by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Odisha State Encouraging Banks, Microfinance Institutions to Open 656 “Banking Outlets” in Unserved Rural Areas

By March 2019, the eastern Indian state of Odisha is encouraging financial institutions to open “banking outlets” in 656 gram panchayats (villages) that are at least

by Arpita Sarkar -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belgium’s Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund Exits from MFIs in India, Mexico

During the year ending December 2014, the Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund (Impulse Fund), which is managed by Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), sold its equity stakes in India-based Grameen Koota and the Mexican operations of El Salvador-based Apoyo Integral Inversiones, according to a recent announcement by Incofin.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVentures Invests $13.5m in Equity in Microfinance Institution Grameen Koota of India

Indian non-banking financial company Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, which is also known as Grameen Koota, reportedly has received an equity investment of USD 13.5 million from Italy-based private equity firm MicroVentures.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Satin Creditcare Raises $4.7m in Equity from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI)

Satin Creditcare Network (Satin), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently announced that it has raised INR 284 million (USD 4.7 million) in equity from the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that invests in and offers technical support to MFIs.

by Nisha Koul -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Loans $9.6m to Microfinance Institutions Grameen Koota of India, Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida) of Indonesia

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Dutch Triodos Bank, recently disbursed local currency loans totaling the equivalent of USD 9.6 million to Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (Grameen Koota), a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India, and Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (Komida), an Indonesian microfinance institution (MFI) [1].

by Meraj Husain -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Utkarsh Raises $12m in Non-convertible Debentures from UTI International Wealth Creator 4, Microfinance Enhancement Facility, AAV Sarl

Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Utkarsh reportedly has raised INR 75.8 crore (USD 12.2 million) through the issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to Mauritius-based Unit Trust of India International Wealth Creator 4, a fund of UTI Asset Management Company of India; the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), an investment vehicle founded by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW); and AAV Sarl, a fund structured by Switzerland’s Symbiotics to deploy investments belonging to that firm’s clients.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hindustan Co-operative Bank (HCBL) of India Provides Bank Accounts to Beggars

Hindustan Co-operative Bank  (HCBL), a bank in India, recently announced that it is providing bank accounts to “beggars” and other poor urban residents such as rickshaw drivers and artisans in order to increase financial inclusion in the country. The bank has opened 160 accounts for beggars in the city of Lucknow since 2013 [1].

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Bank Secures $75m for Microfinance Enhancement Facility for On-lending to Micro-, Small Enterprises

Deutsche Bank, a German financial services company, recently secured USD 75 million in financing from unspecified private investors for the Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), a microfinance investment vehicle, for on-lending via retail financial institutions to micro- and small enterprises in middle and low-income countries.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation Investments Social Ventures Fund II Completes Closing with $75m, Disburses Equity Investments in Grupo Finclusion of Mexico; Sonata, Grameen Koota of India

Creation Investments Social Ventures Fund II, a US-based private equity fund managed by Creation Investments Capital Management, has completed final closing with USD 75 million in committed capital.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institutions Cashpor, Utkarsh Use Technology to Improve Efficency

Nonprofit Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Cashpor Micro Credit and Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) Utkarsh Microfinance Private Limited each have implemented technology-based procedures to improve efficiency.

by Nicole Boyd -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, Invest $4.5m in Fusion Microfinance of India

Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based manager of microfinance investment funds, and the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based corporation that invests in and provides technical support for microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently invested INR 250 million (USD 4.5 million) in Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Fusion Microfinance Private Limited.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation to Upgrade Mifos, an Open Source Microfinance Institution (MFI) Management Software with Grants of $500,000 from Cisco Foundation and $1.23m from MasterCard Foundation

The Grameen Foundation, an independent non-profit organization, has announced that it will add functionality to Mifos, a microfinance institution (MFI) management software package that is open source, meaning that it is free software that can be changed by users.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Grameen Koota Raises $4.2m from MicroVest Purchase of Non-convertible Debentures (NCDs)

Grameen Financial Services Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution also known as Grameen Koota, has raised INR 20 crore (USD 4.27 million) from a sale of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to MicroVest I LP, a US-based private equity fund.

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Share Microfin Seeks to Raise USD 50 Million From International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Others

SHARE Microfin, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Hyderabad, India, has announced that it intends to raise USD 50 million in equity funding.   According to the press release on VCCircle, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering investing, and the MFI is currently in talks with other investors.  If the transaction proceeds it will be one of the biggest Indian microfinance transactions after SKS Microfinance‘s USD 75 million deal in November last year.  To read a MicroCapital story about that deal, click here.  With the funding, SHARE will expand in states such as Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttranchal, and West Bengal.  No other information regarding the deal or potential investors was available at the time of this release.

by the MicroCapital Team -

CGAP Microfinance Dealbook: April 2009 Transactions

The CGAP Microfinance Dealbook publicizes microfinance capital market transactions in an effort to bring greater transparency to the industry. This information is made freely available as a public service. Parties to microfinance transactions are encouraged to submit their deals to this effort. The following deals were collected for April 2009:

by Jaclyn Berfond -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Development Finance Institutions Part 3: The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Invests Over USD 160 million in Microfinance in Last Two Years

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), founded by the Dutch government in 1970 to support the private sector in developing countries, invests in microfinance as a way to stimulate sustainable economic growth. Between January 2007 and March 2009, FMO has invested at least USD 160 million in microfinance services around the world.