The Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), an initiative of the UK-based Shell Foundation and Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), recently closed a fundraising round at USD 125 million. EEGF is intended to increase access to renewable energy in
Search Results for: india
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Joliba Capital Raises $58m in Equity from FMO, IFC, Proparco to Support SMEs, Mid-caps in Central, West Africa
Joliba Capital of Côte d’Ivoire recently raised EUR 55 million (USD 57.8 million) for its newly launched Joliba Capital Fund. The participants in this first close of the fund are the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO); the International Finance Corporation (IFC),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution PEBCo-Bethesda of Benin Borrows $2m from Incofin via Agricultural Liquidity Fund
Incofin, a Belgium-based investor, recently disbursed a loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.1 million) to PEBCo-Bethesda, a microfinance institution in Benin, from the Agricultural Liquidity Fund (ALF).
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “2023 Microfinance Index Report,” Published by 60 Decibels
This report provides insight into the experience of financial services provider (FSP) clients, including quantitative comparisons of FSPs across regions and snapshots of FSP performance in Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Uganda.
The authors constructed the dataset from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Asset Management’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Issue Loans to MFIs in Ecuador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay
Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, recently announced that it disbursed loans totaling USD 10 million during August through its Dual Return Funds to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in seven countries. Although the names of the MFIs and the amounts invested in each have not been disclosed, I-AM does report having invested via the funds in two MFIs for the first time, one each in
SPECIAL REPORT: Fortune Credit of Kenya, Fundación Génesis Empresarial of Guatemala, Yikri of Burkina Faso Are Finalists for European Microfinance Award 2023 on Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition
From the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP): On September 19 and September 20, 2023, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award (EMA) 2023 on “Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition” selected the three finalists that will go on to compete for the prize of EUR 100,000 (USD 105,000): Fortune Credit Limited from Kenya, Fundación Génesis Empresarial from Guatemala and Yikri from Burkina Faso.
The choice of topic for the EMA2023 comes at a
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Global Development Conference on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development; October 31 – November 1, 2023; Quito, Ecuador
Sessions at this event will cover topics such as aligning government policies with environmental science; supporting female entrepreneurs; how biodiversity impacts economies; and understanding the connections among climate change, poverty, and gender inequality.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LOLC Buys 28% Equity Stake in Unguka Bank, Provider of Microfinance in Rwanda, from Incofin
Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) Holdings, a Sri Lankan unit of the Japanese conglomerate Orix, recently paid an undisclosed sum to Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management to acquire 28 percent of the shares of Rwanda’s Unguka Bank. Unguka provides deposit, lending and other services to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The bank has 15 service locations in the capital and three provinces. It serves 1,700 clients with total assets of USD 29 million. Unguka received its license from the National Bank of Rwanda in 2005.
Geert Peetermans, Co-CEO of Incofin commented: “From the time we
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Sustainable Assets Fund (BOSAF) Raises $15m for Infrastructure Lending
The Swiss investment manager BlueOrchard recently raised an additional USD 14.6 million from undisclosed investors for its BlueOrchard Sustainable Assets Fund (BOSAF), an infrastructure debt fund active in “growth markets.” Among BOSAF’s outstanding placements are:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
SPECIAL REPORT: The Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Global Development
In September 2015, every UN member country endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which comprises 17 target areas known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
After falling from 10.1 percent in 2015 to 8.6 percent in 2018, the global poverty rate increased to 9.2 percent in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing a long trend of poverty reduction. Other headwinds such as armed conflicts, rising inflation, food insecurity, and political and social unrest also are affecting global development, and the UN estimates that these crises combined to cause an additional 95 million people to live in extreme poverty in 2022.
On the other hand, the digital revolution has made many people’s lives easier with access to mobile phones, the internet and other tools. Digital financial inclusion (DFI) and its innovative business models have had a particularly disruptive effect, bolstering financial inclusion worldwide.
Impact on Sustainable Development Goals
DFI is enabling all types of pathways to advance the achievement of the SDGs, strengthening the link between financial inclusion and development. In 2016, CGAP and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Imkon of Uzbekistan Nets Convertible Debt from BOPA to Expand Microfinance, SME Finance
Imkon Finans, an Uzbekistani joint stock corporation that provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, recently borrowed an undisclosed sum – in the form of debt that can be converted into equity – from Base of Pyramid Asia (BOPA), a Singapore-based investor in microfinance. Imkon, which is based in the city of Andizhan, plans to use the fresh cash to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 60 Decibels Microfinance Index Data from 32 Countries Indicates Higher Confidence Among Group Borrowers, Greatest Debt Burden in Cambodia
This year’s second annual Microfinance Index from US-based impact measurement firm 60 Decibels draws on phone calls to approximately 32,000 users of microfinance services delivered by 115 financial services providers (FSPs) in 32 countries. In general, FSP clients reported higher confidence in dealing with economic shocks than
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest International Places $11m in Equity Fund uMunthu II to Support Rapidly Expanding SMEs in Africa
Netherlands-based Invest International recently committed EUR 10 million (USD 10.9 million) to the uMunthu II equity fund of Netherlands-based Goodwell Investments and Nigeria-based Alitheia Capital. The goal of uMunthu II is to generate market-rate returns by helping fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Khan Bank Raises $10m in Bond Sale to Vision Microfinance Dual Return Fund to Support Women’s SMEs in Mongolia
Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle- income countries, recently facilitated a bond issue channeling USD 10 million to Khan Bank, which serves individuals and companies of all sizes in Mongolia, to support UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality. Impact Asset Management (I-AM), a unit of Austria’s C-Quadrat Investment Group, bought the bond through its Vision
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cubo Raises $3.5m in Debt, Equity to Boost Acceptance of Digital Payments by Microenterprises in Central America
El Salvadoran startup Cubo, in an effort to bring its digital payments solutions to Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica, recently raised USD 3.5 million in seed financing from investors including IDB Lab, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, and three venture capital firms, Colombia-based Latin Leap, Peru’s Seedstars and India’s Soma Capital. Cubo expects the new funding to allow it to reach about
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Abler Nordic Sells Equity Stake in Microfinance Institution Baobab Senegal, Retains Holding in Parent Company
Abler Nordic, a partnership of public and private investors based in Denmark and Norway, recently sold its stake in Baobab Senegal for an undisclosed price to the latter’s parent company, Baobab Group, which operates microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Africa and China. Abler, known at the time as the Nordic Microfinance Initiative, bought the stake in 2012. Abler continues to hold a stake in Baobab Group.
“As we hand the baton on, we are very pleased with how the company has grown, the impressive social results they have achieved, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20, SME Finance Forum Showcase Digital Finance Solutions for MSMEs Via Online Database, Seek Submissions
The Group of Twenty (G20), an association of the world’s larger economies, recently released a digital database hosting descriptions of “innovative financial products and services” – other than lending – that are available to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the globe. The entries are classified as offering Cash Management, Credit Guarantees