Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Micro Credit Limited, the microfinance arm of Sri Lankan financial service provider LOLC, has received a five-year syndicated loan of USD 55.5 million.
Search Results for: ifc
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $17m to Banca Transilvania, Agricover Credit of Romania
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle based in Luxembourg, recently disbursed approximately EUR 13 million (USD 17 million) to two Romanian financial institutions.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Loans $15m to AccessBank to Aid Small Enterprises, Microentrepreneurs in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently loaned USD 15 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan, to supplement lending to micro-small and medium sized-enterprises in the country.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Ujjivan of India Reduces Interest Rates to 25% for New Group Loans, 24% for Returning Customers
Ujjivan Financial Services, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, recently decreased the interest rates it charges on loans to poor borrowers by one to two percentage points. The effective interest rate for new group loans is now 25 percent per year, down from 26 percent. The rate for loans to previous group and individual customers is now 24 percent per year, reduced from 26 percent. The rate for first-time loans to individuals was not disclosed.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Among Banks Requiring Third-Party Assessment of Codes of Conduct from Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Seeking Wholesale Loans
A group of lenders headed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a state-owned bank, have made it compulsory for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country to undergo third-party assessments of their codes of conduct in order to receive loans.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Donates $211k to Incofin Investment Management of Belgium to Renew Capacity Development Facility
Incofin Investment Management, a Belgian fund management company, and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), a public-private development bank founded in 1970, recently signed the fourth capacity development agreement stemming from their partnership that was launched in 2008 to strengthen a total of 14 microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: West African Banks Asked to Lower Interest Rates by Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO in French)
At a recent conference held in Dakar, Senegal, a representative of the Central Bank of West African States (also known by the French acronym BCEAO) asked West African banks to decrease the interest rates they charge borrowers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure Ghana Unveils “Edusave”, Incorporating Insurance, Savings, Education Finance
The Ghanaian arm of MicroEnsure UK, a microinsurance intermediary and subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, recently unveiled Edusave, a savings-linked life insurance and education finance product.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Part of $38b Commitment From European Investment Bank, World Bank, European Bank For Reconstruction and Development To Support SMEs
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term lending bank of the European Union; the World Bank Group, a family of five organizations that provide leveraged loans and grants to developing countries; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently launched a new joint international financial institution (IFI) action plan that is intended to rekindle growth in Central and South-Eastern Europe by supporting private and public sector initiatives including infrastructure, corporate investment and local financial sectors.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Private Equity Firms Investing in Indian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) After Two-Year Hiatus
Private equity firms are beginning to invest in Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) that offer products such as insurance, pension plans and chit funds in order to diversify their portfolios. It is reported that private equity firms have invested INR 7.5 billion (USD 138 million) in Indian MFIs this year, as compared to INR 2.5 billion (USD 46 million) invested in 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Share, Asmitha of India, Again Looking to Merge
Share Microfin Limited and Asmitha Microfin Limited, two microfinance institutions (MFIs) based in Hyderabad, India, reportedly have rekindled efforts to execute a merger.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equitas of India Receives $9.3m from MicroVentures, India Financial Inclusion Funds
Equitas Holdings, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Chennai, India, raised INR 500 million (USD 9.26 million) from MicroVentures India and India Financial Inclusion Fund, two funds dedicated to supporting the Indian microfinance industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Koota of India Looks to Expand into Housing Microfinance
Grameen Koota, a India-based microfinance division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL), plans to expand into housing microfinance in areas of rural India that have limited microfinance institution (MFI) penetration.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Banks in Mongolia Back Movable Collateral Reforms in Effort to Boost Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Lending
The Mongolian Bankers Association (MBA), a nonprofit association of financial institutions in Mongolia; the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a development finance institution headquartered in London, recently hosted a roundtable event to deliberate on lending reforms with respect to broadening access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other borrowers in Mongolia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Aims to Boost Entrepreneurship in Romania with $10m Loan to Patria Credit
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently agreed to loan RON 36.6 million (USD 10.3 million) to Patria Credit, a non-banking microfinance institution in Romania, with the goal of enhancing access to finance for micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs in Romania.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Analysis of Microfinance Investment Vehicles; Female Microfinance Clients in Pakistan; Life Microinsurance in the Philippines
“The State of Microfinance Investment 2012: MicroRate’s 7th Annual Survey and Analysis of MIVs;” published by MicroRate; October 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.microrate.com/downloads/78
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxfam, City of London, Symbiotics Invest $1.6m in Xac Leasing of Mongolia through Small Enterprise Impact Investing Fund (SEIIF)
Oxfam UK, a UK-based charity, City of London and Symbiotics, a Swiss microfinance investment intermediary, recently launched a joint initiative known as the Small Enterprise Impact Investing Fund (SEIIF). SEIIF is intended to deliver measurable social as well as financial returns to its stakeholders by investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through financial intermediaries operating in developing countries.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US Agency for International Development (USAID), FINCA Jordan Launch Youth Finance Project
A Youth Finance Project intended to boost the Jordanian microbusiness environment has been launched by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a US government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance and FINCA Jordan, a microfinance institution (MFI) that is part of the US-based FINCA International microfinance network.