The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering issuing a syndicated A/B loan of USD 50 million to provide capital to Azerbaijan-based, “socially oriented” bank DemirBank for “on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)”[1] in the country.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, MTN Group Partner to Provide Mobile Money Transfers Between Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast
Airtel Burkina Faso, a subsidiary of India-based telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, and Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Group, a telecommunications company based in South Africa, recently announced a partnership that will allow their mobile money customers to transfer funds between Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIF, EBRD, European Commission, DEG to Allocate $19.8m for Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Via Western Balkans Enterprise Expansion Fund (ENEF)
The European Investment Fund (EIF), a public-private partnership that provides risk capital to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral development bank, recently announced an agreement to allocate a total of EUR 14.5 million (USD 19.8 million) to support investing in SMEs in the Western Balkans region through the Western Balkans Enterprise Expansion Fund (ENEF).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: American Refugee Committee (ARC) Sells Liberia-based Liberty Finance to DCRB Investments
The American Refugee Committee (ARC), a US-based nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance in Africa, Asia, Haiti, and the Middle East, recently announced that it has sold its Liberia-based microfinance institution, Liberty Finance, to DCRB Investments (DCRB), a private investment company based in Liberia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accel Invests $40m in Equity in UK-based WorldRemit, Provider of Remittances to 100 Countries
WorldRemit, a UK-based online money transfer service, recently announced that it has received an investment of USD 40 million from Accel Partners, a US-based venture capital firm, in exchange for an undisclosed stake in the company.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Entrepreneurial Finance Lab Offers Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Credit Scores for Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) Based on Psychometric Tests
In an effort to promote financing to self-employed entrepreneurs and micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in emerging economies, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL), a US-based company, is employing psychometric analyses to assess the creditworthiness of loan applicants.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based Startups First Access, Cignifi Analyze Mobile Phone Usage to Measure Creditworthiness of Unbanked
A number of startup companies are employing analytical techniques based on “big data” to interpret the mobile phone usage of poor people to assess the creditworthiness of those applying for loans in developing economies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Zambia to Include Life Insurance Coverage In Mobile Subscriber Plans
Airtel Zambia, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Airtel, in partnership with Zambian insurance company Focus General Insurance and UK-based microinsurer MicroEnsure, is now including free life insurance coverage to mobile subscribers who pay ZMW 10 (USD 1.77) or more per month for their phone service.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), MasterCard Partner to Support Financial Inclusion, Transparency in Latin America, Caribbean
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a US-based multilateral financial institution that seeks to support sustainable economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean countries, has partnered with MasterCard Incorporated, a US-based payments and technology company with operations in 210 countries and territories, to expand electronic payment systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $6.8m to Intesa Leasing Belgrade of Serbia to Support Micro-, Small Enterprises
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by the European Union, recently has announced a new partnership agreement with Intesa Leasing Belgrade (ILB) of Serbia, the lease financing arm of Banca Intesa Belgrade, a Serbian commercial bank that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, Nico Insurance Zambia to Offer Mobile Insurance
Bharti Airtel (Airtel), an India-based telecommunications provider, reportedly is expanding the range of services that users in Zambia can pay for with its ‘Airtel Money’ mobile money service to include insurance. Airtel’s 1.8 million customers in the country will now be able to purchase insurance policies from Nico Insurance Zambia, an insurance provider and subsidiary of Malawi-based Nico Holdings Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $3.4m to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing in Armenia, Makes $106k Equity Investment in Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves of Kosovo
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has disbursed two loans totaling USD 3.4 million in Armenia to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA) Leasing, the leasing subsidiary of ACBA [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Lends $10m to Megabank of Ukraine to Support Agricultural Lending
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently issued a senior loan of USD 10 million to Megabank, a financial service provider in Ukraine, to increase its agricultural lending and strengthen its position in the market [1].
MICROFINANCE EVENT: African Microfinance Week, Arusha, Tanzania, December 2-6, 2013
Event Name: African Microfinance Week: “Regulation of the African Microfinance Sector: 20 Years After”
Event Date: December 2-6, 2013
Event Location: The Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge (Victoria Conference Hall), Arusha, Tanzania
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $31m to Komercijalna banka Beograd of Serbia, Microfinance Institution Patria Credit of Romania
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) backed by multiple governments, has loaned EUR 20 million (USD 27.6 million) to Komercijalna banka Beograd, a bank based in Serbia, and EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.4 million) loan to Patria Credit, a non-banking microfinance institution (MFI) in Romania that seeks to provide increased financial access to micro- and small enterprises [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) Partner to Offer Mobile Banking Services
Airtel Tanzania, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, and Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB), a Tanzania-based bank that provides financial services to people in rural areas who do not have access to traditional banks, reportedly are partnering to offer free mobile financial services to their customers.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Lessons Learned from Morocco’s Microcredit Crisis; Using Microinsurance to Promote Universal Coverage; Remittances and Post-Conflict Economic Growth
“Lessons Learned from the Moroccan Crisis;” by Nadine Chehade and Alice Negre; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); 2013; 4 pages; available at http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Lessons-Learned-from-the-Moroccan-Crisis-July-2013_0.pdf
This report presents the results of a study conducted by US-based NGO CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) that explored the Moroccan microcredit downturn, focusing on outlining “lessons learned from the rise, fall, and ongoing recovery of the Moroccan microcredit sector that may be useful when adapted in other countries in similar situations.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 3k Moldovan Remittance Recipients Save $7m After European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Financial Education Program
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a multilateral institution that finances development projects, has initiated a financial education project in Moldova that is aimed at providing recipients of remittances with improved financial skills to manage the money they receive as well as to encourage them to open bank accounts [1].