26, 2009 at Abbaye Neumünster, Luxembourg
Submit Your Event: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Event Type: Conference
Event Starts: November 24, 2009
Event Ends: November 26, 2009
Location: Abbaye Neumünster, Luxembourg
Contact information:
No specific name is provided. For Further information, please contact the following:
Christoph Pausch, Executive Secretary
Niamh Watters, Administrative Assistant
European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP)
21 Allée Scheffer
L-2520 Luxembourg
Tel. +352 26.27.13.55
Fax: +352.45.68.68.68
email: contact@e-mfp.eu
Submit Your Event: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Event Type: Conference
Event Starts: November 24, 2009
Event Ends: November 26, 2009
Location:
CONFERENCE VENUE:
Centre Culturel de Rencontre
Abbaye de Neumünster
28, rue Münster
L-2160 Luxembourg
Téléphone : +352/ 26.20.52.1
Fax : +352/ 26.20.19.80
E-mail : contact@ccrn.lu
URL : www.ccrn.lu
Organized By: The European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP)
MICROCAPITAL STORY: MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX) in Washington D.C., USA Launches Hedging Operations Dedicated to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
MFX Solutions Inc. (MFX), a new company based in Washington D.C. in the United States dedicated to providing microfinance currency risk solutions announced the launch of its hedging operations recently, according to a press release on the electronic news and information portal PR NewsWire. With the launch, MFX, in keeping with its mission to ‘make sure that existing flows of microfinance lending are not disrupted by currency devaluation’, will focus on making modern hedging instruments accessible to microfinance lenders in developing countries. As per information available on their website, MFX will focus on ‘high-risk markets in Africa and elsewhere where hedging can have a transformative effect’. Additionally, MFX will also create education programs in the form of easy-to-use web-based tools designed to help MFI managers analyze the risks they face under different economic scenarios. (PR Newswire is headquartered in New York, USA and is a subsidiary of the London based global business media company United Business MediaPlc).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Investments in Microfinance: Surviving the Liquidity Crisis & Ensuring Sustainable Growth Conference in London
Investments in Microfinance: Surviving the Liquidity Crisis & Ensuring Sustainable Growth Conference
7–9 July 2009, Grange City Hotel, London, UK
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
CGAP Microfinance Dealbook: May 2009 Transactions
The CGAP Microfinance Dealbook publicizes microfinance capital market transactions in an effort to bring greater transparency to the industry. This information is made freely available as a public service. Parties to microfinance transactions are encouraged to submit their deals to this effort. The following deals were collected for May 2009:
NEWS WIRE: India: Belgian Stake in Assam Firm
Source: The Telegraph
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos Bank Invests USD 900,000 in Microfinance Institutions in May
Triodos Bank has reported to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook investments totaling approximately USD 900,000 this month. The bank has invested 834,000 in IMON International in Tajikistan through the Triodos-Doen Foundation, and has loaned 61,000 to BICC in Honduras through the Hivos-Triodos Fund.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Symbiotics Partners with Luxembourg Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) and Spins Off Luxembourg Consulting Arm to Innpact Sàrl
Symbiotics SA, the Geneva-based investment advisor and information resource for the microfinance industry, has announced a collaboration with the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG). In an unrelated event, Symbiotics spins-off its Luxembourg consulting arm into an independent company, Innpact Sàrl.
CGAP Microfinance Dealbook: April 2009 Transactions
The CGAP Microfinance Dealbook publicizes microfinance capital market transactions in an effort to bring greater transparency to the industry. This information is made freely available as a public service. Parties to microfinance transactions are encouraged to submit their deals to this effort. The following deals were collected for April 2009:
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Development Finance Institutions Part 3: The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Invests Over USD 160 million in Microfinance in Last Two Years
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), founded by the Dutch government in 1970 to support the private sector in developing countries, invests in microfinance as a way to stimulate sustainable economic growth. Between January 2007 and March 2009, FMO has invested at least USD 160 million in microfinance services around the world.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CreSud SpA Invests $900K in Comixmul of Honduras, UMF Arariwa of Peru, and Proempresa Edpyme of Peru
CreSud SpA, a socially responsible Italian private investment company, has reported three microfinance investments in the past three months to the CGAP Microfinance Dealbook, a monthly report on microfinance capital market transactions. In February 2009, CreSud SpA granted a loan of USD 250,000 to Comixmul of Honduras. In March 2009, CreSud SpA loaned USD 250,000 to Unidad Microfinanza Arariwa (UMF Arariwa) of Peru. In April 2009, CreSud SpA closed an equity investment of USD 400,000 in Proempresa Edpyme of Peru. CreSud SpA invests in companies with a minimum portfolio of USD 500,000 and three years of operational history. As of 2006, 88 percent of CreSud SpA’s investments were in Latin America and the Caribbean.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Investments in Microfinance 2009: Conference on Surviving the Liquidity Crisis and Ensuring Sustainable Growth to be held in London, United Kingdom from July 7-8, 2009
Investments in Microfinance 2009: Surviving the Liquidity Crisis and Ensuring Sustainable Growth
July 7-8, 2009, London, United Kingdom
HansonWade Ltd., a London based research firm will host Investment in Microfinance 2009, a two-day conference event in London on the 7th and 8th of July, 2009. The event is focused specifically on the theme ‘Surviving the Liquidity Crisis and Ensuring Sustainable Growth’ and will explore how key microfinance institutions (MFIs) and funds are changing their strategies to ensure survival amidst the financial crisis. Participants at the event include institutional investors, portfolio managers, equity investors, consultants, asset managers, philanthropic investors and socially responsible investors. Key organizations participating in this event include the Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, CitiGroup, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, SKS Microfinance, Blue Orchard, IFC, KFW and Women’s World Banking among others. The event will be held at the Hilton Easton Hotel in London.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) Becomes First Kenyan MFI to Take Deposits
Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) has achieved what it calls a “major milestone” as it became the first microfinance institution (MFI) to gain permission by the Central Bank to accept customer deposits under the Microfinance Act 2006. The Act provides for protection of customers’ deposits to a maximum of Sh 100 thousand (USD 1.2 thousand), as is the case with commercial banks. MicroCapital has followed KWFT since 2005 and covered its transformation into a deposit-taking MFI. MicroCapital also recently covered the details of the Microfinance Act 2006, discussed here.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Thirty-Five Organizations Sign Client Protection Principles to Ensure Fair Treatment and Financial Protection of Low-Income Microfinance Clients
In late October, 35 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and investment funds signed the Client Protection Principles (CPP), a list of pro-consumer principles and mandates that aims to become an industry-wide standard for ensuring the fair treatment and financial protection of low-income microfinance clients. The CPP are part of a larger campaign launched in September of 2008 at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a conglomeration of governments and public and private organizations dedicated to sustainable development, with the goal of incorporating at least half of the world’s 500 largest MFIs within the next three years. According to Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), there is little evidence of client abuse in the microfinance sector.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Institution ACCION International Launches New Hub in Africa
ACCION International, a microfinance organization founded in 1961, launched a new hub office and training center in Accra, Ghana, with the aim to expand financial services for Africa’s poorest populations. The new center will offer support to East and West African microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the form of education and training to increase capacity. According to the press release, ACCION’s goals are to train 3,000 microfinance practitioners in such disciplines as business planning, risk management, lending and governance; all through its training center network.