Global Partnerships, a US-based nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America, recently announced that it has closed Social Investment Fund 2010 (SIF 2010), its fourth social investment fund, at USD 20 million.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Labels IPO of Indian Microfinance Institution SKS “A Critical Transition”
A paper recently published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) discusses how initial public offerings (IPOs) can shape the microfinance industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Study: Microfinance Lending in Latin America and the Caribbean Increased by 13 Percent in 2009
According to a survey conducted by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), an investment fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), loan portfolios of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 13 percent in 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Announces New Commitments; Brazilian Sitawi to Start Microcredit Fund, Lumni to Provide Student Loans
On September 23, 2010, Sitawi, a Brazilian social enterprise fund, and Lumni, a fund that helps students finance their education, announced new commitments at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a forum on international development founded in 2005 by former US President Bill Clinton.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CAF (Andean Development Corporation) Implements $5m Local-Currency Financing Program for MSME Sector in Bolivia
CAF (Andean Development Corporation) recently announced the implementation of a local-currency financing program in the amount of BOB 35 million (USD 5 million) for the micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector in Bolivia, provided from CAF to support microfinance institutions with medium-term (up to three years) loans in local currency.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to Provide $5m Partial Credit Guarantee to Mexican Microfinance Institution Agrofinanzas for Supply Chain Financing
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution serving Latin America and the Caribbean, will be providing a partial credit guarantee of up to USD 5 million to Agrofinanzas, a Mexican microfinance institution focused on supply chain financing, to support small Mexican sunflower producers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus CEO Joseph Grenny Answers Questions Regarding Change in Strategy, Use of SKS Microfinance Initial Public Offering Proceeds
Mr Joseph Grenny, CEO of Unitus Inc., a US-based international nonprofit organization, recently responded to concerns regarding its announcement that it will be discontinuing its microcredit operations and regarding the use of its proceeds from the initial public offering of SKS Microfinance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Consultant, Adam Sorensen, Questions Unitus’ Decision to Cease Microfinance-Related Activities
Microfinance consultant and Seattle native, Adam Sorensen, recently commented on the closure of the nonprofit organization Unitus, which is based in the US city of Seattle. As MicroCapital reported on July 8, 2010, Unitus has recently announced that it will discontinue its microfinance-related activities and will direct its remaining assets to ‘new early-stage, poverty-focused philanthropic activities.’ Mr Sorensen recently commented in the Seattle Times Newspaper about the closure of Unitus’ offices. He argues that Unitus represented a different kind of nonprofit in the microfinance industry, one that advocated for commercial capital. He notes that in 2009 roughly 50 percent of total funding for the microfinance industry came from donors and investors. Given Unitus’ preference for commercial capital, Mr Sorensen asserts that it “promised better results by bringing commercial discipline and business practices cultivated by the leading companies that it often recruited [staff] from.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mexican Microfinance Institution (MFI) Banco Compartamos Releases Non-Audited Financial Results for Second Quarter 2010 Reporting Significant Growth
Mexican microfinance institution (MFI), Banco Compartamos, has announced its non-audited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 (2Q10). All figures were reportedly prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) and are expressed in nominal pesos.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus Equity Fund Investment in SKS Microfinance Valued at $60m, Partial Exit Expected This Week
Unitus Equity Fund, a privately-funded microfinance investment fund affiliated with Unitus Inc., a United States-based nonprofit, is reportedly expected to reduce its shareholdings in SKS Microfinance this week by selling approximately 1 million shares during SKS Microfinance’s initial public offering (IPO), which has been covered by MicroCapital several times since March 29, 2010.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: A Business to Call Her Own: Identifying, Analyzing and Overcoming Constraints to Women’s Small Businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, by Jennifer Powers and Barbara Magnoni, Published by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
By Jennifer Powers and Barbara Magnoni of EA Consultants, Published by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), April 2010, 100 pages, available at: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getDocument.aspx?DOCNUM=35282406
The authors of this study focused on the differences between male and female entrepreneurs in six countries in Latin America: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund and Mikrofinanz-Fonds Provide Loans Totaling $5.1m to Pro Mujer Bolivia, Coffee Central Agricultural Cooperatives COCLA LTDA (COCLA) of Peru and Asociacion Union de Cafetaleros Ecologicos (Unicafec) of Peru
The responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund and the responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds, microfinance investment vehicles founded by responsAbility Social Investments AG, recently reported to MicroCapital that they have provided debt financing to the Bolivian arm of Pro Mujer, a microfinance institution supporting poor women in Latin America; Coffee Central Agricultural Cooperatives COCLA LTDA (COCLA), a Peruvian coffee cooperative; and Asociacion Union de Cafetaleros Ecologicos (Unicafec), a Peruvian coffee producers association.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unitus to Discontinue Microfinance-Related Activities to Focus on Other Poverty Alleviation Strategies, Will Release 40 Staff Members in India, Kenya, United States
Unitus, an international nonprofit organization that provides funding and consulting services to microfinance institutions, has recently announced that it will be discontinuing its microfinance-related activities and will direct its remaining assets to “new early-stage, poverty-focused philanthropic activities” [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) Releases Nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at Leadership Summit in Toronto, Canada
The Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG), a division of the G20 – a group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors that discuss key issues in the global economy – released nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at the recent G20 leadership summit in Toronto. The principles are intended to form the basis of a concrete action plan for improving access to financial services for the poor, which will be released at the Seoul Summit in November.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mimoza Enterprises Finance (Mimo) Receives $1.5m Loan from Unitus Incorporated, US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Citi Microfinance
Mimoza Enterprises Finance (Mimo), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) with a gross loan portfolio of USD 5.1 million, has received a loan of USD 1.5 million from Unitus Incorporated, an international nonprofit organization that provides funding and consulting services to microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pro Mujer Wins Second Annual Morgan Stanley Social Enterprise Strategy Challenge
Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm based in the US, has declared Pro Mujer, a women’s development and microfinance organization that works in Latin America but is headquartered in New York City, as the winner of the second annual Morgan Stanley Social Enterprise Strategy Challenge. The challenge involved 12 New York City-based nonprofits working with teams of Morgan Stanley employees over the course of eight weeks.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Second Annual Unitus-Hewitt Compensation And Benefits Survey of Indian Microfinance Institutions Demonstrates Salary Stability
The Unitus-Hewitt Compensation And Benefits Survey, released in early June, has demonstrated stability in the microfinance industry during the 2009 economic crisis. The study examined cash and non-cash benefits at 15 microfinance institutions (MFIs) representing 10 million clients across India. The study was jointly executed by Unitus Inc., an international nonprofit providing funding and consulting services to MFIs, and Hewitt Associates, an international human resources consulting firm.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Finance Invests $6.5m in Latin American Microfinance Institutions
BlueOrchard Finance, a Swiss asset management company, recently invested USD 6.5 million from its Dexia MicroCredit Fund (DMCF) in three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Forjadores of Mexico, Women’s World Banking (WWB) Popayan of Colombia and D-Miro of Ecuador.