by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Anne Contreras and Christoph Pausch of e-MFP on European Microfinance Week, Sustainable Growth, Serving Clients in Zones Affected by Boko Haram

MicroCapital: Would you please discuss this year’s focus on sustainable development?

Anne Contreras: Given the recent adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this issue is particularly relevant. The plenary on “Sustainable Development Goals and financial inclusion” will address the topic directly. Breakout sessions will also cover related topics: How can we implement clean cooking options to decrease mortality and mitigate air pollution? How can practitioners bundle finance and training to serve farmers? What can networks do in these areas?

by Caroline Zhu -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFMR Holdings Raises $25m from Accion, LeapFrog, Lok Capital to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in India

IFMR Holdings, an arm of Indian nonprofit IFMR Trust, recently raised USD 25 million from Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization; LeapFrog Investments, a for-profit private equity fund based in Mauritius; and Lok Capital, an India-based microfinance investment vehicle.

by Victor Mugo -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Disburses $15m in Local Currency to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Primarily in Rural Areas 

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently announced that it will disburse a syndicated loan in local currency equivalent to USD 15 million to FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan, a subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) International.

by Meredith Steih -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s FINCA Microfinance Bank, Bharti Airtel to Provide Mobile Banking Services

FINCA Microfinance Bank (formerly FINCA Tanzania), an affiliate of nonprofit microfinance network FINCA International, has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company, aiming to provide mobile banking microfinance services to FINCA’s clients in Tanzania.

by Meredith Steih -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Tanzania Converts from Microfinance Institution (MFI) to Commercial Bank; Accepts Deposits

The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Tanzania, an affiliate of the US-based microfinance network FINCA International, has converted into a commercial bank that will be able to accept deposits from the public using the name FINCA Microfinance Bank.

by Arpita Sarkar -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to Loan $7m to FINCA Georgia for On-lending to Micro- and Small Enterprises

FINCA Bank Georgia (FINCA Georgia), the Georgia-based subsidiary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit microfinance organization, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Greece-based international financial institution Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), to receive a loan of USD 7 million.

by Arpita Sarkar -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgium’s Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund Exits from MFIs in India, Mexico

During the year ending December 2014, the Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund (Impulse Fund), which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), sold its equity stakes in India-based Grameen Koota and the Mexican operations of El Salvador-based Apoyo Integral Inversiones, according to a recent announcement by Incofin.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Lends $5.4m to Microfinance Institution Mikrofin of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, recently signed a senior loan agreement through which it will disburse EUR 5 million (USD 5.4 million) to Mikrofin, a Bosnia and Herzegovina-based microfinance institution.

by Mathew Cerf -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $9m – Part in Local Currency – to FINCA, AccessBank for MSMEs in Tajikistan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral financial institution that operates in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, has expanded its support for on-lending for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tajikistan with multi-currency loans to FINCA Tajikistan (FINCA TJK) and AccessBank Tajikistan (AccessBank) in amounts equivalent to USD 4 million and USD 5 million, respectively.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AccessHolding Enters Latin America Acquiring 93% Equity Stake in Accion Microfinancas of Brazil

Access Microfinance Holding AG (AccessHolding), a German company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently announced that it has acquired 93 percent of the equity in Accion Microfinancas SCMEPP SA, a Brazilian MFI that operates as a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Accion.

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TBC Bank to Acquire ProCredit Bank Georgia’s Microcredit Portfolio

TBC Bank, a commercial bank that was founded in 1992 in Georgia as the Tblisi Business Centre, reportedly will acquire the microcredit portfolio of ProCredit Bank Georgia (PCBG), a financial institution that is majority-owned by Germany-based ProCredit Holding. As of January 2015, PCBG’s gross microloan portfolio amounted to GEL 39.3 million (USD 19.2 million). These loans, defined as those smaller than EUR 10,000 (USD 11,300), represent 5 percent of PCBG’s total loan portfolio. The purpose of the move is to allow PCBG to concentrate on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [1].

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dutch Pension Fund PGB to Invest $22.6m in Actiam Institutional Microfinance Fund III

Persoonsgebonden Budget (PGB), the pension fund for the Dutch printing industry and formerly SNS Asset Management, will invest EUR 20 million (USD 22.6 million) to Actiam Institutional Microfinance Fund III, which is managed by Actiam Impact Investing. An arm of asset manager Actiam, Actiam Impact Investing provides debt and subdebt funding to microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1] [2]. 

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Invests in Tunisia’s Enda Inter-Arabe, Uganda’s Entrepreneur Financial Centre

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of unspecified sizes to Enda Inter-Arabe, a Tunisian financial services provider that is part of Senegal-based non-governmental organization Enda Third-World, and Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Uganda, a microfinance institution that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). 

by Julia Marín -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Syndicates $30m Loan to Microfinance Institution FINCA Azerbaijan Including $15m From Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB)

FINCA Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) recently received a multi-currency, syndicated loan worth USD 30 million from the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, with the participation of Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of the Austrian government. Each institution will invest the equivalent of USD 15 million, and additional commitments totalling USD 10 million are expected from various international commercial investors and asset managers. The loan facility has a term of five years and the equivalent of USD 15 million of the principal is denominated in local currency [1]. 

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Launches Microfinance Operations in Owerri, Nigeria

The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has formally launched the operations of FINCA Microfinance Bank (FINCA MfB) in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria, following the issuance of its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 30, 2014.

by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $4.2m to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing for On-lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently announced that it is disbursing a senior loan of EUR 3.4 million (USD 4.17 million) to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing, a subsidiary of ACBA, for on-lending to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Suisse to Fund Opportunity International’s “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” in Africa, Asia, Latin America

Credit Suisse, a Swiss global financial services company with operations in 50 countries, has agreed to donate an undisclosed sum to Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance in 22 countries, to launch a three-year program entitled “Empowering Generational Change Through Education” that focuses on lending for education initiatives.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Sells 14.5% Equity Stake in K-rep Bank of Kenya to Existing Shareholders Centum Investment, K-rep Group

The Triodos Sustainable Finance Foundation, a unit of the Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently sold its entire 14.5-percent equity stake in K-rep Bank of Kenya, a commercial bank founded in 1999 that provides services to low-income people.