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.
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PRESS RELEASE: ACCION Investment in Tanzania’s Akiba Commercial Bank to Expand Microfinance Services
Source: ACCION International.
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.
NEWS WIRE: Peru: Microfinance Leader MiBanco Rumored to be Planning IPO on Lima Stock Exchange This Year
Source: Hoovers.
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: 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 SPECIAL FEATURE: 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks, Part 3 of 3
December 10, MicroCapital.org featured Part 2 of a series on 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks. Previously, detailed information was provided on institutions with less than USD 100 million in assets. Here, in Part 3, we provide detailed financial and outreach information on microbanks with total assets greater than USD 100 million and less than USD 200 million. The institutions are presented in ascending order based on asset size.
MICROCAPITAL SPECIAL FEATURE: 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks, Part 2 of 3
On December 5, MicroCapital.org featured Part 1 of a series on 2007 Equity Investments in Small and Medium Sized Microbanks. Here, in Part 2, we provide detailed financial and outreach information on microbank’s with total assets under USD 100 million. The institutions are presented in ascending order based on asset size.
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.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund Lends USD 750,000 to Microfinance Institution (MFI) Pro Mujer Bolivia
Here is another story coming courtesy of the Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse. Global Partnerships, a US-based investment firm devoted to microfinance, has struck an investment deal with microfinance institution (MFI) Pro Mujer Bolivia. The deal consists of a USD 750,000 loan from Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund 2006 to the Bolivian MFI (see “Investments”).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Pro Mujer Executive Director Carmen Velasco Discusses Microfinance at the White House Conference on the Americas
Pro Mujer, meaning “Pro Woman” in Spanish, is a Latin American development organization that facilitates the growth of sustainable microfinance institutions. Founded in Bolivia in 1990, it now also operates in Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. Pro Mujer’s most recent combined financial statement, published in 2006, revealed assets in excess of USD 25 million and a loan portfolio over USD 19 million. With an estimated client base of over 200,000, Pro Mujer helps thousands of poor, uneducated women to escape poverty by encouraging entrepreneurial pursuits through financial services and training.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Women’s World Banking (WWB) and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netheralands to Hold Major Conference on Banking Innovation for Microfinance
A two day conference on banking innovation will be held June 18-19 at
According to a press release on the event, the conference will gather together 75 banking executives and microfinance experts from around the world and will be opened by Mercedes Canalda, Chairperson of Women’s World Banking, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President of Women’s World Banking and Marilou Van Golstein Brouwers, Managing Director of Triodos International Investments, based in the Netherlands.