Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that its funds have added three Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs) to their portfolios; Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras; Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU) of Ecuador; and Institución Financiera de Desarrollo (IFD) Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Vision Microfinance Subsidiary, VisionFund Cuts Paper Annual Report, Announces Loan Portfolio of $341m in Electronic Formats Including IPhone App
VisionFund, the microfinance subsidiary of US-based Christian relief organization World Vision, has released its 2010 annual review. VisionFund has cut back the size of its paper report in favor of presenting its annual review in multiple mediums such as online and through Apple’s app store for access via iPhone.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru Passes Tax Exemption for Credit Unions, Other Cooperatives
The government of Peru recently passed legislation that recognizes the nonprofit status of credit unions and other cooperatives, exempting their transactions from a sales tax. La Federación Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito del Perú (FENACREP), a Peruvian member of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), has been working with a coalition of local advocacy groups to get the bill passed since its introduction to the legislature in December 2009. (No further information on the sales tax-exemption bill is available at the time this brief was published.) WOCCU is a US-based global trade association of credit unions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance in Cambodia Grows 10%, Described as “Trap”
Mr Simon Marks from the Asia Sentinel, a website based in Hong Kong, recently cited data collected by the Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA), a network of microfinance industry officials in Cambodia, indicating that as of the end of the first quarter of 2011, total loans outstanding from its members amounted to approximately USD 712 million, which represents an increase of nearly 10 percent over the last quarter of 2010 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, Freie Universitat Berlin Accepting Applications for University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme
PlaNet Finance, a French nonprofit, has issued a call for students to submit applications for its third University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Establishes “Flexible Financing Facility” for Countries in Latin America, Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution that operates in Latin America and the Caribbean, has established a “Flexible Financing Facility” (FFF) that will give Latin American and Caribbean countries flexibility in loan terms and conditions as well as allowing the use of hedges to manage interest rate and currency risks associated with loans from IDB [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Planet Rating Recognized as Microfinance Rating Agency by Philippine Central Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency and member of the France-based PlaNet Finance Group, has been recognized by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, as a microfinance institution (MFI) rating agency. This recognition follows the company’s establishment of a regional office in Manila in 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Guarantee, Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) to Launch Index Insurance Platform in West Africa
PlaNet Guarantee, a member of the France-based PlaNet Finance Group, and the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), a program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), have joined to launch a regional platform for index insurance in West Africa. The objective of the project is “to develop agricultural insurance systems in West African countries including Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso” [1]. PlaNet Finance Group reports that this will be done by developing indexes, designing insurance products, providing underwriting, making links between distribution channels and insurers, training farmers and disseminating information to partners [1]. The platform will be based in Senegal with satellite branches in the other two countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Loans $3m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) AccessBank of Tajikistan, LOLC Micro Credit Limited (LOMC) of Sri Lanka
BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based commercial microfinance intermediary BlueOrchard, recently made loans totaling USD 3 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Vehicle BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund Completes First Distribution to Investors of $7.5m
BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund (BOPE Fund), an investment vehicle of Switzerland-based, commercial microfinance intermediary Blue Orchard, has announced its first distribution to investors. The USD 7.5 million distribution comes three years after the fund’s first close and includes proceeds from a partial exit from indirect shareholding in TenGer Financial Group, the single owner of XacBank, a Mongolian community development bank and microfinance institution (MFI). BOPE Fund remains a direct shareholder of TenGer Financial Group which reported total assets of MNT 322 billion (USD 256 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgium’s Incofin Loans $3.5m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Forus Bank of Russia, CIDRE (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Regional) of Bolivia
Incofin Investment Management, a firm based in Belgium, recently made loans totaling the equivalent of USD 3.5 million to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Russia and Bolivia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, Freie Universitat Berlin Invite Students to Apply for University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme
PlaNet Finance, a French nonprofit, is inviting students to submit applications for the University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, Oliver Wyman Publish Report on Mobile Technology Providing Access to Finance Beyond Simple Payments
PlaNet Finance, a France-based non-governmental organization (NGO) with the mission of developing microfinance, and Oliver Wyman, a US-based management consulting company, have published a joint report exploring the ability of mobile technology to provide access to a wide range of financial products beyond simple mobile payments. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based private foundation, the report examines distribution strategies and “second-generation” mobile microfinance products piloted in West Africa and Southeast Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Canada’s Michael O’Brian Foundation Pledges $257,000 to Riskebiz Microfinance Fund
The Michael O’Brian Family Foundation, which is based in Vancouver, Canada, recently pledged CAD 250,000 (USD 257,000) to the Riskebiz Microfinance Fund (Riskebiz), a microfinance investment fund also based in Vancouver [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Explores Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance Through New Blog Series
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank, recently launched a series of entries on its microfinance blog to facilitate discussions on over-indebtedness. The series aims to offer weekly articles posted by experts involved in research and practice.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: PlaNet Finance, Belgian Finance Club Host PlaNet Finance Conferences Brussels 2011, “Microfinance: A Development Tool or a Profit-Making Device?” March 21
Event Name: PlaNet Finance Conference Brussels 2011, “Microfinance: A Development Tool or a Profit-Making Device?”
Event Date: March 21, 2011
Event Location: Brussels Stock Exchange, Belgium
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgian Incofin Loans $1.5m to TenGer Financial Group of Mongolia
Incofin cvso, a Belgian cooperative company that invests in microfinance, recently loaned MNT 41 million (USD 1.5 million) to Tenger Financial Group, a Mongolian Company that controls XacBank LLC, XacLeasing LLC, Horus Nomadic Solutions LLC and TenGer Insurance LLC. Founded in 2001, the group was formed following the merger of Goviin Ehlel (renamed XAC-GE Holding) and X.A.C. (renamed XacBank), two non-bank financial institutions that focus on micro-, small and medium enterprises.
MICROCAPITAL SPECIAL REPORT: “Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance” Launched at Responsible Finance Forum in The Hague, Netherlands
A group of 40 global investors in the microfinance industry, including US retirement planning firm TIAA-CREF and several microfinance investment vehicles (MIV), recently launched a set of guiding principles for investing in the microfinance industry at the Responsible Finance Forum in The Hague, Netherlands. The initiative – titled “Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance” – is reportedly the brainchild of Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, and a core group of Dutch investors, including; Triodos, a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV); Goodwell, a for-profit social investment outfit; Oikocredit, a cooperative investment fund; PGGM, an investment and pension firm; and SNS Asset Management, an institutional investment group. The group and Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima developed the principles together with CGAP and the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a network of international investors created to promote the practice of responsible investing.