Figures released by Jordan’s Planning Ministry indicate that over 120,000 citizens have borrowed from local microfinance institutions (MFIs) with loans outstanding at JD 65 million, the dollar equivalent of over USD 91 million. Specifically, 7 Jordanian MFIs were recognized at a Ministry ceremony where each signed a code of ethics governing this joint effort.
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PRESS RELEASE: CHF International Assists with New Overseas Private Investment Corporation Fund to Expand Mortgage Lending in Jordan
Source: CHF International.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: France’s Agency for Development Lends $4.7m to Jordan-based Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie to Support Jordanian Microfinance Institutions Tamweelcom and MEMCO
In its continued support of Jordan’s development efforts, France’s Agency for Development (AFD) loaned EUR 3 million (USD 4.7 million) to commercial bank Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie. The Jordanian bank plans to re-lend the capital to microfinance institutions (MFIs) Tamweelcom and Middle East Microcredit Company (MEMCO), allocating USD 2.8 million to Tamweelcom and USD 1.9 million to MEMCO. AFD’s financing is intended to help expand the geographical outreach of microfinance in Jordan, and to develop new microfinance products and services.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Société Générale de Banque Jordanie Lends $2.8m to Tamweelcom of Jordan
Société Générale de Banque – Jordanie has announced a loan of JOD 2 million (USD 2.8 million) to microfinance institution (MFI) Tamweelcom of Jordan, backed by a USD 846,000 guarantee from Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd, a for-profit venture that provides capacity building and financing to Arab MFIs.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: President of Women’s World Banking (WWB) Visits Jordanian Microfinance Market Where Partner, Microfund for Women (MFW), Operates
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President of Women’s World Banking (WWB), a New York-based institution supporting over 55 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks in 43 countries, recently visited Jordan, as reported by the Jordan Times in an interview on March 10th. WWB’s partner in Jordan is Microfund for Women (MFW), which reported 2007 total assets of USD 13.9 million and a loan portfolio of USD 13.2 million to the microfinance information clearinghouse, the MIX Market. President Iskenderian was en route to Dubai, but visited Hai Nazzal Centre, located in a suburb of Amman with the same name, where she observed Jordanian microfinance operations.
NEWS WIRE: Jordan: Spain’s Agency for Cooperation and Development Extends $13m to National Microfinance Bank (NMB) and Micro Credit Company (Tamweelcom)
Source: The Jordan Times.
PRESS RELEASE: Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Issues Grant to Microfinance Institutions
PRESS RELEASE: IFC Facilitates Access to Microcredits for Women in Jordan
Amman, May 24, 2007 — IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today announced it will make its first partial credit guarantee in Jordan and its second in the Middle East and North Africa. IFC will provide a 30 percent partial credit guarantee on a loan of 2 million Jordanian dinars from Société Générale de Banques Jordanie to the Microfund for Women, a leading microfinance institution in Jordan.
The partial credit guarantee will allow the Microfund for Women to access three times as much local currency funding for up to five years. This guarantee will reduce the Microfund’s foreign currency exposure risk and encourage banks to share risks with credible microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Actress Natalie Portman and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan Launch FINCA’s Charity Drive
An announcement was made at an event at New York University that FINCA (Foundation for International Community Assistance) will be launching its Village Banking Campaign, an initiative to supply the unmet demand for financial services to millions of low-income individuals.
FINCA International, established in 1984, is a nonprofit agency that works with several countries across the world, possessing an asset base of USD 133mm as of 2005, according to their annual report. They are often recognized for architecting the concept of Village Banking, a major form of microfinance. The method entails group lending, in which the group in question essentially works together as an alternative to collateral, each member accountable for the other.
ResponsAbility Global Microfinance Fund Provides USD 500,000 to Jordan-based National Microfinance Bank (Alwatani)
responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund, a Luxembourg-based microfinance fund, provided a loan totaling USD 0.5 mn to the National Microfinance Bank (Alwatani) of Jordan. Alwatani is a private shareholding of a non-profit company with the mission of delivering “sustainable financial services to micro and small entrepreneurs in Jordan, particularly women.” It was created as a partnership between King Abdullah II Fund for Development, AGFUND, a nonprofit regional development program, and two private sector investors. As of 31 December 2006, Alwatani has 9,048 active clients, of which 7,179 are female, and reports 9,738 total loans disbursed totaling to the equivalent of USD 10.2 mn. Alwatani reports covering 56% of its costs with operating revenue.
Triodos-Doen Foundation Provides $500,000 in Microfinance Investment to Jordan’s Microfund for Women
The Microfund for Women received a $500,000 loan from the Triodos-Doen Foundation. The Microfund for Women began as a pilot lending program initiated through Save the Children in 1994. It is now a leading microfinance institution in Jordan, with a gross loan portfolio of over $5 million serving over 17,000 active borrowers. At year end 2005, total assets totaled $7 million, with a return of 10.37%. Total equity was $5.3 million, with a debt to equity ratio of 31.41%.
ResponsAbility Global Microfinance Fund Investing More than $7m in 11 Microfinance Institutions in Jordan, Benin, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Peru
Swiss-based ResponsAbility Global Microfinance Fund was founded in 2003 by Swiss financial institutions Credit Suisse, which is also the fund manager, Raiffeisen Banking Group, Baumann & Cie Banquiers, and the Andromeda Fund. Investment advisory services to the ResponsAbility Fund are provided by: Alterfin, BlueOrchard Finance, IPC/ProCredit Holding, FINCA International, Symbiotics, Opportunity International, and PlaNet Finance. ResponsAbility loans between $50,000 and $1.5 million to MFIs for a maximum of 5 years at a rate equal to “LIBOR plus full cost plus full risk.” The Fund’s total assets amounted to just over $40 million as of November 30th 2005 with close to $37 million allocated to microfinance investments. For further information on some of ResponsAbility’s past investments please refer to our November 1st blog.
ResponsAbility made a å¥1.4 million equity investment into German-based international development holding company ProCredit Holding. Established in 1998 as the leader and main shareholder of the ProCredit Group, which consists of 19 microbanks with microcredit programs in different countries, ProCredit Holding controls its subsidiaries closely, their website stressing investment in training and professional development. The ProCredit group had approximately å¥1.9 billion in total assets and a total loan portfolio of å¥1.3 billion as of October 2005. To date, the 19 microbanks have made about 526,000 loans to microentrepreneurs and small businesses, approximately 90% of which are under å¥10,000 and about 50% of which are below å¥1,000. ProCredit Holding reports its Return on Average Assets as of December 2004 2.4% and its Return on Average Equity as 19.5 %.
ResponsAbility also made the following debt investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs):
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 3k Displaced Persons, Returnees, Hosts Access Loans, Guarantees, Business Training in Iraq
The UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Central Bank of Iraq have partnered with the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees and three commercial banks over the past two years to provide a range of services to forcibly displaced people, returning refugees and host communities in the Dohuk and Ninewa regions of Iraq. These services include
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Ventures Places Equity in Agtech CassVita, Seeking to Boost Incomes from Farming Cassava in Cameroon
FINCA Ventures, an affiliate of the US-based NGO FINCA International, recently invested an undisclosed sum to take a minority stake in CassVita, an agricultural technology (agtech) firm aiding Cameroonian farmers in cultivating cassava as a climate-resilient alternative to other crops. CassVita finances farmers’ inputs, purchases their crops and processes the cassava into flour. This approach curbs spoilage,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Network International Unveils “Networkpay” Tools for SMEs in Egypt to Accept Digital Payments
UAE-based Network International recently rolled out its “networkpay” brand to bring its “direct-to-merchant” payment systems to Egypt. The service menu includes tools allowing retailers to accept point-of-service and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Silicon Badia, Sanad Fund for MSME, Arab Bank Accelerator, Sunny Side Invest Equity in Cartona to Digitize Food Supply Chain in Egypt
Four entities recently placed equity in Cartona, a virtual marketplace connecting Egyptian food wholesalers and distributors, for the first time: US-based Silicon Badia; Sanad Fund for MSME, which was founded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); Jordan-based Arab Bank Accelerator; and Egypt-based Sunny Side Venture Partners. Silicon Badia
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Foodics Buys Equity Stake in POSRocket from Sanad Fund for MSME, Linking Providers of Financial, Business Technology to Restaurants in MENA
Foodics, a technology firm serving restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, recently bought an equity stake of unspecified size in POSRocket, a point-of-sale (POS) platform supporting businesses in the food, beverage and other industries. Foodics purchased the holding from the Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-domiciled investor in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which Sanad had held it through its second equity sub-fund (ESF II). Subsequent to the deal, POSRocket’s customers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ATB Secures $23m Loan Guarantee from DFC for Local-currency Lending to MSMEs in Tunisia
Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB) recently acquired a guarantee in the amount of USD 22.75 million from the government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support its local-currency lending to “inland and hard-to-reach” micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tunisia. The focus on inland areas is motivated by