Bandhan Financial Services, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI) that offers loans for health emergencies and microenterprise, reportedly has raised INR 1.6 billion (USD 26 million) in debt financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the US-based World Bank Group’s private investment arm, and is seeking to raise another INR 1 billion (USD 16 million) from an unnamed Swiss multinational investor.
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MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Inclusix Index of Financial Inclusion in India; Obstacles to Access in Microinsurance; Microfinance in Kenya
“CRISIL Inclusix: An index to measure India’s progress on Financial Inclusion;” published by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL); June 2013; 101 pages; available at http://crisil.com/pdf/corporate/CRISIL-Inclusix.pdf
Based on data from 2009 through 2011, this report gives an overview of the findings of the CRISIL Inclusix index, an analytical tool designed by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL) to measure progress in financial inclusion in India at the national, regional, state and district levels.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance of India Completes $36m Securitization
SKS Microfinance (SKS), a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently completed a securitization deal worth INR 2.23 billion (USD 36 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Court Rules Against Co-Founder of SMILE Microfinance, Leaving Control to US-Based Developing World Markets
An Indian court has denied a petition from Dr N Sethuraman, the co-founder of Semam Microfinance Investment Literacy and Empowerment (SMILE Microfinance), leaving control of the Indian microfinance institution (MFI) unchanged in the hands of Developing World Markets (DWM), a US-based investment company that has owned a stake amounting to approximately two thirds of SMILE since 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India Post, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Partner to Provide Mobile Money Services
The Indian postal department, India Post, reportedly is partnering with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a telecommunications company owned by the Indian government, to provide instant money transfers through cellular phones.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Loans $9.6m to Microfinance Institutions Grameen Koota of India, Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida) of Indonesia
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Dutch Triodos Bank, recently disbursed local currency loans totaling the equivalent of USD 9.6 million to Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (Grameen Koota), a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India, and Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida), an Indonesian microfinance institution (MFI) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) Introduces Kiosk Banking in 3 Rural Indian Villages
The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), a government-owned financial services company, reportedly has installed kiosk banking units in three rural villages in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp Forum to Host “Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014” on Social Enterprise and Investment, April 9 – 11, 2014, Mumbai, India
Event Name: Sankalp Unconvention Summit 2014
Event Date: April 9 – 11, 2014
Event Location: Hotel Renaissance, Mumbai, India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions Trident, Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) May Close Due to Lack of Funds
Trident Microfin Private Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India, reportedly may shut down operations after being denied a loan write-down and additional funding from a forum of 21 lenders in the Indian state Andhra Pradesh.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Loan $150m to Yes Bank of India for On-lending to Women-Owned Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a multilateral development bank and member of the US-based World Bank Group, plans to loan USD 150 million to Yes Bank, a commercial bank based in the Indian city of Mumbai.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Utkarsh Raises $12m in Non-convertible Debentures from UTI International Wealth Creator 4, Microfinance Enhancement Facility, AAV Sarl
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Utkarsh reportedly has raised INR 75.8 crore (USD 12.2 million) through the issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to Mauritius-based Unit Trust of India International Wealth Creator 4, a fund of UTI Asset Management Company of India; the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), an investment vehicle founded by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW); and AAV Sarl, a fund structured by Switzerland’s Symbiotics to deploy investments belonging to that firm’s clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Telecom Tata Docomo to Expand Mobile Money, Payments to Cover 15 Additional Cities in India
Tata Docomo, an India-based telecommunications provider, reportedly has announced plans to expand mRupee, its money transfer and payments service, to 15 additional cities in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kotak Mahindra Bank Launches Financial Inclusion Programme for Amul Milk-Cooperative Members in West Bengal, India
Kotak Mahindra Bank, a private bank in India, has launched a financial inclusion programme in the Indian state of West Bengal that is aimed at members of 75 cooperatives that supply milk to Amul, the brand owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), a federation of 17 district-level cooperative unions with a combined membership of 3.18 million milk producers [1] [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hindustan Co-operative Bank (HCBL) of India Provides Bank Accounts to Beggars
Hindustan Co-operative Bank (HCBL), a bank in India, recently announced that it is providing bank accounts to “beggars” and other poor urban residents such as rickshaw drivers and artisans in order to increase financial inclusion in the country. The bank has opened 160 accounts for beggars in the city of Lucknow since 2013 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Chartered Bank Loans $12m to India’s Bandhan Financial Services for Microenterprise Lending
The Indian unit of UK-based commercial institution Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) recently notified MicroCapital that it has disbursed a loan of INR 750 million (USD 12 million) to Kolkata-based Bandhan Financial Services, which offers loans for microenterprise and health emergencies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab Invests in Kenyan Mobile Money System Kopo Kopo, MeraDoctor of India
US-based nonprofit Accion has announced that its Accion Venture Lab, a USD 10 million investment vehicle that provides seed capital and management support to financial inclusion startups, has invested unspecified amounts of money in two companies: Kopo Kopo, a Kenya-based service that allows small businesses to accept customer payments through mobile phone; and MeraDoctor, which provides low-cost health insurance in India as well as 24-hour access to doctors by telephone that is intended to lessen health impacts by reducing delays in seeking care [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Approves State-Run Savings Scheme for Poor People in West Bengal After Collapse of Saradha Group
The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central banking authority, has approved a savings scheme in the state of West Bengal aiming to provide poor people a safe avenue to save money [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sequoia Capital Sells 1.75% Stake in India’s SKS Microfinance to WestBridge Capital for $4.7m
Sequoia Capital, a US-based venture capital firm, has sold its 1.75-percent stake in SKS Microfinance, an Indian for-profit microfinance institution, to WestBridge Capital, an investment group with offices in India, Mauritius, and the United States.