MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Union Funds International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Support Microfinance Institution Arvand’s Agricultural Loans in Tajikistan

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that supports private-sector development, has announced plans to assist Arvand, a deposit-taking microfinance organization based in Tajikistan, in developing its agricultural loan portfolio in the Sughd province.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rural Impulse Fund II, MicroVest II, ASN-Novib Fund Purchase 45% Stake In Arnur Credit Microfinance Institution of Kazakhstan

Rural Impulse Fund II, a Belgian microfinance investment vehicle managed by Incofin Investment Management; MicroVest II, a US-based equity fund managed by MicroVest Capital Management, and ASN-Novib fund, a Dutch microfinance investment vehicle managed by Triple Jump, have taken stakes totaling 45 – percent ownership in Arnur Credit, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kazakhstan.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Capgemini Group, MicroWorld Launch Digital Microfinance Platform

French information technology company Capgemini Group and MicroWorld, an internet-based microfinance intermediary and member of the French PlaNet Finance Group, have launched a digital microfinance platform that “allows individuals and companies to lend small sums of money to finance micro-entrepreneurs who are unable to access traditional banking services.”

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), Triodos Bank Launch Online “Responsible Finance” Magazine

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development bank, has partnered with Triodos Bank, a company with branches in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain, to start an online magazine Upsides (www.upsides.com) focusing on responsible finance and sustainable development in emerging markets.

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Too Much Microcredit? A Survey of the Evidence on Over-Indebtedness;” by Jessica Schicks, Richard Rosenberg; Published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor)

By Jessica Schicks and Richard Rosenberg, published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), September 2011, 44 pages, available at: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.55377/

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Microfinance and the Role of Policies and Procedures in Saturated Markets and During Periods of Fast Growth, by Adrian Gonzalez and Emmanuelle Javoy, published by, Microfinance Information Exchange, Planet Rating

Published by the Microfinance Information Exchange & Planet Rating, MicroBanking Bulletin, September 2011, 10 pages, available at: http://www.themix.org/sites/default/files/MBB-%20microfinance%20and%20the%20role%20of%20policies%20and%20procedures%20in%20saturated%20markets_1.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Chartered Indonesia Loans $3m to Bank Andara to Finance Lending, Technology Services for Microfinance Institutions

Standard Chartered Indonesia, a branch of the London-based bank Standard Chartered PLC, has announced that it will loan IDR 30 billion (USD 3.3 million) to Bank Andara, an Indonesian wholesale lender to microfinance institutions (MFIs), to expand its services to MFIs in Indonesia [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Invests in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Semilla Solidaria of Mexico; COMIXMUL of Honduras; CACMU of Ecuador; Sembrar Sartawi, IDEPRO of Bolivia

Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested an undisclosed amount of funds in five Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs): Semilla Solidaria (SemiSol) of Mexico, Cooperativa Mixta Mujeres Unidas Limitada (COMIXMUL) of Honduras, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU) of Ecuador and Institución Financiera de Desarollo (IFD) Sembrar Sartawi and Instituto para el Desarrollo de la Pequeña Unidad Productiva (IDEPRO) both of Bolivia [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LuxFLAG Grants Microfinance Label to Microfinance Enhancement Facility, Selectum, Etimos Fund, Dual Return Fund Vision Microfinance Local Currency; Renews Label for Six Other Microfinance Investment Vehicles (MIVs)

The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), a microfinance institution vehicle (MIV) certification organization, has recently granted the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label, which reassures investors that MIVs actually invest in the sector, to four MIVs for the first time: Microfinance Enhancement Facility SA SICAV-SIF, Selectum SICAV-SIF, Etimos Fund SICAV-SIF and Dual Return Fund SICAV-SIF Vision Microfinance Local Currency.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Invests in Microfinance Institutions DemirBank of Azerbaijan; First Microfinance Bank, Arvand of Tajikistan; Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan; Kompanion of Kyrgyzstan

Triodos Investment Management, a Netherlands-based manager of four microfinance investment funds, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has invested an undisclosed amount of funds in the following five microfinance institutions (MFIs): DemirBank of Azerbaijan; First Microfinance Bank – Tajikistan (FMFB-TJK) and Arvand, both of Tajikistan; Arnur Credit of Kazakhstan; and Kompanion Financial Group Microfinance Closed Joint Stock Company (Kompanion) of Kyrgyzstan [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Utkarsh Raises $5m in Equity from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative, Aavishkaar Goodwell, International Finance Corporation

Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited (Utkarsh), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), has raised equity commitments of INR 15.8 crores (USD 3.2 million) from Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund, a public-private partnership (PPP) that provides technical and financial support to “emerging” microfinance institutions; INR 6 crores (USD 1.2 million) from Aavishkaar Goodwell India Microfinance Development Company (AG), an Indo-Dutch for-profit private investor in Indian MFIs; and INR 3.2 crores (USD 650,000) from International Finance Corporation, the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank Group [1].

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Royal Netherlands Embassy, Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) to Host Roundtable Discussion on “Real” Banking for the Real Economy: Can Values-based Banking Sustainably Finance the Future?, September 22, 2011, in Washington DC, USA

Event Name: “Real” Banking for the Real Economy: Can Values-based Banking Sustainably Finance the Future?

Event Date: September 22, 2011; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Event Location: Washington, DC, USA

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL) Raises $150m from Institutional Investors, Commercial Banks

Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (BSFL), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) and member of the BASIX Group of companies, has reportedly raised INR 7 billion (USD 150 million) in debt and equity commitments from institutional investors and commercial banks, in what has been described as a “lifeline” by BASIX chairman Vijay Mahajan.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $49m to Support Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Through Raiffeisen Banka Serbia, ProCredit Bank Macedonia, Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments worth a total of EUR 34 million (USD 49.7 million) in three banks that support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs): Raiffeisen Banka Serbia, ProCredit Bank Macedonia and Mikrofin Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $29m to Raiffeisen Bank Bosnia and Herzegovina

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund incorporated in Luxembourg, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investments worth a total of USD 29 million in Raiffeisen Bank Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a bank that provides corporate, retail and investment banking services.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Loans $1.1m in Local Currency to Cameroonian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Advans Cameroun

BlueOrchard Finance SA, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based BlueOrchard Microfinance Investment Managers, has announced that it will provide a local-currency loan of XAF 500 million (USD 1.1 million) to Advans Cameroun, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in Cameroon.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ImpactAssets Includes 22 Microfinance-Focused Fund Managers in List of Top 50 Impact Investors

ImpactAssets, a US-based nonprofit company specializing in impact investment, recently released its “2011 ImpactAssets 50,” a list of investment fund managers that “achieve financial performance with positive social and environmental impacts,” including 22 microfinance-focused funds.