by Rohan Trivedi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $13.5m in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) VisionFund Cambodia, Equity Bank of Kenya

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss for-profit company that operates four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments of USD 13.5 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Equity Bank of Kenya and VisionFund Cambodia.

by Rohan Trivedi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Invests $4.3m in Microfinance Institutions Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK); Credo and Crystal, Both of Georgia

responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss for-profit company that operates four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments totalling USD 4.36 million in microfinance institutions (MFIs) Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK), Credo of Georgia and Crystal, also of Georgia.

by Julie Moksim -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Makes Debt Investments Totaling $6m in Microfinance Institutions Credo and Constanta of Georgia and Kompanion of the Kyrgyz Republic

responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it made five debt investments totaling USD 6 million in three microfinance institutions in Central Asia.

by Aiwen Xu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: World Vision’s CREDO Signs Up for PayBox System in Georgia

World Vision Georgia’s microfinance organization, CREDO, has begun employing a new product distributed by the company, PayBox, as a means of collecting loan repayments from its clients. CREDO, which started it’s micro-lending operations in 1997 under the name “Georgia Entrepreneur’s Fund”, was founded by World Vision International and, as of January 2005, it has been owned by VisionFund International, a US-based private company under World Vision International. CREDO reports to the Mix Market with total assets, as of 2008, at USD 29.9 million [1], a grade BBB rating [2] from Microfinanza in 2007 and 21,857 borrowers [3] at the end of 2008. CREDO’s use of this new payment system will allow clients across Georgia to perform various monetary transactions at no charge, in multiple locations.

by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and BP (British Petroleum) to Finance New MFBA (Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan) Branch Offices

World Bank unit IFC (International Finance Corporation) and energy giant BP (British Petroleum) have announced a partnership to assist for-profit microlender MFBA (Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan) in expanding microfinance services to Azerbaijan’s untapped rural regions. IFC’s and BP’s assistance will consist of financial support for the establishment of additional MFBA branch offices in the country’s untapped rural areas. BP’s assistance is provided via its affiliate, nonprofit BP Foundation. Neither BP Foundation nor IFC disclosed a specific amount of financial support.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will Extend a $30m Syndicated Loan to the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) for On-lending to Micro Enterprises

The Board of Directors of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international bank utilizing investment tools to encourage democracy and market economies from central Asia to central Europe since 1991, will discuss an upcoming syndicated loan to the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) on May 12th. The loan will be worth USD 30 million, as reported by the Azeri-Press Agency (APA). The EBRD will finance USD 10 million of the loan and the remaining USD 20 million will be offered to the syndication market on “B loan” terms.

by Ben Barba -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Echosys, Rgreen Raise $93m for Solar Power for SMEs in Africa via Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund

Two French firms, Echosys Invest and Rgreen Invest, recently announced the first close of their Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund with EUR 88 million (USD 93 million) to finance solar power plants for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The fund will focus on Central and West Africa, and it is to include local-currency financing for projects in

by Ben Barba -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WeLight Madagascar Raises $20m from EDFI ElectriFI, EIB, Triodos for Off-Grid Solar Development

WeLight, which operates in Madagascar and Mali, recently raised EUR 19 million (USD 20 million) from the Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) of Belgium-based European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) and three funds managed by Netherlands-based Triodos Investment Management to build solar mini-grids in Madagascar. These commitments complete the fundraising phase of a EUR 28 million (USD 30 million) project to

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 Ariana Malushi -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Rural Impulse Fund II, Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds Acquire Shares of AzerCredit of Azerbaijan

Rural Impulse Fund II, which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, and Triple Jump’s ASN-Novib Microkredietfonds, have acquired equity stakes in AzerCredit, an Azerbaijani microfinance institution (MFI) with a rural focus.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Georgia’s Crystal Receives $2m in Equity from Unnamed Microfinance Investment Vehicle Managed by Developing World Markets

An unnamed microfinance vehicle managed by Developing World Markets (DWM), a US-based asset manager and investment bank, has made an equity investment of USD 2 million in Joint Stock Company Microfinance Organization Crystal (JSC MFO Crystal), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Georgia that aims to reduce poverty by providing financial services to low-income people [1].

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grants $3m to World Vision for ‘Access to Rural Savings in Ethiopia’ Project

World Vision has received a USD 3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help launch its Access to Rural Savings in Ethiopia project.

by Anthony Busch -

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.