MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Funds Loan $9.6m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Paraguay, Zimbabwe

During April 2016, Austria’s C-Quadrat Asset Management GmbH issued loans worth the equivalent of USD 9.6 million via its two Dual Return Funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Paraguay and Zimbabwe. USD 2 million of this total was invested in an MFI based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which has 181 service points and provides financial services to clients in rural regions of the country. Financial information on the organization is not available.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: C-Quadrat Asset Management’s Vision Microfinance Funds Issue $6m in Credits to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay

During May 2015, Viennese asset manager C-Quadrat Asset Management USD 6 million worth of credits via the two Vision Microfinance funds to unspecified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Tajikistan and Paraguay. Of this total, C-Quadrat Asset Management invested USD 500,000 in the microfinance institution based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Founded in 2001, this institution targets micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and provides services to approximately 3,200 clients.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Driving Scale, Agent Network Density in Peru; Youth Banking in the Dominican Republic; Aging, Financial Inclusion in Colombia

“Aging and Financial Inclusion: An Opportunity;” published by HelpAge International and Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion; 2015; 40 pages; available at https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/aging_and_financial_inclusion_an_opportunity.pdf

This report highlights various barriers and opportunities in providing financial services to older people and helping younger people plan for old age, focusing on middle-income countries, in particular Colombia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Colombian Government Creating Licensing System for Electronic Deposit-Taking Entities

The government of Colombia recently approved a law to regulate and license electronic deposit-taking entities. These financial institutions, designated Sociedades Especializadas en Depósitos y Pagos Electrónicos (Specialized Electronic Deposit and Payment Institutions), may be incorporated by individuals or legal entities, such as telecom operators or postal offices. With a minimum capital requirement of USD 3 million, these entities can allow users to save, make payments and receive money, primarily through correspondent agents [1] [2].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Disburses Loans to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) Lenders in Cambodia, Colombia, India, Jordan, Uzbekistan

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of undisclosed amounts to Annapurna Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI); Asociacion Fondo de Desarrollo (FDL), an MFI in Nicaragua; Crezcamos, a Columbian MFI; Hamkorbank, a commercial bank in Uzbekistan; Intean Poalroath Rongroeurng (IPR), an MFI in Cambodia; Intellegrow, a nonbanking financial company (NBFC) serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India; and Vitas Jordan, an Amman-based MFI [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Purchases Entire $42m Issuance of Bonds by Rural Microfinance Institution Bancamía of Colombia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it purchased the entire stake of ordinary bonds recently issued by Bancamía S.A. (Corporation), a Colombian microfinance institution (MFI).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DID), Financière agricole du Québec-Développement international (FADQDI) to Offer Agricultural Microinsurance, Training in Colombia

Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian nonprofit providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies, and Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international (FADQDI), a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote rural economic development, recently announced that they will launch a joint project with the aim of supporting the agricultural sector in Colombia.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Peru, Colombia, the Philippines Top 2014 Global Microscope on Microfinance Business Environment

According to the Global Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment 2014, a recent report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Peru is the top country in enabling microfinance for the seventh consecutive year.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), HelpAge USA Launch Research Initiative on Financial Inclusion of Older Adults in Colombia

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an affiliate of US-based nonprofit Accion, and HelpAge USA, an affiliate of UK-based NGO network HelpAge International, have launched a research initiative on the financial inclusion of older adults in developing countries.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Colombian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Superintendence of Corporations to Facilitate Lending Based on Movable Collateral

The International Financial Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Superintendence of Corporations of Colombia, a government agency that regulates corporations, and Confecamaras, the Colombian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, to launch a lending framework that is intended to facilitate financial access for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Skoll Foundation Awards Microfinance Institution Fundación Capital of Colombia, 6 Others $1.25m Each for Social Entrepreneurship

The Skoll Foundation, an organization that seeks to promote sustainability, peace and prosperity in the developing world by investing in social enterprises, recently honored seven organizations with the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which is given to social enterprises to fund business initiatives deemed innovative.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Financial Capability in Colombia: Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge;” by Rekha Reddy, Miriam Bruhn and Congyan Tan; Published by The World Bank

“Financial Capability in Colombia: Results from a National Survey on Financial Behaviors, Attitudes, and Knowledge;” by Rekha Reddy, Miriam Bruhn and Congyan Tan; published by The World Bank; 2013; 87 pages; available at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/07/18054984/financial-capability-colombia-results-national-survey-financial-behaviors-attitudes-knowledge

This report, which was published by The World Bank, a US-based multilateral institution, analyzes a survey carried out in Colombia regarding “financial capabilities,” including behaviors, attitudes and knowledge regarding financial products.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financiera Edyficar Launches Microfinance Institution (MFI) Encumbra in Colombia

Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian bank holding company Credicorp, recently launched a microfinance institution (MFI) named Encumbra in the Colombian city of Medellin that will serve the micro- and small enterprise sector in the country.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund Invests $170m in Banco CorpBanca Colombia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund, an investment fund managed by an arm of the World Bank Group’s IFC, has announced a USD 170 million subordinated bond investment in Banco CorpBanca Colombia (CBC), a subsidiary of CorpBanca, a Chile-based commercial bank that is a subsidiary of Brazil’s Itau Unibanco.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV), Ecom Agroindustrial, Utz Certified, AZMJ Support Small-scale Coffee Farmers in Colombia

The Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV), a facility of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has granted an undisclosed amount of funds to Swiss commodity trading company Ecom Agroindustrial to fund a pilot-lending program for small-scale farmers in Colombia to be carried out in mid-2014.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: YellowPepper Launches Mobile Payments System in Colombia

YellowPepper, a US-based mobile payments provider, recently signed an agreement with 12 unspecified Colombian banks to launch its services in Colombia in an effort to replace cash payments and provide greater access to financial services for the country’s unbanked population.