MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Syndicates $30m Loan to Microfinance Institution FINCA Azerbaijan Including $15m From Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB)

FINCA Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) recently received a multi-currency, syndicated loan worth USD 30 million from the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, with the participation of Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of the Austrian government. Each institution will invest the equivalent of USD 15 million, and additional commitments totalling USD 10 million are expected from various international commercial investors and asset managers. The loan facility has a term of five years and the equivalent of USD 15 million of the principal is denominated in local currency [1]. 

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Road to Inclusion: A Look at the Financially Excluded and Underserved;” Published by MasterCard

“The Road to Inclusion: A Look at the Financially Excluded and Underserved;” Published by MasterCard; May 2014; 18 pages; available at http://newsroom.mastercard.com/asia-pacific/documents/the-road-to-inclusion-a-look-at-the-financially-excluded-and-underserved

This report, published by US-based financial services corporation MasterCard, seeks to shed light on how people manage with limited financial services in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines and Vietnam.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: South Korean Hana Bank Establishes Microfinance Institution (MFI) in Myanmar

Hana Bank, a Seoul-based commercial bank that is the primary banking subsidiary of South Korean Hana Financial Group, reportedly has announced the establishment of Hana Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Myanmar.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “Harry Potter” Cinema Actress Emma Watson to Serve as Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations (UN) Women

United Nations (UN) Women, the UN organization “dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” has announced Emma Watson, a British actress, will serve as Goodwill Ambassador for the organization.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), IFC Capitalization Fund Invest $15m in Subordinated Debt in Nicaragua-based Banco de Finanzas (BDF)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced a USD 15 million subordinated bond investment in Banco de Finanzas, a Nicaragua-based commercial bank that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panama-based bank holding company Grupo Banco de Finanzas.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Applications Open for 2014 Seed Awards for Entrepreneurs in Sustainable Development Until April 8

The Seed Initiative, a Germany-based nonprofit institution that supports small-scale social and environmental enterprises in emerging economies, recently announced that it is accepting applications for the “2014 Seed Awards for Entrepreneurs in Sustainable Development,” a set of annual awards presented to entrepreneurs in developing countries that Seed deems to be the “…most promising, innovative and locally led…[and that have the] potential to contribute significantly to sustainable development…”.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank Approves $600k for Microfinance Development in Azerbaijan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a development finance institution based in the Philippines, has agreed to commit USD 600,000, including USD 300,000 from ADB’s Financial Sector Development Partnership Fund, to provide technical assistance for the development of Azerbaijan’s microfinance sector.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aeon Financial Service Company Limited Launches Consumer Credit Services Subsidiary Aeon Microfinance (Myanmar) Company

Aeon Financial Service Company Limited (Aeon), a Japanese-based credit and financial services provider, recently announced that it has launched Aeon Microfinance (Myanmar) Company, a consumer credit services subsidiary based in the Myanmar State of Yangon.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loans $50m to AccessBank of Azerbaijan for Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises in Rural Areas

AccessBank, an Azerbaijani for-profit microfinance institution (MFI), recently notified MicroCapital that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, will provide a USD 50 million five-year senior loan facility to AccessBank.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Asian Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Commit $150m to Microfinance in Asia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral finance institution based in the Philippines, reportedly has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank, a financial services company based in the United Kingdom, to increase access to financial services for poor people in Asia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Partnerships Agrees to Loan Up to $500k to Friendship Bridge for Microcredit for Rural Guatemalan Women

Global Partnerships (GP), a nonprofit investor based in the US city of Seattle, Washington, has launched a partnership with Friendship Bridge, a US-based nonprofit microfinance institution that provides rural Guatemalan women with microcredit loans as well as business and preventive health education.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credinka of Peru, Ugafode of Uganda, FACES of Ecuador, Agora Microfinance Zambia, ASDIR of Guatemala Borrow $4m From Triodos Investment Management

Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Dutch Triodos Bank, recently disbursed loans to the following five microfinance institutions: Caja Rural de Ahorra y Credito Quillabamba (Credinka) of Peru, Ugafode Microfinance Limited of Uganda, Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador (FACES) of Ecuador, Agora Microfinance Zambia and Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rural (ASDIR) of Guatemala.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Myanmar Caps Microloan Interest Rates at 17%, Germany’s Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC), Philippine’s CARD Fund Mingalar Myanmar, Myanmar Egress Microfinance Projects

Sparkassenstiftung fuer internationale Kooperation (Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation, SBFIC), a development organization that finances microfinance institutions (MFIs), and the Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), an MFI in the Philippines, recently signed deals to begin microfinance projects with Mingalar Myanmar and Myanmar Egress, two NGOs in Myanmar.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BNP Paribas, Russian Microfinance Department Award $2m Loan to FINCA Russia

Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas Russia, the Russian arm of French financial services provider BNP Paribas, and the microfinance department of Russia’s Ministry of Finance have reportedly awarded a two-year, USD 2 million loan to FINCA Universal Credit Organization CJSC, a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit microfinance institution (MFI) FINCA International.