Moroccan microfinance institution (MFI) FONDEP is to receive a loan of MAD 100 million (USD 12.5 million) from commercial bank BMCE (Banque marocaine du commerce extérieur) of Morocco, with a USD 3 million guarantee split between Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd, a for-profit venture that provides capacity building and financing to Arab MFIs, and the Grameen Foundation’s Growth Guarantee. It is the largest leveraged commercial transaction for a Moroccan MFI.
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MICROCAPITAL STORY: Société Générale de Banque Jordanie Lends $2.8m to Tamweelcom of Jordan
Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie has announced a loan of JOD 2 million (USD 2.8 million) to microfinance institution (MFI) Tamweelcom of Jordan, backed by a USD 846,000 guarantee from Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd, a for-profit venture that provides capacity building and financing to Arab MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $33m in Dominican Republic’s Centro Financiero BHD, a Provider of Microfinance and Other Financial Services
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will invest USD 33 million in return for a nine percent stake in Centro Financiero BHD, a financial services holding company in the Dominican Republic.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Performance and Transparency: A Survey of Microfinance in South Asia, Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX)
Authored and published by staff members of the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), initiated and funded by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and The World Bank, released January 2006, 100 pages, available at http://microfinancegateway.com/files/31049_file_MIX_South_Asia_Performance_and_Transparency_2_.pdf
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Equity Bank of Kenya to Acquire Microfinance Institution (MFI) Uganda Microfinance in $26.9m Deal
Equity Bank, a leading provider of microfinance services in Kenya, is acquiring Uganda Microfinance Ltd. (UML) in an all-share deal worth KES 1.7 billion, equivalent to USD 26.9 million.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance in Benin Struggling as Microfinance Institution (MFI) PADME Faces Operational Challenges and Government Intervention
Microfinance in the West African nation of Benin is showing signs of struggling after one of the country’s major microfinance institutions (MFIs), facing internal and external turbulence and the threat of government intervention, has lost the confidence of potential investors, according to non-profit ACCION International.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: ING Review of Morgan Stanley, the First Investment Bank Microfinance-Oriented Group, and Prior Deals with Blue Orchard Finance
The Dutch Bank ING published its updated 2008 study on commercial bank microfinance activity, called “A Billion to Gain? The Next Phase”. A MicroCapital summary of the paper can be read here. MicroCapital is reviewing the microfinance activities of several of large international banks covered in the study, such as Morgan Stanley.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: New York Times Reports on Controversial Microfinance Giant Banco Compartamos of Mexico
The New York Times has reported on the ongoing controversy surrounding Banco Compartamos, a for-profit microfinance bank in Mexico whose practices have drawn criticism from many traditional voices in the microfinance field.
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: Standard Chartered Bank Announced as Principal Sponsor of the Global Microfinance Investment Congress
2008 Global Microfinance Investment Congress
May 14-16, 2008, Jumeirah Essex House, New York City, USA
Standard Chartered Bank announced it would be a principal sponsor of the 2008 Global Microfinance Investment Congress. The event is presented by PlaNet Finance in association with American Conference Institute and costs USD 1,495 before March 31, 2008 and USD 1,595 afterwards. Delegates can also attend 1 to 2 workshops for an additional USD 500 or USD 800, respectively.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Citi Foundation Creates USD 11.2mn Program with SEEP Network to Strengthen Trade Associations
The Citi Foundation will work with the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion Network (SEEP) to create the 3-year USD 11.2 million Citi Network Strengthening Program. The program will include 12 major microfinance trade associations and their members.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: KfW Entwicklungsbank, Development Arm of German Bank, Lends $14.7m to Moroccan Microfinance Institution (MFI) Fondation pour le Développement Local et le Partenariat (FONDEP)
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported that KfW Entwicklungsbank, the emerging-economy financing arm of a German banking group, issued a loan of EUR 10 million (USD 14.7 million) to the Fondation pour le Développement Local et le Partenariat (FONDEP), a Morocco-based non-governmental organization (NGO).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Dexia Micro-Credit Fund of Luxembourg Lends $1m to Microfinance Institution CCA, $1m to Microfinance Institution Credo, $5m to BancoSol Bank, $5m to Microfinance Institution FINDESA, $5m to MFBA Bank, $3m to ProCredit Holding, $5m to ProCredit Bank, $1.5m to Microfinance Institution LOKmicro, and $500k to Microfinance Institution AMK
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported that Dexia Micro-Credit Fund, a Luxembourg-based fund, issued loans of USD 1 million to microfinance institution (MFI) CCA of Cameroon, USD 1 million to MFI Credo of Georgia, USD 5 million to Bolivian bank BancoSol, USD 5 million to MFI FINDESA of Nicaragua, USD 5 million to Azerbaijani bank MFBA, USD 3 million to ProCredit Holding, USD 5 million to ProCredit Bank, USD 1.5 million to MFI LOKmicro of Bosnia, and USD 500,000 to MFI AMK of Cambodia.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Does Microfinance Performance Correlate with Other Emerging Markets Investment, Part 3 of a 4-Part Series on the Cracking the Capital Markets III Conference Hosted By ACCION and Credit Suisse
On March 10-11, 2008, ACCION International and Credit Suisse held the third Cracking the Capital Markets conference on microfinance investment. The conference brought together hedge fund managers, institutional and private investors, leading rating agencies, and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to discuss the challenges, successes, and future of microfinance investments. The first and second articles of this series can also be found on the MicroCapital website.
As a follow up to a presentation at last year’s conference, Nicolas Krauss presented an update to an initial study on the correlation of microfinance to other emerging markets investments. In addition, he discussed whether the correlation (or lack there of) position microfinance as an attractive investment for portfolio diversification. Presentations from this panel can be found here.
PAPER WRAP-UP: India Microfinance Review 2007
This review of the Indian microfinance sector is based on an analysis of M-CRIL’s sample of 58 rated microfinance institutions and the MIX’s 37 reporting institutions in 2006. The publication was released in 2007 by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Micro-Credit Ratings International Limited (M-CRIL) as a 74-page document and is currently available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/45957/
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Evaluating Microfinance’s Performance in Turbulent Markets, Part 1 of a 4-Part Series on the Cracking the Capital Markets III Conference Hosted by ACCION and Credit Suisse
From March 10-11, 2008, ACCION International held the third Cracking the Capital Markets conference on microfinance investment. ACCION is a private, non-profit microfinance organization, specializing in global micro-enterprise loans, business training, and other financial services. The conference was co-hosted by Credit Suisse and brought together hedge fund managers, institutional and private investors, leading rating agencies, and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to discuss the challenges, successes, and future of microfinance investments. The second and third articles of this series can be found on MicroCapital’s website.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Lends $1m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) IMON of Tajikistan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development bank focused on European and Asian ex-Communist economies, will provide a USD 1 million loan to IMON, a Tajikistan-based microfinance institution (MFI) – its third such loan thus far.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Al Huda to Conduct Training Workshop in Islamabad on Islamic Microfinance
TRAINING WORKSHOP ON ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE
MARCH 7-8, 2008, STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
The Al Huda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (Al Huda CIBE), an institute based in Lahore and comprised of Pakistani academics and practitioners in the field of Islamic finance, will hold a two-day workshop introducing the basics of Islamic microfinance and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as presenting updated practices in the field. Convening at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in Islamabad, the seminar will cover issues specific to Islam, such as the role of the takaful in microfinance—a form of mutual insurance entailing the pooling of a group’s monies into one common fund which is managed according to shariah law—as well as the interest-free loaning mechanism known as musharaka which is the joint participation of the investor and borrower in the profit and loss of an investment rather than a conventional loan with a risk-determined interest rate. The workshop will also delve into the SBP’s plans for the future development of Islamic finance in Pakistan as well as outreach and development associated with Islamic SMEs and microfinance. The SBP issued new guidelines for Islamic microfinance services within Pakistan in late 2007, as reported by MicroCapital.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Vision International (WVI) Announces 48.8 Percent Growth in Microfinance Clientèle of the Middle East and Eastern Europe Region (MEER)
Fiscal year 2007 saw growth in the Middle East/Eastern Europe Region (MEER) according to World Vision International’s (WVI) local office based in Cyprus. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) grew their clientele to over 100,000, a 48.8 percent increase, with most of the growth coming from Eastern Europe. The total MEER portfolio grew to USD 203 million in 2007. Previous MEER portfolio figures were unavailable.