Telenor Group, a telecommunications company based in Norway, and Societe Generale, a France-based financial institution, have agreed to purchase KBC Banka, the Serbian unit of KBC Group, a Belgium-based financial institution, for an undisclosed price.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Union Commit $25m to Kyrgyz Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (KyrSEFF)
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently launched the Kyrgyz Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (KyrSEFF), a USD 20 million credit line supporting energy efficiency projects for households and private enterprises in the Kyrgyz Republic.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Publishes Data on 192 Countries
The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), which is mandated to carry out the financial inclusion action plan endorsed at the 2010 summit of the Group of 20 (G20) large economies, has released a set of “basic” financial inclusion indicators populated with data from 192 countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) to Loan $16m to ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank of Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), has notified MicroCapital that it recently disbursed two loans totaling the equivalent of USD 16 million to Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia-Credit Agricole Bank (ACBA), a microfinance bank partially owned by French bank Credit Agricole.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog, Kinnevik Invest $7m in Mobile Microinsurance Provider Bima
LeapFrog Investments, a Mauritius-based investor in insurance providers operating in emerging markets, recently announced plans to invest USD 4.3 million to take a stake of undisclosed size in Bima, a Sweden-based mobile microinsurance provider that operates in emerging markets in Africa and Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Bank of Shanghai Launch $80m Loan, Advisory Program Supporting Energy Upgrades for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, has provided a finance facility totaling CNY 500 million (USD 80 million) to China’s Bank of Shanghai to on-lend to energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Places $22m Equity Investment In Ratnakar Bank of India
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has made an equity investment of USD 22 million in Ratnakar Bank, a private commercial bank in India, to promote Ratnakar’s efforts to increase access to finance for women in rural areas and agricultural micro-, small and medium-sized businesses, and is reportedly part of INR 3.2 billion (USD 59.3 million) in equity raised by Ratnakar through the issuance of 30 million new shares since January 2013.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, International Finance Corporation, African Capitalization Fund Buy 34% of UT Bank of Ghana for $23m
Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), a German development finance institution; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the US-based World Bank Group, and the African Capitalization Fund (ACF), a US-based investment fund managed by IFC subsidiary IFC Asset Management Company, recently placed an equity investment totaling approximately GHS 46 million (USD 23.3 million) in UT Bank Limited, a publicly-traded Ghanaian bank that offers microfinance services and was formerly known as Unique Trust Financial Services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Inecobank Increases Lending to Micro-, Small Businesses in Rural Armenia, Securing all of $700k Offered Through International Finance Corporation as Performance-Based Grants
Inecobank, an Armenian microfinance bank, has increased its lending to micro- and small businesses in rural Armenia in concert with a set of performance-based grants from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation, Central Bank of Belize to Establish Credit-Reporting System
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the US-based World Bank Group, is working with the Central Bank of Belize, the country’s financial regulatory body, to launch a credit-reporting system that will allow financial institutions to exchange credit information.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Utkarsh Raises $3.7m in Equity from Aavishkaar Goodwell, International Finance Corporation, Norwegian Microfinance Initiative
Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited (Utkarsh), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), reportedly has received an INR 200 million (USD 3.7 million) equity investment from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, which provides technical and financial support to “emerging” microfinance institutions under the management of the public-private partnership NMI; Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company (AG), an Indo-Dutch for-profit investor in Indian MFIs; and the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nationwide Microbank of Papua New Guinea Launches MiLife Mobile Life Microinsurance
Nationwide Microbank, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Papua New Guinea, recently launched MiLife, a mobile microinsurance product covering the life of low-income married couples.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Social Performance in Nepal, Sharia-Compliant Financial Inclusion, Private Sector Employment
“State of Social Performance in Nepal;” by Mike Krell; published by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); March 2013; 10 pages; available at http://www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2013/03/Nepal-development-2013
This report from the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) examines the social performance (SP) of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nepal.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Macedonia to Boost Usage of $129m Credit Line from European Investment Bank to Support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
The government of Macedonia reportedly has announced plans to step up disbursements from a credit line of EUR 100 million (USD 129 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Satin Creditcare Sells 20% Equity Stake for $8m from Danish Microfinance Partners, MicroVest II, ShoreCap II; Lok Capital Exits
Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Satin Creditcare Network Limited recently raised INR 410 million (USD 7.5 million) by selling a stake of approximately 20 percent to three microfinance investment funds in undisclosed portions: Danish Microfinance Partners K/S (DMP), MicroVest II LP and ShoreCap II Limited.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACLEDA Begins Microfinance Operations in Myanmar
ACLEDA Bank, a Cambodia-based microfinance institution (MFI), has reportedly launched a new microfinance operation in Myanmar under the name of ACLEDA MFI Myanmar.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, MicroEnsure Launch Savings-Linked Education Insurance Program, EduSave, in Malawi
Opportunity International, a US-based development nonprofit, and its subsidiary MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, have announced the launch in Malawi of a savings-linked education insurance product called EduSave.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad (IIMA) Report Indicates Bandhan Clients Increased Wealth
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), a public business school located in the Indian state of Gujurat, recently released a report detailing the results of its impact study on Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited, an Indian microfinance institution.