IFAD, IDB present first global map of remittance flows to developing nations
Search Results for: Microfinance Institutions Bill India
MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Citigroup Loan USD 16.4 Million to ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank in Armenia
This is another story coming courtesy from the latest issue of the Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse. ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank (ACBA), an Armenian microfinance institution (MFI), has received two loan investments totaling over USD 16.4 million. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based international financial institution, provided half of the investment in a USD 8.2 million loan. Citigroup has matched EBRD’s USD 8.2 million loan, however lent ACBA the finances through EBRD’s A/B loan structure. According to the EBRD website, the A/B loan structure allows EBRD to sign off as the official lender of record, while Citigroup receives the lender’s benefits that would have otherwise gone to EBRD. The combined loans add to ACBA’s gross loan portfolio of 90.4 million, an increase of 18.1 percent. ACBA now has over USD 158.5 million in total assets (see “Financial Data”).
Unitus Releases the Details of Its Efficiency-Enhancing Initiative Funded for $1.46m by the Gates Foundation
Unitus, a global non-profit organization which assists microfinance institutions (MFIs) with accessing market capital, officially announced a USD 1.46 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant money will fund a new project geared toward enhancing efficiency within the microfinance industry. Unitus will analyze the business practices four of its “partner MFIs,” and recommend steps to improving their overall business efficiency. The ultimate goal is to create a report at the end of the three-year project which will provide insight into efficiency-enhancing measures that can be utilized by MFIs across the globe. According to Unitus’ overview of the project, the four MFIs which most likely will be researched are Grameen Koota (from India), Bandhan (also Indian), Pro Mujer Mexico, and Fondo Inversion Social (Argentina).
The Grameen Foundation Receives $1.5 Million Grant from the Gates Foundation for Strategic Plan
The Gates Foundation has made an unrestricted grant to the Grameen Foundation as a show of support for the latter’s strategic plan. On June 1, 2006, MicroCapital reported on the Gates Foundation $1.46 million donation to nonprofit microfinance network Unitus. Earlier in March, it also reported on Bill Gates’ focus on microfinance investing. And in January, ACCION International received a $5.8 million grant from the Gates Foundation to develop partnerships with microfinance institutions in West Africa and India. The Gates Foundation gave $8.7 million in microfinance grants in 2005 (see MicroCapital Blog’s December 14, 2005 and December 1, 2005 articles). The recipients of these grants were Opportunity International, FINCA International, and California-based Freedom From Hunger.