In a recent interview with the Indian online news platform VCCircle, Mr Jim Roth, Principal at LeapFrog Investments, a private equity microinsurance fund, said that of the fund’s USD 110 million in capital, it would commit USD 30 to 37 million to microinsurance products in India.
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) to Publish Microfinance Institution Interest Rates Online via MFTransparency
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of 35 Indian microfinance companies, has asked Microfinance Transparency (MFTransparency), a US-based non-governmental organization that aims to disseminate accurate and comparable microfinance product cost information, to post on its website information on the interest rates charged by as many of the microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India as possible.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India-based Microfinance Institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance Plans to Apply for Commercial Banking License
SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) registered as a non-banking financial company (NBFC), reportedly has plans to apply for a commercial banking license. An unnamed source told Indian news agency, Press Trust of India, that “SKS Microfinance is likely to approach the Reserve Bank [of India] for a banking license once the guidelines are issued.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BASIX Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) of India Plans to Raise $16.8m via Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs)
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that is a member of the BASIX (Bhartiya Samruddhi Investment & Consulting Service) Group, is reportedly planning to raise INR 750 million (USD 16.8 million) in non-convertible debentures (NCDs) within the next couple of months.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microinsurer Vimo SEWA to Advise Implementation of Namibian Microinsurance System
Vimo SEWA, an Indian insurance cooperative owned and run by women working in the informal sector, will be advising the implementation of a similar microinsurance program in Namibia [1]. The effort is part of the Namibian government’s Vision 2030 initiative, a series of developmental policy goals enacted in 2004 to be achieved by the year 2030 [2]. As part of Vision 2030, the Namibian government has demonstrated commitment to other forms of social insurance by enacting monthly pensions to elderly and disabled citizens [1]. Additionally, the Namibian government is funding Vimo SEWA during the advisory process [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Initial Public Offering (IPO) of India-based Microfinance Institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance Raises Questions about Ethics within the Industry
With the initial public offering (IPO) of SKS Microfinance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), expected to raise USD 250 million to USD 350 million for the MFI and its private equity (PE) investors, questions have been raised about the ethics of MFI investors profiting millions of dollars when their customers are poor.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Wealthy Individuals in India Increasingly Look for Investment Opportunities in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
A recent article on Livemint.com, an Indian business newspaper owned by the Wall Street Journal, pointed to the growing tendency for individuals in India to invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dutch Investor in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Oikocredit Pays USD 675,000 for 10-Percent Stake in India-based ESAF Microfinance and Investment
Oikocredit, a Dutch investor in microfinance institutions (MFIs), has paid INR 30 million (USD 675,000) for a 10-percent stake in Kerala-based ESAF (Evangelical Social Action Forum) Microfinance and Investment Private Limited (ESAF). The investment was made through a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary of Oikocredit, Manaveeya Holdings and Investments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investment Firms Matrix Partners India, Hivos-Triodos Fonds and Lok Capital LLC Invest $26.5m in Indian BASIX Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL)
Matrix Partners India, a Mumbai-based investment firm, is investing INR 1 billion (USD 22.5 million) in Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution that is a member of the BASIX (Bhartiya Samruddhi Investment & Consulting Service) Group. Two existing investors, Europe-based Hivos-Triodos Fonds and dedicated microfinance institution (MFI) investor Lok Capital LLC, are contributing a further INR 127 million (USD 2.9 million) and INR 55 million (USD 1.2 million) respectively.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India Business Excellence Fund (IBEF), a Private Equity Fund, Invests $4.4m of Equity in AU Financiers, a Non-banking Financial Company Located in India, to Increase Lending to Small Entrepreneurs
The India Business Excellence Fund (IBEF), a private equity fund, will invest INR 200 million of equity, the equivalent of over USD 4.4 million, in AU Financiers, a non-banking financial company located in India, in order to provide loans for “low-income, self-employed, first-venture, and small transport entrepreneurs” in rural and semi-urban areas of states including Rajasthan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Investment Arm of the World Bank, Provides USD 300,000 Investment to Utkarsh Micro Finance, a Microfinance Start-Up Based in Varanasi, India
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has provided a USD 300,000 investment to Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited, a microfinance start-up providing loans in Northern India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asia-based CLSA Capital Partners Invests $24m in Indian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Equitas
CLSA Capital Partners, the alternative asset management arm of CLSA (Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia) Asia-Pacific Markets, has bought a minority stake in Equitas Micro Finance India Private Limited (Equitas), a Chennai-based microfinance institution (MFI), for USD 24 million.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian BASIX Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (BSFL) Partners with Micro Home Solutions
Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution that is a member of the BASIX Group, recently entered into a strategic partnership with Micro Home Solutions (MHS), a social enterprise based in India that provides housing to poor urban residents.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance Limited, Microfinance Institution (MFI) in India, Files to Raise $250m in Initial Public Offering (IPO)
There are now more details available regarding the much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of SKS Microfinance Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in India, which MicroCapital covered most recently on March 9, 2010.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Funds Seek to Expand Focus Beyond Microcredit
According to a recent article on VCCircle.com, an Indian online news platform, Indian microfinance fund managers are diversifying their investment base to include more areas of social investing, such as microinsurance, micro housing finance, healthcare, mobile payments and rural supply chains.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Outstanding Loan Volume by NGO Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in India Doubled from 2008 to 2009
According to the Bharat Microfinance Report released by Sa-Dhan, an organization of microfinance institutions in India, the portfolio of NGO microfinance institutions (MFIs) grew 97 percent to INR 351 billion (the equivalent of USD 7.7 billion) in 2009.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of India, a Nationalized Commercial Bank, Provides $43.9m Loan to Hyderbad-Based Microfinance Institution (MFI), SHARE Microfin Limited
The State Bank of India (SBI), a nationalized commercial bank, has provided an INR 200 crore loan, the equivalent of over USD 43.9 million, to SHARE Microfin Limited, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Hyderabad, India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Predicts Efforts Will Lower Microfinance Interest Rates in India
The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organization of 35 of India’s microfinance companies, is currently working on several projects that it predicts will lower interest rates on microloans.