by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) and BP (British Petroleum) to Finance New MFBA (Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan) Branch Offices

World Bank unit IFC (International Finance Corporation) and energy giant BP (British Petroleum) have announced a partnership to assist for-profit microlender MFBA (Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan) in expanding microfinance services to Azerbaijan’s untapped rural regions. IFC’s and BP’s assistance will consist of financial support for the establishment of additional MFBA branch offices in the country’s untapped rural areas. BP’s assistance is provided via its affiliate, nonprofit BP Foundation. Neither BP Foundation nor IFC disclosed a specific amount of financial support.

by Anthony Busch -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Central Asia Benchmarking Report, 2006, Scott B. Gaul and Olga Tomilova

Authored by Scott B. Gaul, the Microfinance Information eXchange’s (MIX) Product Development Manager and Lead Analyst for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), and Olga Tomilova, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) Consultant for ECA, a joint publication of the Central Asian Microfinance Center (CAC), CGAP, the Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (MFC), and the MIX, released February 2008, 20 pages, available at http://www.mixmbb.org/Publications/002-REG/EASTERN%20EUROPE%20AND%20CENTRAL%20ASIA%20(ECA)/02-Central%20Asia%20Benchmarking%20Reports/Central%20Asia%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20English%20-%20Final.pdf

by Melissa Duscha -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Triodos-Doen and the Hivos-Triodos Fund Invests $1.3M in HUMO Micro Lending Fund, Alter Modus Montenegro and Kazakhstan Microcredit Organization Bereke

 The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported the Triodos-Doen Foundation and Hivos-Triodos Fund of the Netherlands invested USD 1.3 million in three Eastern European and Central Asian (EAC) microfinance institutions. Triodos-Doen invested loans of USD 251,000 in Micro Lending Fund HUMO of Tajikstan and USD 737,000 in Alter Modus in Montenegro. Hivos-Triodos invested USD 301,000 in loans to Kazakhstan Microcredit Organization Bereke.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Rural Microfinance Institution (MFI) Aqrarkredit of Azerbaijan to be Transformed into Full Agricultural Bank

Baku-based Aqrarkredit, a joint-stock non-banking credit organization, will be transformed into a full agricultural bank by the end of the year. The action is awaiting government approval and the chairman of the microfinance institution (MFI), Mammad Musayev, remarked that Aqrarkredit has discussed the selling of shares, upon completion of the change in status, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a London-based international bank utilizing investment tools to encourage democracy and market economies from central Asia to central Europe since 1991, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of The World Bank Group founded in 1956. In preparation for the governmental review, Aqrarkredit recently underwent an audit conducted by KPMG, a global auditing firm operating in 145 countries.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Three Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Account for Over Half of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association’s (AMFA) Total Loan Portfolio for the First Quarter of 2008

According to ABC.AZ, a business information portal, the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA), a supportive organization for a network of 22 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and downscaling commercial banks in the country, has released first quarter 2008 performance statistics for its members. Accounting for 53 percent of AMFA’s total loan portfolio of USD 424.3 million were CredAgro, the Foundation for International Community Assistance Azerbaijan (FINCA Azerbaijan), and the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) whose combined portfolios totaled USD 228.1 million.

by Jennifer Lee -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: ING Review of Commerzbank’s Microfinance Activities and Its Equity Stakes in ProCredit Banks

The Dutch Bank ING published its updated 2008 study on commercial bank microfinance activity, called “A Billion to Gain? The Next Phase”. A MicroCapital summary of the paper can be read here. MicroCapital is reviewing the microfinance activities of several of large international banks covered in the study, such as Commerzbank AG.

by Anthony Busch -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Benchmarking Azerbaijan Microfinance 2006, Nigar Pirmamedova

Authored by Nigar Pirmamedova, the Chief Accountant and Financial Manager for the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA), a Baku-based institution with 22 member organizations, in partnership with the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), released January 2008, nine pages, available at http://www.mixmbb.org/Publications/002-REG/EASTERN%20EUROPE%20AND%20CENTRAL%20ASIA%20(ECA)/04-Azerbaijan%20Benchmarking%20Reports/Azerbaijan%20Benchmarking%20Report%202006.pdf

by Melissa Duscha -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: IMON Receives USD 1.5 million in Investments from Incofin and MicroCredit Enterprises

 The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported International Microloan Fund (IMON), a non-bank microfinance institution based in Tajikistan, received loan investments of USD 500 thousand from US-based MicroCredit Enterprises and USD 1 million from Incofin of Belgium this past February 2008.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Crédit Agricole Contributes €50m for the Creation of a Non-Profit Foundation in Cooperation with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh

Crédit Agricole, the largest bank in France, announced that it will contribute EUR 50 million towards the establishment of a non-profit foundation in cooperation with Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi micro-bank. The foundation will finance micro credit providers worldwide through credits, guarantees, and equity capital. In 2009, the foundation will create a fund, open to investors, in order to raise an additional EUR 100 million for operations, according to Crédit Agricole, as reported by Forbes.com.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) Lends USD 6 Million to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA)

Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), on behalf of Swiss Confederation, granted a six-year USD 6 million loan to Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA), marking the first deal between the two entities. The loan will be applied toward financing micro, small, and agricultural businesses of Azerbaijan; a minimum of USD 3 million will be used exclusively for granting agrarian credit, a bank product that MFBA first launched in August 2007. By supporting Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, SIFEM hopes to foster a diversification of the Azerbaijan economy away from oil and gas sectors.