“Islamic Social Finance Report 2014,” by Thomson Reuters and the Islamic Research and Training Institute, published by Zawya, 2014, 64 pages, available at: http://www.zawya.com/islamic-finance/isfr/
This report examines opportunities and challenges for Islamic social finance in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with the Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, a 110-member network based in Poland, to attempt to improve financial literacy in Azerbaijan.
Raiffeisen Bank International, an Austria-based parent organization of financial service providers in 15 countries, has arranged a syndicated loan of USD 60 million with participation from 16 banks to AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Azerbaijan.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, has loaned RUB 900 million (USD 29 million) to Center-Invest Bank (CIB), a Russian commercial bank, for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in southern Russia.
The Dutch development bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently signed an agreement to loan USD 10 million to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), a commercial bank in Kyrgyzstan.
Manappuram Finance Limited, an India-based non-banking finance company, recently signed an agreement to acquire Milestone Home Finance Company, an organization licensed to provide housing finance in India, from Jaypee Hotels, an India-based hospitality company,
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by the European Union, recently has announced a new partnership agreement with Intesa Leasing Belgrade (ILB) of Serbia, the lease financing arm of Banca Intesa Belgrade, a Serbian commercial bank that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), reportedly has provided a senior loan of USD 15 million to AccessBank, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Azerbaijan.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 3 million (USD 4.1 million) to Komercijalna Banka Banja Luka, a financial institution that is owned by Serbia-based commercial bank Komercijalna Banka Beograd.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a US-based development finance institution and a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 20 million to Attawfiq Micro-Finance, a nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) based in Casablanca, Morocco, for onlending to microenterprises in an effort to further Morocco’s economic development.
Dutch pension insurer Zwitserleven, Dutch railway pension fund Spoorweg Pensioenfonds and Dutch public transport pension fund Pensioenfonds Openbaar Vervoer recently made the initial deposits to a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Finance Fund that has received a total of EUR 100 million (USD 134.5 million) for its first close from these and other undisclosed investors.
Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Limited, a nonprofit Cyprus-based joint venture of the US-based Grameen Foundation and the Saudi Arabia-based nonprofit Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, recently declared that it will loan USD 2 million each to Microfund for Women (MFW), a microfinance provider in Jordan, and Al Majmoua, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization (NGO) that lends to microenterprises.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has disbursed two loans totaling USD 3.4 million in Armenia to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing, the leasing subsidiary of ACBA [1].
“ANDE 2012 Impact Report”; The Aspen Institute; 2013; 39 pages; available at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/ande-2012-impact-report
This document covers aspects of small and growing businesses including the barriers women business owners face in the marketplace.
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of financial service provider Triodos Bank of the Netherlands, recently announced that it has sold the majority of its 13.5% equity stake in TenGer Financial Group, a Mongolia-based microfinance institution, through its Triodos-Doen and Triodos Fair Share Funds [1].
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has loaned EUR 20 million (USD 27.6 million) to Komercijalna banka Beograd, a bank based in Serbia, and EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.4 million) loan to Patria Credit, a non-banking microfinance institution (MFI) in Romania that seeks to provide increased financial access to micro- and small enterprises [1].
The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has made a loan of EUR 792,000 (USD 1,068,000) to Viator, an Azerbaijani MFI.
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, EU-backed microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently agreed to loan EUR 5 million (USD 6.65 million) to Inecobank, an Armenia-based microfinance bank.