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.
Search Results for: calvert
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Commercial Bank Banco de Crédito del Perú to Lend $1.2m to Microfinance Institution Pro Mujer Peru
Banco de Crédito del Perú will make a USD 1.2 million-equivalent local-currency loan to microfinance institution (MFI) Pro Mujer Peru, according to a statement by the international non-profit Grameen Foundation, a major backer of the transaction.
PRESS RELEASE: MicroPlace Announces Opportunity to Invest Microfinance Dollars in the United States
Source: MicroPlace.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroCredit Enterprises Invests $150k in Pro Mujer
CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) recently reported that California-based MicroCredit Enterprises made a USD 150,000 investment in Latin American microfinance institution Pro Mujer.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: ACCION International President, Maria Otero, Awarded Ellis Island Medal of Honor for Pioneering Work in Microfinance
ACCION International President and CEO, Maria Otero, was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) in recognition of her contribution to sustainable development in the global microfinance sector.
PRESS RELEASE: Benchmark Asset Managers Invests $1.35m in Microfinance Intermediary MicroVest
Source: MicroVest.
PAPER WRAP-UP: Capital Markets: A Long-Term Solution to Financial Freedom, Gil Crawford and Lauren Clark
Co-authored by Gil Crawford, CEO of MicroVest, a Washington, DC-based private microfinance investment firm, and Lauren Clark, the Communications Manager for MicroVest, released July 2007 as Volume 10-Number 1 of Microenterprise Development Review, a publication of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), 11 pages, available at http://www.microvestfund.com/docs/microenter_dev_%207-16-07.pdf
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Microfinance Meets the Internet, Part 2 of a 4-Part Series on the Cracking the Capital Markets III Conference Hosted By ACCION and Credit Suisse
On March 10-11, 2008, ACCION International and Credit Suisse held the third Cracking the Capital Markets conference on microfinance investment. The conference brought together hedge fund managers, institutional and private investors, leading rating agencies, and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to discuss the challenges, successes, and future of microfinance investments. The first and third articles of this series can also be found on the MicroCapital website.
The conference’s last panel discussed the potential impact of the internet on how microfinance institutions (MFIs) finance themselves. The panel included intermediaries who utilize the internet to bring donors and investors to MFIs, small business, and individual borrowers. Presentations from this panel can be found here.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: New America Foundation to Host Panel on MicroPlace, Invites Attendees in Person or Via Webcast
NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION PANEL ON MICROPLACE
MARCH 19, 2008, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES, OR VIA WEBCAST
eBay’s new online microfinance investment marketplace, MicroPlace advertises the opportunity to “Invest Wisely. End Poverty.” Online microlending has been growing more popular with peer-to-peer offerings such as nonprofit Kiva, which offers socially-minded Americans a way to offer microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. However as a broker-dealer, MicroPlace offers investors the opportunity to invest in the working poor and earn both a social and financial return.
NEWS WIRE: Microfinance-Related and Other Social Investment Options on the Rise
Source: SocialFunds.com.
NEWS WIRE: USA: More From Forbes – On the Pitfalls of Microfinance Investing
Forbes: “A lot of people are chasing returns in barefoot banking. Here’s what you should know before you follow.”
NEWS WIRE: Microfinance Ignored: Demand for Loans Around the World Far Outstrips Supply
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Brooklyn Bridge-TBLI Group to Host Social Responsible Investment Conference, ‘TBLI 2007 Europe,’ Featuring a Workshop on Microfinance
TBLI (Triple Bottom Line Investing) 2007 EUROPE
NOVEMBER 15-16, PARIS, FRANCE
Brooklyn Bridge-TBLI Group, the Dutch consultancy and conference organiser specializing in triple bottom line investing, is hosting what it claims to be the largest regular global event on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in November. The event will have participants and speakers from microfinance institutions (MFIs), as well as investment bankers, social entrepreneurs, fund managers, researchers, environmentalists and all kinds of SRI stakeholders from around the globe.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Financial Research Associates to Host First Microfinance Conference for Institutional Investors
MICROFINANCE FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR; JANUARY 14-15, 2008; NEW YORK, USA
The event, hosted by Financial Research Associates, is designed to help institutional investors understand the world of microfinance and allow them to identify low-risk market-rate returns while alleviating poverty. The conference will review microfinance institutions and capital management in-depth and will cover specific topics such as microfinance rating methodology, securitization techniques and portfolio risk reduction strategies. There will be speakers and keynote presentations from some of the leading microfinance players.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: MicroVest Finances Microfinance Growth in Latin America with Debt Investment in PRISMA and FUNBODEM
MicroVest Capital Management, a global microfinance intermediary that provides capital to growing microfinance institutions (MFIs) in emerging markets, has completed two first-time investments in two Latin American MFIs. MicroVest made its first local currency loan of 2.4 million Peruvian Soles (USD 750,000 equivalent) to PRISMA, the second largest unregulated MFI in Peru, and two weeks later structured a USD 750,000 loan with Calvert Social Investment Foundation to FUNBODEM, an unregulated MFI operating in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Who’s Who in Microfinance: ACCION President and CEO MarÌÐa Otero
MarÌÐa Otero joined ACCION International (ACCION), a US-based charity supporting microfinance, in 1986 as the Honduras lending program director. On January 1, 2000 Ms. Otero was ACCION President and CEO, replacing Michael Chu who had served in the position from 1994 to 1999. Ms. Otero also chairs ACCION Investments, an investment company for MFIs worth USD 20 million. Her leadership in microfinance extends to the boards of directors of Mibanco, BancoSol, and Compartamos, MFIs in Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico, respectively. Ms. Otero also serves on the boards of the Calvert Foundation, BRAC Holding in Bangladesh, and the Clinton Global Initiative. In 2004 Ms. Otero was nominated by President Bush to be a member of the United States Institute for Peace, where she has served since. She is also a coordinator of the Council of Microfinance Equity Funds, which includes 18 equity investment funds directed towards microfinance.
Four Microfinance Organizations Win 2007 Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award
Several microfinance organizations were selected as winners of the 2007 Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award. The Calvert Social Investment Foundation, Grameen Foundation USA, Unitus Inc., and ACCION were among a group of 43 winners chosen out of a pool of 314 nominees. Grameen, ACCION and Unitus have all won the award in previous years. The award-winners will be featured on the cover of the December issue of Fast Company magazine.
Microfinance Investment Funds Ranked by Size and Microcredit Allocation
|
FUND NAME Ranked by $ Size of Fund |
SIZE OF FUND $USD |
FUNDS ALLOCATED TO MICROFINANCE $USD |
ROI |
|
1. Oikocredit World Partnership Investments |
304,662,000 |
80,764,000 |
2% |
|
2. ProCredit Holding Aktiengesellschaft |
110,918,700 |
89,181,767 |
5-6.5% |
|
3. Calvert Community Investment Notes |
80,000,000 |
20,000,000 |
3% |
|
4. Dexia Microcredit Fund |
51,669,512 |
46,334,570 |
5.5-7.5% |
|
5. Blue Orchard Microfinance Securities |
40,069,833 |
38,000,000 |
4.55-8.8% |
|
6. ASN-Novib Fonds |
28,421,190 |
9,473,730 |
1.20% |
|
7. AXA World Funds |
23,073,410 |
1,481,556 |
5.10% |
|
8. MicroVest I, LP: Equity |
not available |
not available |
7-9% |
|
9. MicrovestI, LP: Subordinated Debt |
not available |
not available |
4.5-6% |
|
10. mPower Investment Program |
not available |
not available |
0-3% |
|
11. Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund |
15,413,875 |
15,413,875 |
4% |
|
12 Triodos Fair Share Fund |
14,583,596 |
6,983,086 |
2-4% |
|
13. Accion Investments in Microfinance |
12,969,985 |
12,512,329 |
8-10% |
|
14. responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund |
11,449,977 |
11,449,977 |
3.56% |
|
15. ALTERFIN |
11,084,244 |
3,628,790 |
6% |
|
16. Partners for the Common Good |
7,095,500 |
300,000 |
3% |
|
17. Latin American Bridge Fund |
5,340,505 |
1,450,000 |
0-2.875% |
|
18. CRESUD |
2,483,480 |
1,490,088 |
2.75% |
|
19. Global Bridge Fund |
1,691,000 |
not available |
0-2.875% |