The Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), a development finance institution owned by the UK government, has announced that it has made an equity investment of USD 11 million in Utkarsh, a northern Indian microfinance institution (MFI) [1].
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Investment Management Invests in Tunisia’s Enda Inter-Arabe, Uganda’s Entrepreneur Financial Centre
Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans of unspecified sizes to Enda Inter-Arabe, a Tunisian financial services provider that is part of Senegal-based non-governmental organization Enda Third-World, and Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Uganda, a microfinance institution that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Loans $30m to Paraguay to Fund Small, Medium-sized Enterprises
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral finance institution that operates in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently approved a loan of USD 30 million to the government of Paraguay.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), The MasterCard Foundation Award $900k to Advans Cote d’Ivoire, MFS Africa, Money Express for Branchless Banking Projects in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canada-based nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded a total of USD 900,000 to three projects in countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) to expand the availability of banking in the region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: WestBridge Capital Invests $16m to Acquire 20% Equity Stake in India’s Aptus Value Housing Finance
WestBridge Capital, an investment company with offices in India, Mauritius and the United States, recently invested a total of INR 98 crore (USD 16 million) to acquire 20 percent of the shares of Aptus Value Housing Finance, an India-based company that seeks to provide affordable housing finance, primarily for middle-income, self-employed customers [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Syndicates $30m Loan to Microfinance Institution FINCA Azerbaijan Including $15m From Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB)
FINCA Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) recently received a multi-currency, syndicated loan worth USD 30 million from the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, with the participation of Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of the Austrian government. Each institution will invest the equivalent of USD 15 million, and additional commitments totalling USD 10 million are expected from various international commercial investors and asset managers. The loan facility has a term of five years and the equivalent of USD 15 million of the principal is denominated in local currency [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Launches Microfinance Operations in Owerri, Nigeria
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, has formally launched the operations of FINCA Microfinance Bank (FINCA MfB) in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria, following the issuance of its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 30, 2014.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: UK Department for International Development (DFID), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Create Digital Financial Services Unit in Pakistan
The Department for International Development (DFID), a development agency of the British government, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that supports innovations in health and education, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the International Branchless Banking Conference 2014 in Pakistan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 4th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum Hosted by AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics, Concludes with Release of “Road Map of Industrial Promotion”
The 4th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum was hosted by the AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (AlHuda) in November in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bringing together delegates from 25 countries including this author.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank (EIB) Loans $24.8m to Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB) of Tanzania, Announces $6.2m for Technical Assistance Programmes in East Africa
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending bank of the European Union, recently announced that it will issue a loan worth EUR 20 million (USD 24.8 million) to the Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB), a commercial bank in Tanzania, to support small businesses in the agriculture, manufacturing and retail sectors in Tanzania.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lok Capital of Mauritius Seeking $100m for Third Fund, First Round Scheduled to Close by April 2015
Lok Capital, a Mauritius-based venture capital fund that focuses on microfinance and other social businesses in India, reportedly is seeking to raise USD 100 million for a new fund that will focus on financial inclusion as its key priority, with agriculture and energy as secondary areas of interest [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation Commits $25m to Expand UN Capital Development Fund’s Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) Program
The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in Africa and other emerging markets, has partnered with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), a UN initiative to increase access to microfinance and other forms of investment capital for small businesses and individuals in developing countries, to expand the UNCDF Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) program.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Technology Recognized as Tool to Improve Property Rights, Payment Platforms, Reduce Transaction Costs at International Monetary Fund (IMF) Seminar: “Future of Finance – Technology and Financial Inclusion”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a US-based arm of the United Nations, and the US-based World Bank Group, recently held a seminar on technology and financial inclusion as part of its seminar series entitled “The Future of Finance,” panelists discussed the role of technology as a tool to amend market failures in the provision of financial services for low-income people such as via the documentation of property rights and reductions in transaction costs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) Raises $25m via German Bank Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS)
Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken (GLS), a German bank that focuses on investing in social and ecological projects, has received USD 25 million from unspecified private investors to contribute to the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a Luxembourg-based fund that aims to support the growth of microfinance institutions active in the trade, service and agriculture sectors in developing countries by providing them with refinancing liquidity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP, MasterCard Foundation Award $500k for Behavioral Research to Freedom from Hunger, IFMR, Innovations for Poverty, The MicroInsurance Centre
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded a total of USD 500,000 to the following four organizations: Freedom From Hunger, a US-based NGO operating in developing countries to alleviate poverty and hunger; IFMR Finance Foundation, an arm of India’s Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Trust Group; Innovations for Poverty Action, a US-based nonprofit organization that uses randomized evaluations to research development initiatives; and The MicroInsurance Centre, a US-based, for-profit research, product development and training firm.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (AID), CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), The Mastercard Foundation Award $1m to ideas42 for Financial Management Tool for Microentrepreneurs
The US Agency for International Development (AID), a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance, and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and The Mastercard Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit that aims to promote youth learning and financial inclusion in emerging markets, recently awarded approximately USD 1 million to ideas42, a US-based nonprofit consulting and behavioral design firm, for the implementation of a SMS text-messaging “push” notification system and voice-based platform that is intended to help microentrepreneurs better manage their finances.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation, MicroEnsure, Penda, Clifford Chance Launch Uzima Health Microinsurance in Kenya
The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization; MicroEnsure, a UK-based, for-profit microinsurance company founded by US-based NGO Opportunity International; Penda Health, a Kenya-based, for-profit chain of medical centers; and Clifford Chance, a UK-based international law firm, recently announced that they have launched an initiative called the “Uzima Project” in Kenya with the aim of providing “low-cost“ health insurance.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), World Bank Group (WBG) Issues Joint Statement on Climate Finance
A group of multilateral development finance institutions, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank Group (WBG), recently issued a joint statement on climate finance.