The African Development Bank (AfDB) and four development finance institutions recently launched an African Capitalization Fund (the “Fund”), which will be structured as a private equity fund. The other financial institutions involved are the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). The Fund will be managed by the IFC’s Asset Management Company and will invest in private sector commercial banks.
Search Results for: AfDB
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and German Development Bank KfW Launch $150m Fund for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa
The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German development bank KfW recently launched a regional investment fund for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution (MFI) Advans Banque Congo Increases Capital to $13m
Advans Banque Congo, a microfinance institution (MFI) operated by Luxembourg-based Advans SA, recently met the Congolese central bank’s requirement of a minimum of USD 13 million in capital. The new capital was provided by existing shareholders Advans SA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the German development bank KfW, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ugandan Government Eliminates $2m Fisheries Credit Fund Due to Lack of Funding from Banks and Microfinance Institutions
The government of Uganda recently cancelled the Fisheries Development Project (FDP) fund, worth an equivalent of USD 2 million, when local banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) refused to help finance the project.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kenya’s Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility (SELF) Reports Having Distributed $15m to Microfinance Institutions for On-lending
With funding from the African Development Bank (ADB), the Tanzanian government’s Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility (SELF) has distributed the equivalent of USD 15 million to 228 microfinance institutions, according to a recent article in Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: USAID Signs a USD 16 Million Dollar Loan Agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C.
According to AllAfrica, a multi-media content service provider of news in Africa, USAID has recently signed a USD 16 million dollar loan agreement with Ethiopian Awash International Bank and Oromiya Cooperative Bank S.C [1]. The agreement was reached to help strengthen the economic development of Ethiopia by enabling microfinance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives to offer more loans [1]. No additional information is provided as to whether the funds are on-lent to MFIs or which MFIs will receive these funds. According to the AllAfrica story, the loan agreement would reduce collateral requirements to beneficiaries by 50 percent, but it is unclear who the beneficiaries are. There is no additional information regarding the terms and usage of loan, structure of the program or how it would reduce collateral requirements is provided.
PRESS RELEASE: Advans SA SICAR Launches Microfinance Bank in Democratic Republic of the Congo: Advans Banque Congo
Source: Advans.
MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: South Africa’s Blue Financial Services Obtains USAID $10 Million Loan Portfolio Guarantee And Expands Microfinance Services In Africa
It was recently reported that Blue Financial Services (Blue) [1], an MFI headquartered in South Africa and established in 2001, received a loan portfolio guarantee of up to USD 10 million from USAID [2] for their small business lending operations. The facility will cover 50 percent of any loss experienced by Blue on small, medium and micro enterprise or SMME loans within the USAID-backed loan portfolio. The guarantee is valid for the next 10 years.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 8th Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN) Annual Conference & General Assembly 16 Nov 2009 to 20 November 2009
Event Name: 8th Africa Microfinance Network (AFMIN) Annual Conference & General Assembly
See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events
Cost: No details regarding cost have been provided.
Summary of Event: This event will focus on recommending strategies to boost economic growth in Africa with the view to building strong and inclusive rural financing systems that create employment, wealth and increase income of the poor in rural areas.
MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: Migrant Remittances: A Development Challenge, Published by the African Development Bank Group
“Migrant Remittances: A Development Challenge”, Published by the African Development Bank Group, 2009. Available at: http://collab2.cgap.org//gm/document-1.9.34957/Migrant%20Remittances,%20a%20Development%20Challenge.pdf
This 85 page report presents the results of the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s 2007 extensive study on migrant remittances. The study involved a survey of emigrants from Morocco, Senegal, Mali, and the Comoros as well as beneficiaries in the countries. The African countries, while very different from one another, all have a French colonial background while the emigrants surveyed lived in France, Italy, and Spain. The study examines the use of remittances and preferences for various transfer mechanisms to ultimately present various challenges in dealing with remittances as well as a number of suggestions for how to improve the method and use of remittances. Among the suggestions is the recommendation that microfinance institutions (MFIs) expand or mobile banking services be offered, so that beneficiaries of remittances might readily access the transferred money through a formal mechanism. Remittances constitute a great volume of cash inflow to the countries surveyed, totaling between 9 percent of GDP in Morocco and 24 percent in the Comoros, or between 80 and 750 percent of the countries’ official development assistance (ODA).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: African Development Bank Group, Agence Française de Développement Group, European Investment Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, KfW Bankengruppe, Islamic Development Bank Group, and World Bank Group Launch USD 15bn Joint Action Plan for Africa Including Support for Microfinance Programs
Seven international financial institutions (IFIs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) have announced a Joint IFI/DFI Action Plan to respond to the Financial Crisis in Africa (Joint Action Plan). In a communiqué signed at the annual meeting of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in Dakar, Senegal, the organizations jointly pledged to increase commitments by at least USD 15 billion in the next two to three years. Among goals such as promoting trade and increasing funding for infrastructure and agribusiness, the Joint Action Plan also allocates significant funding to strengthen the financial sector and support micro, small and medium enterprises in the region affected by the global economic slowdown.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Infamous Brother of Ugandan President Floods Microfinance Market with $133m of Subsidized Capital Over 5 Years
AllAfrica.com reported that Salim Saleh, the current Ugandan State Minister for Microfinance announced that the Government of Uganda (GoU) has set aside 262 billion shillings (or USD 133.7 million) to be delivered as subsidized low-interest loans through the Microfinance Support Center (MSC), to Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCO), to individuals and small businesses. MSC is a government owned limited liability company set up to aid in management of rural microfinance. The announcement was made at the launch of the MSC’s five-year strategic plan. “This company has 40 billion shillings (USD 20.4 million) for the next five months and it can loan out 9 billion shillings (USD 4.6 million) each month,” said Mr. Saleh. This budget is up from January when MSC Director, Mr. Mutebi Kityo announced that the company was prepared to loan out USD 3.5 million by February 10. Financial information is not available regarding MSC’s previous activities.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Grants Formal Banking License to Liberia’s First Commercial Microfinance Institution, Access Bank Liberia (ABL); ABL Starts Issuing Loans to the Public
Access Bank Liberia (ABL), the first commercial microfinance institution of Liberia, has become operational and started issuing loans to the public, according to an announcement by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group. ABL, which received a preliminary banking license in July 2008, started operations after it was granted a formal banking license by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) on January 21, 2009. According to the announcement by IFC, since receiving the preliminary license, ABL had hired and trained loan officers, tailored all its savings and credit products to cater to the demands of the Liberian market and ensured compliance of all its banking systems with the Liberian law. ABL will focus on microfinance lending in Liberia in addition to providing short and medium-term lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Liberia. So far, no information on the interest rates to be charged is available yet.
NEWS WIRE: Africa: Which Way for MFI’s
Source: The African Executive.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Kenya’s K-Rep Bank Records Loss in Profits, Receives New Capital from IFC, African Development Bank, Shorecap International, Triodos, FMO, K-Rep Group
K-Rep Bank CEO Kimanthi Mutua attributed a recorded loss in profit totalling Sh 209 million (USD 2.6 million) to post-election violence and massive investment in the bank’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The Daily Nation reported that Kenya’s K-Rep Bank reported a loss in profit according to an unaudited financial report ending September 30, 2008. The majority of K-Rep clients are low-income entrepreneurs located in neighbourhoods that were badly affected by the post-election violence. Shareholders have injected an additional Sh 1 billion (USD 12.7 million), which will be used to diversify and create new products to increase the bank’s market share and further develop ICT infrastructure, such as Temenos 24. In September 2007 K-Rep Bank reported profits of Sh146 million (USD 1.86 million).
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Equity Bank Wins Best Micro Finance Bank in Africa Award at the African Bankers Awards In Washington DC
Equity Bank, the largest Kenyan bank with 48% of the nation’s bank accounts, has won the Best Micro Finance Bank in Africa award at the African Bankers Awards in Washington DC. Other nominees for the award were ACCION Microfinance Bank, Barclays, Development Bank of Mauritius, and Swazibank. The event, the second of its kind, was hosted by London-based IC Publications, publishers of African Banker magazine and endorsed by the World Bank. Sponsors included the African Development Bank, 3i Infotech, Ecobank, and the Bank of Industry.
PRESS RELEASE: Standard Chartered Hosts Conference on Microfinance and SMEs in Zambia
Source: Standard Chartered.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Central Bank of Liberia Grants License to AccessBank Liberia Limited, a Commercial Microfinance Bank
Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has granted provisional license to AccessBank Liberia Limited (ABL), a microfinance bank established in 2008, to operate as a commercial entity. AccessBank Liberia will open with an initial paid-in capital of USD 6 million, the minimum capital required by the CBL of banks operating in Liberia. AccessBank will focus on microfinance lending while also provide short and medium-term lending to small and medium enterprises.