Event Name: Exchange on the Future of Banking
Event Date: September 28 – September 30, 2014
Event Location: On September 28, the event will be hosted at the SS Rotterdam hotel, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; on September 29, the proceedings will be hosted at Cruise Terminal Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and on September 30, the event takes place at LP2, Las Palmas, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Germany-based fund that invests in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in Southeast Europe, has loaned EUR 15 million (USD 19.9 million) to Yapi Kredi Leasing, a Turkey-based subsidiary of Turkey’s Yapi Kredi Bank, with the aim of expanding Yapi Kredi’s “sustainable long-term energy efficient equipment financing.”
Astana-based “KazAgro” National Management Holding Joint Stock Company (“KazAgro”), the state-owned agency responsible for the implementation of national policy on agribusiness development in the Republic of Kazakhstan, reportedly has announced that it plans to sell 45 subsidiaries within the second phase of the ongoing privatization process in the country.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, and the central bank of Tajikistan have been collaborating to launch a regulatory framework with the aim of utilizing technology and retail infrastructure to help banks and other organizations offer financial services outside of bank branches in the country.
InfrasoftTech, a financial software firm that was founded in 1995 and is based in Mumbai, India, reportedly has announced that the microfinance department of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides education, health care, social services has adopted InfrasoftTech’s OMNIEnterprise Microfinance Solution, a banking software system across its operations in: Gaza, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank.
The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), a Germany-based fund providing loans in the Middle East and North Africa, has agreed to loan EUR 7 million (USD 9.4 million) to Tunisie Leasing, a Tunisian leasing company that focuses on serving MSMEs in Tunisia and Algeria.
Fawry, an Egyptian electronic payment company, reportedly has partnered with the Egyptian government with the aim of improving financial inclusion and expanding payment options to an increased proportion of the country’s population through digital communication channels.
AccessBank Azerbaijan, a microfinance bank (MFB) in Azerbaijan, has borrowed USD 15 million from the Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a European public-private partnership that focuses on improving energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy sources in Southeastern Europe, with the aim of increasing AccessBank’s financing of energy-efficient projects.
Qalaa Holdings, an Egypt-based private equity firm previously named Citadel Capital, reportedly has finalized an EGP 15 million (USD 2.1 million) increase in its equity holding in Tanmeyah, an Egypt-based provider of loans and microinsurance that focuses on low-income individuals and micro- and small enterprises (MSEs).
The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) has announced the launch of a business development project in Ukraine with the aim of supporting the country’s agricultural sector.
“The Microfinance Sector in Morocco: Investment Opportunities After the Crisis,” published as part of the Insight series by MicroFinanza Rating, May 2014, 4 pages, available at http://www.microfinanzarating.com/images/Insight_Morocco_March_2014.pdf
Performed by Italy’s MicroFinanza Rating in May 2014, this “country screening” analyzes the political, economic and legal frameworks in which microfinance institutions (MFIs) function in Morocco.
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].
The government of Egypt reportedly has approved a new law that will expand informal businesses’ access to loans of up to EGP 100,000 (USD 13,985) by enabling non-bank microfinance institutions (MFIs) to enter the formal microfinance sector, which had been restricted to banks and NGOs.
The European Investment Fund (EIF), a provider of finance to lenders to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and Libra Internet Bank, a Romania-based bank that conducts the majority of its business online, have signed a guarantee agreement to help Libra lend RON 30 million (USD 9.26 million) to 400 microbusinesses in Romania.
The Senate and Parliament of Kazakhstan reportedly have approved a law to expand government oversight of financial services and prohibit the use of anonymous bank accounts.
Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently borrowed EUR 3 million (USD 4.1 million) under a senior loan agreement from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle organization promoting economic development.
Partner Microcredit Foundation (PMCF), a microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently borrowed EUR 4 million (USD 5.48 million) under a senior credit agreement from Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF), a Luxembourg-based organization focusing on the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency.