The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, provides investments and advisory services to build the private sector in developing countries. It made the following microfinance investment deals in March and April 2009 of USD 51m and EURO 7m.
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MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Microfinance Investment Deals from January to April 2009 in Latin American and the Caribbean
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, is one of the top five investors in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IFC contributed 11 percent of total LAC funding according to a 2008 survey. Development Finance Investors (DFIs) such as the IFC are government owned bilateral or multilateral development agencies with investments in microfinance. The IFC makes direct and indirect investments and also has an advisory arm. Direct investments may establish microfinance institutions (MFIs) and indirect investments are in microfinance investment vehicles such as private investment funds. In their advisory role the IFC provides training and technical support, partners with organizations such as the World Bank and the Consultative Group to the Poor (CGAP) and supports innovative technology.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Investing USD 15m in Azerbaijan’s AccessBank to Expand Microfinance Services
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced that it will be investing up to USD 15 million in Azerbaijan’s AccessBank. AccessBank provides financial services to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) within Azerbaijan. Its mission is to be the leading provider of credit to MSE’s. The IFC, a member of the World Bank, will provide this long term loan to reach underserved regions of the country and provide micro and small businesses with access to credit.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indonesian Wholesale Microfinance Bank Andara is Officially Launched after $5m Investment from Mercy Corps, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF), and CORDAID
Bank Sri Partha, a local commercial bank based in Bali, was officially transformed into Bank Andara, an Indonesian microfinance wholesale bank, after raising USD 5 million in capital from social investors. Bank Andara will operate as a “bank of banks,” with a focus on assisting microfinance institutions such as cooperatives, rural banks, and rural credit agencies.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Invests USD 4 million into Kyrgyz Microfinance Institution Bai Tushum
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced that it is investing USD 4 million into Kyrgyz microfinance institution Bai Tushum. The investment will help the company provide loans to about 10,000 microenterprises, private entrepreneurs, and farmers in remote areas of Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz Republic joined the IFC in 1993 and the IFC has since committed almost USD 75 million to the country, including USD 5 million in advisory services focused on microfinance, housing finance, corporate governance, and business environment.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) To Lend USD 450 Million and Increase Its Support of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, plans to lend USD 450 million to Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador over a 12-month period through to June 2009; however, in light of the global financial crisis that that amount may increase. The IFC is also increasing its support of microfinance institutions (MFIs) because they have been deemed an efficient way to lift people from poverty.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides Loan worth EUR 7 million to Microcredit Foundation EKI (MCF EKI) to Expand Financial Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, is providing a loan worth EUR 7 million to the Microcredit Foundation EKI (MCF EKI), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). According to a press release on the IFC website, this loan is issued to enable MCF EKI to expand its outreach to micro-entrepreneurs in the rural areas of the BiH region and will be used in part to finance micro-entrepreneurs and the rest to finance home-improvement projects in several of the region’s war ravaged areas. In this regard, EKI’s micro-lending program, which targets micro and small enterprises in the region, aims to utilize IFC’s support to disburse 4,200 new loans to microentrepreuners by the end of 2011. Under its Housing Refurbishment Loan Program, EKI will use up to EUR 1 million of IFC’s loan to provide loans for repair and improvement of several houses in the BiH region that were badly damaged by the Bosnian Civil War that took place between 1992 and 1995.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Acquires 16.5% Stake in Peruvian MicroInsurer Protecta
International Finance Corporation (IFC) acquired a 16.5% stake in Peruvian life insurer Protecta, a microinsurance company. In February 2009, Protecta sold 3.17 million new shares to IFC at one sol each for a total of PEN 3.17 million (USD $1million). IFC stated in its official press release that the deal was made in order to help expand Protecta’s capital base and extend its insurance services to lower-income households and smaller businesses.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), & VenturEast Micro Equity Managers Private Limited (VMEM) to Launch 5 Million USD Micro Venture Capital Fund For Young Entrepreneurs
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has joined forces with Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), an organization that focuses on “mentoring” as a technique to help young entrepreneurs in India, and venture capital firm VenturEast Micro Equity Managers Private Limited (VMEM) to set up a fund that will provide financing to young Indian business persons with growth potential but limited resources. It will target in particular India’s disadvantaged entrepreneurs between 18-35 years, who are considered too high risk for debt financing and thus require equity injections.
PRESS RELEASE: KfW Entwicklungsbank and IFC launch cross-border fund to boost lending to microenterpreneurs in developing and transition countries
Source: kFW
NEWS WIRE: Jordan: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Help Jordan Introduce Credit Bureau Legislation, Support Smaller Businesses
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides $2.1m to Corporacion Mundial de la Mujer de Medellin (WWB Medellin)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will provide up to COP 4 billion, approximately USD 2.1 million, to Colombia’s Corporacion Mundial de la Mujer de Medellin (WWB-Medellin) in order to support the bank’s expansion. This financing follows another loan of up to USD 2.1 million that IFC committed earlier this year to WWB Medellin.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Kenya’s K-Rep Bank Records Loss in Profits, Receives New Capital from IFC, African Development Bank, Shorecap International, Triodos, FMO, K-Rep Group
K-Rep Bank CEO Kimanthi Mutua attributed a recorded loss in profit totalling Sh 209 million (USD 2.6 million) to post-election violence and massive investment in the bank’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The Daily Nation reported that Kenya’s K-Rep Bank reported a loss in profit according to an unaudited financial report ending September 30, 2008. The majority of K-Rep clients are low-income entrepreneurs located in neighbourhoods that were badly affected by the post-election violence. Shareholders have injected an additional Sh 1 billion (USD 12.7 million), which will be used to diversify and create new products to increase the bank’s market share and further develop ICT infrastructure, such as Temenos 24. In September 2007 K-Rep Bank reported profits of Sh146 million (USD 1.86 million).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: IFC Explores Investment Opportunities in Southern Sudan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced in a press release that it will explore emerging microfinance investment opportunities in Southern Sudan. Jean Philippe Prosper, the IFC Director for Southern and Eastern Africa recently visited Southern Sudan and reported that, “More stable conditions on the ground and an improved business environment have created the right conditions for IFC and other investors to consider new investments in Southern Sudan”. An investment climate team from IFC and FIAS, a multidonor investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group, has been providing assistance to Southern Sudan since 2006.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Cambodian Microfinance and AMK to Receive Support from IFC
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has pledged to increase support for microfinance in Cambodia by an unspecified amount. In a press release by the IFC, it was reported that the IFC has pledged to double its global support for microfinance to USD 1.2 billion over the next three years, and while it specifically pledged increased support to Cambodian microfinance, this amount was not reported. The IFC has reported on its website that it expects to raise its annual investments in the country to more than USD 50 million by 2010, however it is not specified how much of this would be dedicated to supporting microfinance. These annual investments would be an increase from its current average of USD 20 million.
NEWS WIRE: Chile: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Unveils $2b Aid Plan, Could Mobilize $2b More Regional
Source: Business News America.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Signs Agreement with First MicroFinanceBank Afghanistan (FMFB), Part of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), to Strengthen Capacity to Introduce Housing Microfinance
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement, for an undisclosed amount, with First MicroFinanceBank Afghanistan (FMFB), part of the Aga Khan Agency of Microfinance, a unit of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to strengthen the bank’s capacity to introduce a product line that will address the housing needs of low- and middle-income Afghans. First MicroFinanceBank Afghanistan, established in 2003, was the first licensed microfinance bank in Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban regime. The company had USD 27.2 million in loans outstanding in 2007.