by Lori Curtis -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Pilot Project Koshi Yomuti to Become Namibia’s First Microfinance Bank with Funds from GTZ, FIDES, Incofin, Swiss Microfinance Holding and Investisseur et Partenaire Pour le Development

Koshi Yomuti, a six year old microfinance project whose name means “banking under a tree” will become Namibia’s first commercial micro finance bank with seed capital of Euro 2.3 million from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), a federally owned international cooperation enterprise based outside of Frankfurt, Germany. The grant money will be used to create the first purely micro finance banking institution in Namibia upgrading the Koshi Yomuti/Ohangwena Pilot Project to a commercial microfinance bank. The bank will be owned by foreign investors, including KfW (on behalf of GTZ), FIDES (Switzerland), Swiss Microfinance Holding (Switzerland), Incofin (Belgium), and Investisseur et Partenaire pour le Development (France).

by Scott Everett -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Microfinance Investor Fair in Dakar on October 15-16

AFRICAN MICROFINANCE INVESTOR’S FAIR

OCTOBER 15-16, 2008, HOTEL SOFITEL TERANGA, DAKAR, SENEGAL

African Microfinance Transparency (AMT) has organized an African Microfinance Investor’s Fair in Dakar. The purpose of this fair is to bring together rated African microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are in search of funding sources and investors that are offering funding and other such resources to MFIs, be it in local or foreign currency.

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Lok Capital and the Dell Foundation Announce Investment in Indian Microfinance Organization Arohan

Lok Capital, a microfinance venture capital fund focused on India, and the Dell Foundation, a charitable organization, have announced an investment in Arohan Financial Services Limited, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI).  The size of the equity investment was not disclosed. Arohan offers microcredit and credit-linked insurance to urban women in Kolkata, and it plans to use the funds to expand operations to other urban centers in eastern India and to expand its product offering.

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Following Strategic Review, the Gates Foundation to Focus on Microsavings Within Microfinance Initiative

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable organization that was created in 2000 with an endowment of USD 35.9 billion, plans to direct hundreds of millions of dollars to promoting savings programs designed for the poor over the coming years, reports the Wall Street Journal.  Following a review of its existing microfinance grants and a broader study of its financial services strategy, the Gates Foundation decided to focus its efforts on promoting savings in the developing world.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit (RAGM) Promotes Worldwide Rotary Involvement in Microfinance at Last Month’s 2008 Rotary International (RI) Convention by Hosting Phil Smith (Author of A Billion Bootstraps) Christopher Crane (CEO of Opportunity International), and Lynn McMullen (Co-founder of the Global Democratic Citizens Union)

Last month—June 15th through the 18th—Rotary International (RI), a service organization with 1.2 million members in over 32,000 clubs located in more than 200 countries, held its annual convention, which was attended by more than 19,000 Rotarians, participants of Rotary youth programs, and other guests. With a larger emphasis than ever before in the organization’s history, microcredit was promoted as an attractive cause for Rotarians around the world to support by establishing sustainable microfinance projects and partnering with existing microfinance institutions (MFIs). Behind the push is the Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit (RAGM), a voluntary association of Rotarians aiming to educate the general membership, standardize Rotarian/MFI partnerships, and ultimately increase Rotarian involvement in microfinance activities for the long-term.

by Ipek Kuran -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: ACE INA Foundation, Based in Philadelphia, Makes Three-Year USD 720,000 Grant to Freedom From Hunger’s Credit with Education program in Mexico

ACE INA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bermuda-based casual insurance company ACE Limited, announced that it will be making a three-year USD 720,000 grant to US based international development organization Freedom from Hunger (FFH). Established in 1946, FFH works in developing countries to provide self-help programs against hunger and poverty. The organization’s work is specifically targeted to those who live on USD 1 per day or less. FFH will use the ACE grant to bring microfinance and financial education to nearly 3 million Mexican women, through its Credit with Education program.

by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: France’s Agency for Development Lends $4.7m to Jordan-based Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie to Support Jordanian Microfinance Institutions Tamweelcom and MEMCO

In its continued support of Jordan’s development efforts, France’s Agency for Development (AFD) loaned EUR 3 million (USD 4.7 million) to commercial bank Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie. The Jordanian bank plans to re-lend the capital to microfinance institutions (MFIs) Tamweelcom and Middle East Microcredit Company (MEMCO), allocating USD 2.8 million to Tamweelcom and USD 1.9 million to MEMCO. AFD’s financing is intended to help expand the geographical outreach of microfinance in Jordan, and to develop new microfinance products and services.

by Emily Liu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: United Bank for Africa Group Plc (UBA) of Nigeria Invests $25m to Establish Microfinance Subsidiary, UBA Microfinance Bank Limited

United Bank for Africa Group Plc (UBA) of Nigeria, the largest financial services institution by total assets in West Africa, recently announced that it will invest USD 25 million in initial capital to open a microfinance subsidiary, UBA Microfinance Bank Limited. UBA Microfinance was established to provide poor people who are un-banked or under-banked with access to financial services. UBA’s Chief Executive Officer, Tony Elumelu adds, “We have people in small businesses and they need some advisory services to enable them to run their business right. They have the potentials, the economic conditions are right; but they don’t know how to go about it.”

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Akiba Commercial Bank of Tanzania to Receive a Total of $5.2m in Capital from Accion Investments in Microfinance, the Hivos-Triodos Fund Foundation, Incofin, Inter-Consult, the Netherlands Development Finance Company, the Parastatal Pension Fund, the Triodos-Doen Foundation, and 70 Private Tanzanian Individuals

Based in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Akiba Commercial Bank (ACB) will receive a total of USD 5.2 million in a capitalization program which includes investments from ACCION Investments in Microfinance (ACCION Investments), the Hivos-Triodos Fund Foundation (HTF), Incofin, Inter-Consult, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), the Triodos-Doen Foundation (TDF), and nearly 70 private Tanzanian individuals. The capitalization effort is coupled with a contract between ACB and ACCION International (ACCION) in which the latter of the two will provide short-term technical assistance and a senior management team.

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: AfriCap Microfinance Fund (AfriCap) of Mauritius Makes a $1.1m Equity Investment in Société de Financement de la Petite Entreprise (SOFIPE) of Burkina Faso

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reports in its list of recent transactions that AfriCap Microfinance Fund (AfriCap) made a USD 1.1 million equity investment in the newly established Société de Financement de la Petite Entreprise (SOFIPE), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Burkina Faso, on March 1st, 2008.

by Stephen Son -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance in Benin Struggling as Microfinance Institution (MFI) PADME Faces Operational Challenges and Government Intervention

Microfinance in the West African nation of Benin is showing signs of struggling after one of the country’s major microfinance institutions (MFIs), facing internal and external turbulence and the threat of government intervention, has lost the confidence of potential investors, according to non-profit ACCION International.