Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund that focuses on microfinance and other social businesses in India, reportedly is seeking to raise USD 100 million for a new fund that will focus on financial inclusion as its key priority, with agriculture and energy as secondary areas of interest [1].
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) Raises $25m via German Bank Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS)
Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS), a German bank that focuses on investing in social and ecological projects, has received USD 25 million from unspecified private investors to contribute to the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a Luxembourg-based fund that aims to support the growth of microfinance institutions active in the trade, service and agriculture sectors in developing countries by providing them with refinancing liquidity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Funds Advisory Services for Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based financial institution that operates in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, recently began funding advisory services to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $15m to Eskhata Bank of Tajikistan to Fund Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has announced that it will loan the equivalent of USD 15 million to Eskhata Bank, a commercial bank in Tajikistan.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha, D.S.K. Rao; published by Microcredit Summit Campaign, Freedom from Hunger
“Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward;” by Somen Saha and D.S.K. Rao; published by the Microcredit Summit Campaign and Freedom from Hunger; 2014; 36 pages; available at http://microcreditsummit.org/uploads/resource/document/ffh_indiareport_2014_web_58274.pdf
This paper builds on a report entitled “Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: Harnessing the Strengths of Two Sectors to Improve Health and Alleviate Poverty”, which was written in 2012 by a group of authors that includes those who wrote “Volume Two.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Philippines-Based Metrobank Foundation to Expand Microfinance, Metrobank Group Donates $456k for Development Projects
The Metrobank Foundation, an arm of Philippine financial conglomerate Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank Group) recently announced that it plans to expand its microfinance project that is focused on Filipino citizens who work overseas, with particular attention to domestic workers based in Singapore and Hong Kong.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Bellwether Microfinance Fund Exit Janalakshmi Financial Services of India
Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund; the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a US-based philanthropic organization that seeks to improve the lives of poor urban residents in India, South Africa and the US; and the Bellwether Microfinance Fund, an Indian investor of equity and in start-up and medium-sized businesses, reportedly have exited their private equity investments in Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), a Bangalore-based microfinance institution (MFI).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Suryoday Micro Finance of India Raises $4.5m in Equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Aavishkaar Goodwell, Lok Capital
Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently received an equity infusion totalling INR 270 million (USD 4.5 million) from three investors: INR 150 million (USD 2.5 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and INR 62 million (USD 1 million) each from Aavishkaar Goodwell, a for-profit Indian-Dutch joint venture promoting economic development, and Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture fund focused on microfinance and other social businesses in India [1] [2].
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION WRAP-UP: “FinDev Azerbaijan: Retaining Key Staff Through a ‘Pay for Performance’ Culture;” by Sevda Huseynova, Jalal Aliyev, Kinga Dabrowska; published by Microfinance Centre
“FinDev Azerbaijan: Retaining Key Staff Through a ‘Pay for Performance’ Culture;” by Sevda Huseynova, Jalal Aliyev and Kinga Dabrowska; published by the Microfinance Centre; March 2014; 7 pages; available at http://www.mfc.org.pl/sites/mfc.org.pl/files/FinDev_SP_Fund_ENG.pdf
The authors of this paper describe Finance for Development Limited Liability Company (LLC) (FinDev), an Azerbaijan-based institution that offers economic opportunities for poor people, particularly the evolution of its “staff performance appraisal system and salary compensation scheme.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA International Raises $30m in Debt in Nine Local Currencies to Support Financial Inclusion of Microentrepreneuers
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has announced that it has raised debt funding equivalent to USD 30 million in nine local currencies to support the financial inclusion of low-income microentrepreneurs through its Local Currency Microfinance Note III [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $12m to Araratbank of Armenia to Support Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, has announced that it is loaning USD 12 million to Araratbank Open Joint Stock Corporation (OJSC), an Armenian bank that provides financial services to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ANZ Royal Bank, Microfinance Institution (MFI) Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL) to Share Branches, ATMs
ANZ Royal Bank (ANZ), a joint venture between the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ Group) and the Cambodian Royal Group of Companies, and Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI), reportedly have entered into a partnership to offer a wider range of financial service products to the clients of the two institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $18m to Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru to Support Low-Income Entrepreneurs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has announced that it is loaning USD 18 million to Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) that offers microloans and deposit services to low-income entrepreneurs [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenyan Mobile Money Service Providers Finserve Africa, Zioncell, Tangaza Acquire Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Licenses, will Access Airtel’s Wireless Network
The Communications Authority of Kenya, the regulatory body for the country’s telecommunications sector, reportedly has granted mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licenses to three mobile money transfer service providers based in Kenya: Finserve Africa Limited, Zioncell Kenya Limited, and Tangaza Mobile Pay Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Signs Deals with AB Bank Rwanda, IHS Holding of Nigeria, Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda to Expand Microfinance, Telecommunications
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly has signed deals with AB Bank Rwanda (ABR), a microfinance bank (MFB) affiliated with Access Microfinance Holding of Germany; IHS Holding Limited, a mobile services infrastructure company based in Nigeria that operates in five African countries; and Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB), a foreign-owned Rwandan MFB, in an effort to increase access to telecommunications and financial opportunities in Rwanda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG) Launches Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) Label to Certify Investment Vehicles
The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), a nonprofit organization that certifies the operations of investment vehicles that support microfinance and environmental initiatives, recently began offering a third category of fund label for investment funds integrating Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) principles in their investment strategies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Likely to Loan Azeri DemirBank $50m for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs); $5m to Promote Residential, Business Energy Efficiency
The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering issuing a syndicated A/B loan of USD 50 million to provide capital to Azerbaijan-based, “socially oriented” bank DemirBank for “on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)”[1] in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital, Creation Investments Invest Total of $13m in Indian Microfinance Institution Equitas Holdings
Two institutional investors, Lok Capital LLC (Lok Capital), a Mauritius-based investment vehicle, and Creation Investments Capital Management Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) (Creation Investments), a US-based alternative investment management company, reportedly have invested a cumulative sum of INR 800 million (USD 13.7 million) in Equitas Holdings Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI).