Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India reportedly continue to struggle after recasting of a significant portion of their wholesale debt and the adoption by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central banking authority, of many of the Malegam Committee’s proposals on regulating the sector.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Proposals Sought by “Social Performance Start-up Fund for Networks” of Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States
The Social Performance (SP) Start-up Fund for Networks, an initiative aimed at increasing the implementation and transparency of SP processes and tools by microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently initiated a call for proposals from national microfinance associations from Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa for projects aiming to support SP activities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), Araratbank Sign $10m Loan Agreement for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Armenia
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, agreed to loan USD 10 million to Araratbank at EFSE’s recent annual meeting in Armenia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $6.7m to Interfisa of Paraguay, Ecofuturo of Bolivia, FIE Grand Poder of Argentina, Locfund
responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it made debt investments totaling approximately USD 6.7 million through MIVs it manages to Locfund, an MIV with offices in Costa Rica and Bolivia, and the following three MFIs: Interfisa, a financial intermediation company offering loans, voluntary savings and fund transfer services in Paraguay; Ecofuturo, a regulated Bolivian MFI that supports the development of small and micro-enterprises; and FIE Grand Poder of Argentina.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin VDK MFI Loan Portfolio Loans $5m to Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), a Belgian fund manager that invests in microfinance, recently reported to MicroCapital that it loaned USD 5 million from the Incofin VDK MFI Loan Portfolio to XacBank, a community development microfinance institution (MFI) in Mongolia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program to Model Microfinance Strategy on Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund
The Afghan government reportedly has decided to model its microfinance programs after the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), a government program that provides loans, grants and technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Hanson Wade Hosts “Impact Investing Summit: Advanced Investment Strategies for the Bottom of the Pyramid” in Washington DC, USA, September 20 – September 21, 2011
Event Name: Impact Investing Summit: Advanced Investment Strategies for the Bottom of the Pyramid
Event Date: September 20 to September 21, 2011
Event Location: Holiday Inn Central / White House, Washington DC, USA
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uganda Launches “Youth Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Fund”; Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN), Uganda Youth Convention (UYC), Financial Empowerment Network (FEN) Launch Microfinance Savings Plan
Both the government of Uganda and a joint effort by Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN), a mobile telecommunications company based in South Africa; Uganda Youth Convention (UYC), platform for empowerment and enterprise for youth; and Financial Empowerment Network (FEN), a local venture capital firm, recently launched programs to promote entrepreneurship and a “savings culture” among youth at a Job Convention for the Bunyoro Region of Uganda.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania’s Akiba Commerce Bank Partners with Tanzania Electric Supply Company to Offer Microfinance Loans for Electricity Connections
In a joint initiative with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), Akiba Commerce Bank (ACB), a commercial bank in Tanzania, has launched Umeme (“Electricity”) Loans, which carry terms of six to twelve months and cover the cost of connecting electricity. The loan bears an annualized interest rate of 19.5 percent, which must be paid for up-front.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Investment Bank Appoints Frankfurt School of Finance as Technical Assistance Provider for Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II in Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP)
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin), a Belgian fund manager that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s financing institution, has appointed Frankfurt School of Finance, a bank training and consultancy institute in Germany, to provide technical assistance (TA) for Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund II (RIF II). RIF II is a EUR 97 million (USD 139 million) fund that invests in MFIs targeting rural areas in developing countries. In order to improve the outreach and impact of its investees, Incofin has integrated a technical assistance facility into the fund. EIB has contributed EUR 1 million (USD 1.4 million) to the facility to support investees located in countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). According to Incofin, the total TA budget of RIF II will amount to approximately EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.6 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Loan $20m to Khan Bank of Mongolia to Support Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced it will loan USD 20 million to Khan Bank LLC of Mongolia to help strengthen its capital position and increase lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The seven-year subordinated loan will allow the bank to offer up to 14,000 new loans to SMEs through the end of 2015. Khan Bank reports that it serves about 80 percent of all Mongolian households and that most of its borrowers are women.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Loan Guarantee Scheme Provides Loans to Women Whose Businesses are Too Big for Microfinance
The lack of access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Africa was a theme of the recent annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) held in Lisbon, Portugal. A report presented at the AfDB meeting showed that women entrepreneurs face a number of hurdles that make it difficult for them to obtain financing, while a study by AfDB estimated that the USD 19 billion-demand for finance from women entrepreneurs reflects an opportunity for finance institutions as well as for job creation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: After Farmers Reject Bank Cards, China’s Harbin Bank “Cash Caravans” Bring Microfinance to Villagers
Harbin Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang, has designed a mobile operation to facilitate access to finance for farmers. A three-vehicle fleet, which consists of an armored jeep accompanied by a police car and a mobile loan station, carries some CNY 10 million (equivalent to USD 1.54 million) in bank notes to rural locations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Expands in Rural Kyrgyzstan as Lending Shifts to Agriculture
Kyrgyzstan’s microcredit sector reportedly has been growing in recent years and extending to outlying regions. The growth of microcredit in rural regions has corresponded to an increase in agricultural business following the June 2010 ethnic riots in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Protestant University of Congo Accepting Applications for Masters Degree in Microfinance
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, a private German university, in partnership with Protestant University of Congo, a post-secondary college based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is issuing a call for applications for a Masters in Microfinance offered at the Protestant University of Congo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT) Launches Challenge for Financial Innovation Through SME (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise) Finance Innovation Challenge Fund
The SME Finance Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF) of the Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT), which was established by the governments of Canada, Denmark, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands to support efforts of the government of Tanzania to strengthen the country’s financial sector, has issued a challenge to financial service providers to develop and test innovative business models that will deliver improved services and new products to underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) clients.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $6m to ProCredit Bank of Moldova, Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Russia, FINCA Jordan
responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has loaned the equivalent of USD 6.3 million to ProCredit Bank of Moldova, Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) Russia and FINCA Jordan through MIVs that it manages.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance Reconsidering Business Strategy to Rebuild Reputation
SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that serves groups of impoverished women in India, is reportedly considering new business growth avenues in an attempt to increase revenue and improve its reputation. Along with collateral-free loans, four new products would be offered: loans using gold as collateral, housing loans, loans to buy mobile phones and loans to local grocery stores in a supply arrangement with the cash-and-carry chain, Metro. “The pilot projects have been yielding very encouraging results,” says Vikram Akula, chairperson and founder of SKS Microfinance.