British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution, recently announced a four-year structured debt package of USD 20 million for Moove, a Nigeria-based financial technology (fintech) firm that helps drivers in Africa acquire motorcycles, cars and trucks to work for passenger and delivery driving services. Moove plans to use the proceeds to buy fuel-efficient cars for drivers in Nigeria to acquire through payments made over periods of up to four years. Moove’s vehicle financing packages include
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BII Investing $75m in MSME Funders via Symbiotics to Enable “Green” Projects in Africa, Asia
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, recently subscribed to a bond issuance arranged by Switzerland-based Symbiotics in the amount of USD 75 million to be invested in 10 to 15 funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia to boost “small-scale green projects and businesses.” To support the investments, BII has committed USD 520,000 in technical assistance for the retail lenders to help their clients invest in assets such as “rooftop solar panels, sustainable agriculture, energy-efficient appliances” and others. The program spans
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UsPlus Borrows $11m from Lendable, Absa to Boost Access to Factoring for SMEs, Including Black-owned, Rural Companies
Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently arranged USD 10 million in debt funding from US-based Lendable Asset Management for UsPlus, a South African funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This comes after UsPlus raised
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Group Nets Over $165m from IFC, BII, FMO, ResponsAbility, Symbiotics for Climate Projects, Financial Inclusion for MSMEs in Africa
Partially through its Financial Institutions Growth Fund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is paying an undisclosed sum to acquire a 6.7-percent stake in Equity Group Holdings, which has banking operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. IFC and the UK government’s British International Investment (BII) also are each lending the group’s Equity Bank Kenya
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aavishkaar India Fund VI Nets $130m for MSMEs Addressing Climate Change, Agtech, Fintech – Anchored by Public Funding from Domestic, European Sources
Aavishkaar Capital, a subsidiary of India’s Aavishkaar Group, recently completed the first close of its Aavishkaar India Fund VI with commitments totaling INR 10 billion (USD 130 million) to invest mainly in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, Sushma Kaushik, a partner at Aavishkaar Capital, said that the fund aims to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: USADF, DFC Launch African Small Business Catalyst to Support SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Two institutions backed by the US government, the US African Development Foundation (USADF) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), recently announced the launch of African Small Business Catalyst (ASBC), “a business accelerator for early growth-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa.” Through April 15, 2022, SMEs in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda may apply for loans ranging from USD 100,000 to USD 1 million paired with technical assistance and grants up to USD 100,000. In future years, ASBC expects to expand to serve other countries in Africa. The program’s
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Satisfied Producer of Palm Oil in DRC Has Been “Brought Back from the Brink,” DFIs Sell Debt Holdings in PHC to Maku; Funding to Improve Community Relationships Will Continue
Four European development finance institutions (DFIs) recently sold their debt holdings in Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), a palm oil business in Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Maku Holdings, an affiliate of Kuramo Capital Management, which has offices in Kenya, Nigeria and the US. The DFIs are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Medical Credit Fund Raises $37m from the Netherlands’ Government, Philips, European DFIs to Boost Financing for SMEs to Fight Malaria, Boost Maternal Health in Africa
Medical Credit Fund (MCF), one of the four nonprofit members of the Netherlands-based PharmAccess Group, recently raised a mix of equity and debt totaling EUR 32.5 million (USD 36.7 million) to “expand the Fund’s presence and support to healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa.” In particular, the new funding is slated for investment in
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Invest in Africa Summit; Africa Trade and Investment Convention; July 1-2, 2022; Amsterdam, the Netherlands – NEW DATES
The purposes of the Invest in Africa Summit are promoting “investment and trade opportunities in African countries, connecting foreign companies with competent authorities and businesses from Africa, and enabling small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] and startups to find alternative financing solutions….” The summit includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SuperZop, Agri-commerce Platform in India, Nets $4m in Equity from Incofin, 1st-time Investor in Agricultural Technology
Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based investor in financial inclusion and agriculture in developing countries, recently agreed to invest USD 4 million from its India Progress Fund (IPF) in SuperZop, whose app helps “small retailers and restaurants buy staples directly from farmers and food processors.” Among the app’s functions is to use artificial intelligence to analyze the quality of grains
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triple Jump via ASN Microkredietpool, NMI, Incofin Place $9.4m in Equity in Light Microfinance for Financial Inclusion of Women in Rural India
Light Microfinance, a non-banking finance institution in India, recently raised equity from three European organizations: USD 4 million from Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership active in Africa and Asia; USD 3 million from ASN Microkredietpool, a microfinance fund managed by Netherlands-based Triple Jump; and EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Raises $60m for India Progress Fund, Bringing Equity Investments to Rural Entrepreneurs, Value Chains from DFIs, Family Offices, King Baudouin Foundation, Korys, SDG Frontier Fund
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently announced it has raised USD 60 million for the first close of the Incofin India Progress Fund (IPF). The fund will issue private equity investments that support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ascent Rift Valley Fund II Raises $100m from Public, Private Investors for SMEs in East Africa
Kenya-based private equity firm Ascent Capital Africa recently secured USD 100 million at the first rolling close of its Ascent Rift Valley Fund II (ARVF II), surpassing the firm’s initial goal of USD 80 million. The funds will be invested in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in East Africa, targeting
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Gender Equity in Development Finance Survey,” by Nancy Lee et al, Published by Centre for Global Development
Based on a survey of 16 development finance institutions (DFIs), this document offers a baseline of the extent to which “institutions incorporate gender objectives or analysis when developing investments, assessing development effectiveness, sourcing deals, and making investment decisions.” In particular, the survey investigates:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Raises $140m for “COVID-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund” from Schroders, Japan, UK, US
BlueOrchard Impact Investment Managers, a member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently partnered with Schroders and three development finance institutions to launch an initiative to fund lenders serving micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group of investors, which has committed a total of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Greenlight Planet Secures $90m in Debt, Equity for Pay-as-you-go Solar in Africa, South Asia
Greenlight Planet, a for-profit social business with offices in Kenya, India and the US, recently secured USD 90 million in debt and equity to expand its sales of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar products. The investors are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FinDev Canada, FMO Loan $72m to Latin American Agribusiness Development (LAAD) for SME Finance
Development finance institutions (DFIs) FinDev Canada and the Netherlands Development Finance Company, which also is known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently provided a syndicated loan of USD 72 million to the US-based, for-profit Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD). LAAD will use the funds to finance term loans and revolving lines of credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the goal of spurring market development and job growth in rural communities. LAAD requires that each of its loans is used according to an
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Development Finance Institutions Collaborate to Add Gender Metrics to Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) IRIS+ System
A group of development finance institutions (DFIs) recently collaborated with the US-based nonprofit Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to improve the way they track the results of their investments in women in developing countries. The outcome is an expansion of GIIN’s Impact Reporting and Investment Standards Plus (IRIS+), which provides a framework to “identify, measure and manage the social and environmental impact of investors’ actions and report their impact” as well as provide investors with “impact data” that can inform their investment decisions.
The new metrics are grouped into approaches such as gender-specific services; increasing equality through financial inclusion; and