by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Sanjay Sinha of M-CRIL Takes Issue with CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)

Dr Sanjay Sinha, managing director at Micro-Credit Ratings International (M-CRIL), authored an article featured in Microfinance Focus in which he proposed changes to several of the ideas advocated by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group.

by Conner Brannen -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Announce Winners of 2010 Sustainable Banking Awards – Recipients Include Co-operative Financial Services, Itau Unibanco, One Acre Fund, Financial Information Network and Operations (FINO) and Global Environment Fund

The Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the winners of the 2010 Sustainable Banking Awards. Co-operative Financial Services, a British financial group with GBP 1.1 billion (USD 1.6 billion) in total revenue in 2009, was named as the Sustainable Bank of the Year, while Itau Unibanco, a publicly quoted bank in Brazil with USD 356.3 billion in total assets in 2009, was named the Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year.

by Christine Chang -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Microinsurance Fund Raises Additional $25m in Commitments from New Investors Including J.P. Morgan and TIAA-CREF

LeapFrog Investments, an international for-profit microinsurance fund, recently announced its final close raising USD 25 million for a total fund size of USD 137 million for investments in Africa and Asia.

by Matthew Castner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Calls Out Loan Shark Organizations

In an interview with Vikash Humar, Editor in Chief of Microfinance Focus, Mohammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, blasted profit-seeking microfinance institutions (MFIs). He likened these institutions, which he defined as those who charge more than 15 percent plus the cost of funds, to the loan sharks that necessitated the foundation Grameen. While reluctant to name names, Mr Yunus offered Compartamos Banco, a Mexican microfinance bank founded in 1990, as an example of one of these firms. Mr Yunus additionally spoke out against IPOs by MFIs, such as Compartamos Banco and SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI), launched in 1998, which caters to women clients in India.

by Eric McKay -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LeapFrog Investments Microinsurance Fund Raises Additional $65m in Commitments from International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW, Flagstone Reinsurance, and Soros Economic Development Fund

LeapFrog Investments, an international for-profit microinsurance fund, recently announced that it had raised an additional USD 65 million in commitments, bringing the fund’s total to USD 112 million.

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Apax Foundation, Charitable Arm of London-Based Private Equity Firm, Apax Partners, to Purchase 20-Percent Stake in Finance in Motion, Fund Adviser to European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)

The Apax Foundation, the charitable arm of the London-based private equity firm, Apax Partners, has agreed to issue a capital increase to purchase a 20-percent stake in Finance in Motion, a Frankfurt-based asset management firm focused on development finance, including microfinance.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US President Obama Nominates CGAP CEO Elizabeth Littlefield for Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Presidency

President Barack Obama has announced that he will nominate Elizabeth Littlefield to become President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Ms Littlefield is currently a Director of the World Bank and the CEO of CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a multi-donor organization created to help build a the microfinance industry. Ms. Littlefield previously worked with JP Morgan, where she was the Managing Director of the Emerging Markets Capital Markets Division. She has served on the executive board of Women’s World Banking, Profund, Africa International Financial Holding, the Mastercard Foundation, the Calvert Foundation, and E&Co. Littlefield is a graduate of Brown University and also attended Ecole Nationale de Sciences Politiques in Paris.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MEET THE BOSS: Interview with Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog Investments Ltd.

Dr. Andrew Kuper is President and Founder of LeapFrog, the world’s first microinsurance fund, which he founded in 2007. He was previously a Managing Director of Ashoka, a support organization for social entrepreneurs. He has worked with microfinance institutions Grameen and BRAC, and is the author of two books on globalization. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Finance Minister of Bangladesh Says Climate Change is Major Factor Impeding Economic Growth for Low-Income Citizens

At a conference on extreme poverty in Bangladesh, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, announced that “global climate change poses the greatest challenge today in our poverty mitigation efforts.” He added that microcredit is not the prime tool for poverty alleviation, but that it can “very well be an aid to mitigating poverty” [1, 2].

by Diya Chopra -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Teachers of Lira, Uganda, Flee Schools Due to Failure of Loan Payment

Christopher Okumu, chief administrative officer of Kitgum District in northern Uganda, has announced that teachers in Lira, a neighbouring district of approximately 674,744 people in northern Uganda, have ‘fled’ from their respective schools as a result of defaulting on their loan payments to various microfinance institutions (MFIs) [1].

by Christopher Maggio -

MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: BlueOrchard Private Equity Fund Invests Rs 500 million ($10.2 million) in Asmitha Microfin

BlueOrchard [1], a commercial microfinance investment intermediary based in Switzerland, has, through its Private Equity fund, invested Rs 500 million (the equivalent of over USD 10.2 million) in the equity of Asmitha Microfin Limited [2], a Microfinance Institution (MFI) based in Hyderabad, India. This was announced in a press release [3] available on the Asmitha website. Microcapital covered the relationship between these two organizations in October of 2008 when BlueOrchard made an initial equity investment in Asmitha of USD 5.3 million intended to “expand [the MFI’s] capital base and bolster its borrowing capacity” [4]. According to Dr. Vidya Sravanthi, Chairperson and Managing Director of Asmitha, the MFI hopes to use the newest investment to “[expand] its operations deeper into the Indian rural markets and offering its services to many more of the under-served poor in these regions” as well as move toward “growth targets” set by Blue Orchard [3].

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Invests USD 75 million in MTN Dubai subsidiary MTN Afghanistan to Expand Mobile Communications Access in Afghanistan

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, is providing a USD 65 million loan and USD 10 million in equity capital to MTN Afghanistan, a subsidiary of MTN Dubai and part of the South Africa-based MTN Group Ltd.  The investment is meant to support the expansion of MTN’s  mobile telephone network to meet growing mobile phone service demand in Afghanistan. The expansion is focused on low-income populations.  Details of the loan and equity investment were not available for this story, however James Ramadan, MTN Group’s Regional Vice President for Middle East and North Africa stated that the IFC was providing “long-term funding.”  The IFC hopes its investment will encourage other investors into the sector in Afghanistan. 

by Laura Anderson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd. Issues INR 800 million (USD 17 million) One-year 10 Percent Bonds in Deal Arranged by Standard Chartered Bank

Spandana Sphoorty Financial, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has raised INR 800 million (USD 17 million) in one-year 10 percent bonds that have been listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).   Standard Chartered was the sole book runner and arranger.  Mrs. Padmaja Reddy, Managing Director of Spandana, indicated the funds would help the MFI to expand to seven new states this year, and that listing on the BSE would help improve Spandana’s corporate governance.