With funds from the government-backed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) and other sources, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently loaned USD 100 million to TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) of Vietnam. TPBank plans to use the proceeds of the five-year loan to expand its lending via its website and mobile app.
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MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: IFC, Sanabel: Transforming Microfinance Institutions in the Arab World; by Alex Silva, Mohammed Khaled, Karen Beshay
This is a summary of a paper by Alex Silva, Mohammed Khaled and Karen Beshay; published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC); May 2018; 40 pages; available at:
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/1ffc3ec0-63ac-4426-863c-c7d1b8b0df46/ESOP-Transforming+22-5-2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
In March 2017, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, and Sanabel, a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Arab region, conducted a survey of 20 MFIs
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $1.2m to AFK of Kosovo for Microlending to Smallholder Farmers; Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, recently loaned EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million) to the Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK), a microfinance institution that focuses on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin’s agRIF Buys 10% Equity Stake in Armenia’s Inecobank from IFC, DEG
A microfinance investment vehicle of Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management, agRIF, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire a 10-percent stake in Inecobank, a commercial bank in Armenia whose mission is “to promote private sector development acting as a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KEP Trust Borrows $2.3m from IFC, Global Agriculture & Food Security Program (GAFSP) for Microfinance Lending in Kosovo
KEP Trust, a nonprofit microfinance institution formerly known as the Kosovo Enterprise Program (KEP), recently agreed to borrow EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) for on-lending to farmers as well as micro- and small enterprises in Kosovo. Of the total loan package, 30 percent is sourced from the IFC-managed Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which pools investment from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BBVA Colombia Borrows $150m from IFC for Housing Lending, Expects Government to Subsidize Mortgage Rates
BBVA Colombia, a unit of Spain’s Grupo Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), is borrowing USD 150 million from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to on-lend for housing. This comes as the government of Colombia is considering a plan to “reduce prices on the acquisition of housing loans for the middle class through subsidies to mortgage interest rates.”
Oscar Cabrera Izquierdo, the Executive President of BBVA Colombia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $50m to Caja de Compensacion de Asignacion Familiar (CCAF) Los Heroes of Chile for Lending to Low-income Workers, Retirees
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to issue a five-year loan of USD 50 million to the Chilean nonprofit Caja de Compensacion de Asignacion Familiar (CCAF) Los Heroes. In Chile, cajas de compensacion, which form part of the nation’s social security system, are the only institutions authorized to provide payroll loans.
Marcelo Castellanos, IFC Manager for the Financial Institutions Group in Latin America and the Caribbean, explained that this is the “first
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kaebauk Investimentu no Finansas (KIF) of Timor-Leste Designing Mobile Banking for Women, Farmers with Support from IFC, Australia’s Government
Kaebauk Investimentu no Finansas (KIF), a non-banking financial institution in Timor-Leste, is partnering with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to develop a mobile banking system with a “special focus on women.” The goal is to reach 50,000 people, including 10,000 farmers by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Branch International Raises $70m in Debt, Equity from Trinity, Victory Park, IFC, Andreessen Horowitz, CreditEase to Expand Digital Financial Services in Africa, India
Branch International, a for-profit lender to 1 million mobile-phone subscribers in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, recently raised USD 70 million with the goal of expanding within Africa, entering the Indian market, and launching savings and transfer services. US-based Trinity Ventures led the fundraising round, and its general partner, Schwark Satyavolu, will take a position on the board of directors of Branch. While the amounts invested by each entity have not been released, the other investors are US-based Victory Park Capital, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, US-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and China-based CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. Branch’s other shareholders are listed at https://www.branch.co/about.
Branch evaluates the creditworthiness of applicants by harvesting data from their phones: GPS data, contact lists, type of phone, data from social networks, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Iraq’s Ashur International Bank, Al-Amwal Company Building Digital Banking System with Support from IFC
Ashur International Bank, which serves personal and corporate clients in Iraq, and Al-Amwal Company, a payments company in Iraq, are collaborating with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to offer digital banking services.
Nour Al-Handal, the Assistant Managing Director of Ashur, stated “Our partnership with IFC will help us to build the needed foundation to effectively and efficiently expand our outreach to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lafise Bancentro of Nicaragua Borrowing $75m for Mortgages, SMEs, Green Energy Projects from IFC, OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
Lafise Bancentro, the Nicaraguan member of Panama-based Grupo Lafise, recently agreed to accept a loan package arranged by the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to fund housing loans as well as loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for purposes including reducing energy usage or accessing clean energy sources. The package includes USD 50 million from IFC and USD 25 million from Austria-based OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), an affiliate of the 14-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Of the total package, USD 42.5 million is senior debt with a term of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Dakahliya Businessmen Association for Community Development (DBACD) of Egypt Receiving Advisory Services from IFC
The Dakahliya Businessmen Association for Community Development (DBACD), a microfinance institution in Egypt, recently entered an agreement with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation to access advisory services relating to increasing loan sizes for its borrowers and expanding to additional parts of Egypt. The arrangement will also address DBACD’s risk management and business planning. The Japanese
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Buys $9m in Local-currency Bonds from CRRH-UEMOA to Support Housing Finance in West Africa
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation has purchased the equivalent of USD 9 million in bonds issued by the mortgage refinancier Caisse Regionale de Refinancement Hypothecaire de l’UEMOA (Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine). The goal of the investment is to catalyze USD 500 million in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, KfW, OeEB Renew $310m in Commitments to Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF)
The Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF), which was established in 2009 to provide liquidity to microfinance institutions (MFIs), recently negotiated an extension until 2025 of its investments from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the development banks of Germany and Austria. These investments total USD 310 million out of MEF’s total assets of approximately USD
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Lends $7m to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) to Support Rural Farmers, MSEs
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently lent USD 7 million to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) for on-lending to farmers as well as micro- and small enterprises with the intent of helping
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $50m to Nations Trust Bank of Sri Lanka to Expand Lending to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced it will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Tunisia Receiving Technical Assistance from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Opening New Branch in Sfax
Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Tunisia, a for-profit microfinance institution based in Tunis, recently arranged to receive advisory services from the International Finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Planning Credit Bureau in Myanmar, Investing $13.5m in Fullerton Finance, Accion’s Early Dawn Microfinance, Maha Agriculture
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced it will loan a total of USD 13.5 million and provide related advisory services to three microfinance institutions in Myanmar.