by Greg Casey -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) Renamed Access Bank

According to the Azeri Press Association, the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) has been officially renamed Access Bank. The name stems from Access Holding, which controls a 16.53 percent stake in the microfinance institution (MFI). The news comes after MFBA recently attracted increased funding from the IFC and British Petroleum (BP).

by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: British Government-sponsored CDC Group to Invest $10.5m of Equity in Luxembourgian Venture Capital Firm Advans SA

Advans SA, a Luxembourgian venture capital firm that specializes in microfinance ventures, recently announced it raised EUR 7 million (USD 10.5 million) in equity capital from CDC Group, a private equity fund of funds sponsored by the British government. CDC’s investment aims to support Advans’ expansion of investments in Asian and African microfinance institutions (MFIs). The deal will consist of two financing rounds: CDC has committed to an initial round of EUR 3 million (USD 4.5 million) in equity, and plans to invest EUR 4 million (USD 6.5 million) of equity during a subsequent round of Advans-planned fundraising in early 2009.

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Lok Capital and the Dell Foundation Announce Investment in Indian Microfinance Organization Arohan

Lok Capital, a microfinance venture capital fund focused on India, and the Dell Foundation, a charitable organization, have announced an investment in Arohan Financial Services Limited, a for-profit Indian microfinance institution (MFI).  The size of the equity investment was not disclosed. Arohan offers microcredit and credit-linked insurance to urban women in Kolkata, and it plans to use the funds to expand operations to other urban centers in eastern India and to expand its product offering.

by Greg Casey -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Fitch Ratings Assigns the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) a Grade of BB+

Fitch Ratings has assigned the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) a long-term issue default rating of BB+, a short-term issue default rating of B and a long-term outlook of ‘stable.’ This rating qualifies MFBA as investment grade and makes it the highest rated private bank in Azerbaijan.

by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Pan-African Microfinance Institution Blue Financial Services (BFS) to Acquire South African Microlender Credit U Holdings for $36m

African commercial microlender Blue Financial Services (BFS) has announced plans to purchase the entire issued share capital of South African microlender Credit U Holdings for the price of RND 278 million (USD 36 million). The purchase will consist of a 50 percent cash and 50 percent share offer to all Credit U shareholders, at a ratio of one BFS share for every 2.25 Credit U shares. Both companies’ shares are traded on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

by Ryan Benson -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) Loans $15m to Bosnian-Herzegovinian MFI Partner Microcredit Foundation

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), an investment firm that seeks returns from a portfolio of social enterprises, has made a USD 15 million loan to Bosnian-Herzegovinian nonprofit microlender Partner Microcredit Foundation. The loan will be used by Partner to expand its on-lending activities to small and micro enterprises. The loan’s term and rate were not disclosed.

by Jocelyn Cheng -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Mongolian Microfinance Institution XacBank Launches Cellphone Banking Service with Support from CGAP

XacBank, Mongolia’s largest microfinance institution, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a microfinance think tank housed at the World Bank, announced the launch of a new mobile phone banking service with a target audience of 300,000. CGAP is providing XacBank with financial and technical support.

by Sarah Knapp -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) Grants Label to Belgian Microfinance Investment Company Incofin’s Rural Impulse Fund (RIF)

Nonprofit Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) has granted its label to the
Rural Impulse Fund SA, SICAV-FIS (RIF). The LuxFLAG label indicates that RIF, which invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rural areas, is truly investing in microfinance activities. The label was initiated to provide increased assurance to investors that commercial microfinance investment vehicle’s (MIVs) were committed to delivering microfinance services.

by Ipek Kuran -

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.

by Anthony Busch -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Central Asia Benchmarking Report, 2006, Scott B. Gaul and Olga Tomilova

Authored by Scott B. Gaul, the Microfinance Information eXchange’s (MIX) Product Development Manager and Lead Analyst for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), and Olga Tomilova, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) Consultant for ECA, a joint publication of the Central Asian Microfinance Center (CAC), CGAP, the Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (MFC), and the MIX, released February 2008, 20 pages, available at http://www.mixmbb.org/Publications/002-REG/EASTERN%20EUROPE%20AND%20CENTRAL%20ASIA%20(ECA)/02-Central%20Asia%20Benchmarking%20Reports/Central%20Asia%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20English%20-%20Final.pdf

by Ipek Kuran -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Mercy Corps Buys a Commercial Bank in Bali to Service the Microfinance Sector in Indonesia

Mercy Corps, a global relief organization, announced the creation of a ‘bank of banks’ (BoB), a commercial bank that will partner with other microfinance institutions (MFIs), in Indonesia. The MAXIS (Maximizing Financial Access and Innovation at Scale) program, developed by Mercy Corps to build BoB and provide technical asistance, received USD 19.4 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation‘s Financial Services for the Poor initiative. The total capital supporting the creation of Indonesia’s first microfinance wholesale bank adds up to approximately USD 33 million, with funding from investors such as International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Hivos-Triodos Fund, a joint initiative of the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) and Triodos Bank, based in Netherlands.