CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a policy and research center dedicated to enhancing financial access for the world’s poor, has announced its granting of Transparency Certificates to several microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) that are in compliance with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) guidelines for MIVs.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital Announces $52m Close for Indian Microfinance Fund, Lok II
Lok Advisory Services, an Indian firm that manages two microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) based in Mauritius, has reportedly announced the first close of USD 52 million for its second fund, Lok Capital II.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Backed by G20, Ashoka Changemakers Announces 14 Winners of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Finance Challenge
Ashoka Changemakers announced this month that it has selected 14 proposals as the winners of the SME Finance Challenge, which is hosted by Ashoka, a US-based nonprofit organization that invests in social entrepreneurship, and backed by the G-20, a group of financial ministers and central bank authorities representing 20 major economies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Kingdom’s CDC Group Invests $10m in Lok Capital II, Private Equity Fund Focused on Microfinance in India
CDC Group, the UK’s government-owned development finance institution, recently invested USD 10 million in Lok Capital II, a private equity fund managed by Lok Capital, partner organization of the non profit Lok Foundation based in New York City, USA.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Suryoday Microfinance Raises $4.5m from Lok Capital and Aavishkaar Goodwell
Suryoday Microfinance Private Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC), recently announced the closing of its Series B equity financing for a total of INR 175 million (USD 3.8 million), provided by Lok Capital, a new investor in the company, and Suryoday’s existing investor Aavishkaar Goodwell, both of which are social investment/microfinance equity funds operating in India.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Red Centroamericana de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF) Hosts the Fifth Central American Microfinance Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, August 25 to August 27, 2010
Event Name: V Central American Microfinance Conference ‘Crisis: Lessons Learned and New Strategies’
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) Annual Meeting Attended by 200 Microfinance Specialists from 50 Countries
The Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), a “global forum of microfinance experts,” held its annual meeting in Bern, Switzerland, from June 29 to July 3, 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to Issue $10m Bond to Fund PRIDE Tanzania Microfinance Loans to Women
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a US government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, has announced its intention to issue a USD 10 million bond to fund Promotion of Rural Initiative and Development Enterprises Limited (PRIDE Tanzania), a microfinance institution established in 1994, to make loans to women in Tanzania. Mr Alfonso Lenhardt, the US ambassador to Tanzania, said, “I have observed that when women are given loans they use the money wisely, have the perfect business spirit, support the community and finally repay the funds to the bank.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Invest $10m in Bancamia, a Microfinance Bank in Colombia
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group working to alleviate poverty through loan and debt securities, equity investments and guarantees, will invest USD 10 million in Bancamia, a microfinance bank in Colombia [1]. The goal of the investment is to support the expansion of the Colombian microfinance sector, thereby helping to increase access to financial services for microenterpreneurs in the country.
MEET THE BOSS: Rick Beckett, CEO of Microfinance Fund Manager Global Partnerships, Which Will Host a Social Investor Forum on June 8, 2010, in Seattle, Washington, USA
MicroCapital: What is your personal motivation for investing in microfinance?
Rick Beckett: I spent the first 20 years of my career in the private sector. My motivation is really rooted in a couple things: one is I want to live in a world where everybody is treated like they matter, and for me that’s a lot about people having the opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families. We don’t live in that kind of a world. I do the work I do at Global Partnerships and Direct Relief and elsewhere because I’m interested in how we can use market solutions to advance the common good. I’m intrigued by the opportunity to change investment markets to incorporate more social motivations. I’m intrigued by the evolution of enterprises and products to incorporate more of the common good, both in terms of global poverty and global health issues as well as environmental issues. So it’s a combination of wanting to see a different world and intrigue in how the market mechanisms are evolving to advance that. So it’s a pretty interesting place to be in right now.
MC: You have said previously that “All microfinance is not created equal.” How you make such distinctions?
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Provides $15m Equity Investment to Lok II, an $80m Microfinance Fund that will Invest in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in India
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, recently announced that it will provide an equity investment of USD 15 million in Lok II, a venture capital fund investing primarily in microfinance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency for Microfinance Investment Vehicles, LuxFLAG, Announces 2010 Renewal, Adds BlueOrchard Fund
LuxFLAG, a microfinance institution vehicle (MIV) certification organization founded in 2006, has recertified eight MIVs while adding a ninth, BlueOrchard Fund – Microfinance Fund for US Investors. The label is applied to MIVs that invest directly or indirectly in the microfinance sector and are deemed reputable by LuxFLAG and receiving a basic level of financial supervision from their home country. The nine labeled firms manage a total of USD 2.24 billion. LuxFLAG reports an unspecified number of applicants for 2010 [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Bank im Bistum Essen Seeks to Invest in Umuchinemere Procredit Micro Finance Bank Nigeria (UPMFB)
Germany’s Bank im Bistum Essen, a cooperative specialist bank with a current investment portfolio of EUR 150 million (USD 200 million), recently met with the management team at Umuchinemere Procredit Micro Finance Bank Nigeria (UPMFB) to discuss a potential partnership.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investment Firms Matrix Partners India, Hivos-Triodos Fonds and Lok Capital LLC Invest $26.5m in Indian BASIX Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL)
Matrix Partners India, a Mumbai-based investment firm, is investing INR 1 billion (USD 22.5 million) in Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution that is a member of the BASIX (Bhartiya Samruddhi Investment & Consulting Service) Group. Two existing investors, Europe-based Hivos-Triodos Fonds and dedicated microfinance institution (MFI) investor Lok Capital LLC, are contributing a further INR 127 million (USD 2.9 million) and INR 55 million (USD 1.2 million) respectively.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Funds Seek to Expand Focus Beyond Microcredit
According to a recent article on VCCircle.com, an Indian online news platform, Indian microfinance fund managers are diversifying their investment base to include more areas of social investing, such as microinsurance, micro housing finance, healthcare, mobile payments and rural supply chains.
MEET THE BOSS: Sebastien Duquet, Managing Director of PlaNIS (PlaNet Investment Services), a member of the PlaNet Finance Group
Sébastien Duquet is the Managing Director of PlaNIS (PlaNet Investment Services), a member of the PlaNet Finance Group.
MicroCapital: What is your background?
SD: Until recently, I was the Managing Director of PlaNet Finance, where I have worked since 2002. Previously, I was an auditor for Andersen and Ernst & Young for ten years, and I also worked for two years at HSBC bank.
MC: Please describe PlaNet Investment Services.
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: Kinnevik, Locfund, Lok Capital LLC, Legatum Ventures
The following microfinance investment funds are profiled in this brief:
KNOW A MICROFINANCE FUND: Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF), Incofin Rural Impulse Fund (RIF), Incofin VDK MFI Loan Portfolio, ACCION Latin America Bridge Fund (LABF)
The following microfinance investment funds are profiled in this brief:
Hivos-Triodos Fund (HTF)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Hivos-Triodos+Fund+%28HTF%29
Incofin Rural Impulse Fund (RIF)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Incofin+Rural+Impulse+Fund+%28RIF%29
Incofin VDK MFI Loan Portfolio
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Incofin+VDK+MFI+Loan+Portfolio
ACCION Latin America Bridge Fund (LABF)
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=ACCION+Latin+America+Bridge+Fund+%28LABF%29