The Belgian impact investing firm Incofin Investment Management announced today that it has promoted two of its senior staff members to lead the company as co-CEOs: Paul Buysens, who joined Incofin in 2018 as its COO, and Geert Peetermans, who has 20 years of service as
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tugende Raises $17m in Debt from Symbiotics, Goldfinch, Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Lendahand to Expand Vehicle, Equipment Financing for MSMEs in Kenya, Uganda
Tugende, a financial technology (fintech) firm specializing in vehicle finance in Uganda and Kenya, recently raised USD 17 million in debt funding. The firm plans to use USD 12 million of the fresh cash to support growth in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Annapurna Raises $35m from Accion, Encourage Capital, Oikocredit to Support Green Microfinance, Digitalisation
Annapurna Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Indian state of Odisha, recently raised INR 193 billion (USD 35 million) from US-based NGO Accion, US-based impact investor Encourage Capital and Dutch cooperative investor Oikocredit. The funding is to be used to boost the digitalisation of Annapurna’s operations and for developing
SPECIAL REPORT: Measuring Impact with Agents for Impact’s AFISAR Tool
Agents for Impact: Driving Positive Impact… Together!
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the UN in 2015 provide a blueprint for a just and sustainable world. While actors across a range of professional arenas are rushing to catch up with the SDGs, the term “impact” is being thrown around loosely to give the impression that the desired goals have been reached. It is tempting to assume certain businesses have a positive impact on the SDGs, simply based on intuition. However, some might negatively impact the SDGs or elicit both positive and negative outcomes in the long run. Without proper tools for impact measurement and assessment, we can only get so far!
Agents for Impact (AFI) understands how essential it is to improve the practice of impact measurement through stable and coherent frameworks. To deliver on this promise, we have designed a specialized investment approach to support microfinance institutions (MFIs) that exhibit strong commitment to and proven track records of progress toward the SDGs. To evaluate an MFI’s performance, AFI peels back the surface to deploy a strong assortment of cohesive and rigorous assessment tools, including financial analysis and addressing social performance indicators; sustainability factors; and
SPECIAL REPORT: Agents for Impact: Driving Positive Impact… Together!
Founded in 2018, we are a Germany-based impact investing company. Agents for Impact (AFI) offers premium impact investment solutions, sustainability consulting and impact measurement services tailor-made for clients in the sustainable finance industry.
We provide our partners with a combination of expertise and experience across the following three pillars: RISK – RATING – RESEARCH.
We have Agents spread across Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe, each with in-depth technical expertise and located in close geographical proximity to our key partners and target countries to ensure optimal support.
We pride ourselves on being the partner of choice for impact investors and financial services providers (FSPs) seeking innovation and cooperation. Together with these partners, we pursue positive impact, contributing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BMZ, KfW Creating Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa) with Goals Including to Enable Diaspora Investments via Crowdfunding
Two German institutions, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and KfW, which was formerly known as Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, are launching a foundation called Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa). The foundation has EUR 49 million (USD 55.2 million) to donate in support of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Simbatu Begins Selling Solar Energy Products in Nigeria
Simbatu, a retailer of solar equipment in Nigeria, recently launched its website, offering a range of equipment such as solar panels, hot water heaters, water pumps, power inverters and batteries. Pricing ranges from NGN 18,000 (USD 44) to NGN 338,000 (USD 820). Over time, the firm plans to add products powered by wind, water and biomass.
Daniel Andem, the Sweden-based founder of Simbatu, told MicroCapital that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reltime to Launch “Decentralized Banking Ecosystem” Allowing P2P Loans, Fee-free Transfers Across Eurasia, Latin America
Reltime, a Norway-based firm founded in 2018, recently told MicroCapital it will launch a “decentralized banking ecosystem” allowing anyone with a smartphone and internet access to engage in
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sankalp Africa Summit; March 1-4, 2022; Nairobi, Kenya
In parallel with its sibling Sankalp events that have a global or Southeast Asian focus, this forum is intended to “leverage the knowledge and networks from entrepreneurs, investors, corporations and policymakers” to promote “development through entrepreneurship and innovation.” The theme for the ninth Sankalp Africa Summit is “mainstreaming impact” to create
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Northern Arc Capital to Provide Research, Modeling, Reporting Services to Nasira, FMO Program that Guarantees MSME Lending to Youth, Women, Migrants
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently finalized an agreement with Northern Arc Capital, an Indian financial firm, to support Nasira, a risk-sharing program through which FMO encourages retail financial institutions to lend to entrepreneurs in Africa and parts of Asia. In particular, Nasira guarantees lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises whose owners fall into one or more of the following
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACBA, Symbiotics Partnering on $6.7m Bond Issue for MSMEs, Green Lending in Armenia
The Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia (ACBA), a commercial and investment bank, and Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, recently partnered to raise USD 6.75 million for onlending in Armenia. Symbiotics will list a sustainability bond on the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Triodos Emerging Markets Renewable Energy Fund Debuts with $29m in Commitments
Triodos Investment Management, an impact investing unit of the Netherlands’ Triodos Bank, has announced the launch of the Triodos Emerging Markets Renewable Energy Fund. The fund will deploy senior debt in low- and middle-income countries to support:
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3.7m to Assilassimé Solidarite of Togo, Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ)
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced its disbursal of local-currency loans to Togo-based Assilassimé Solidarite in an amount approximately equivalent to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Western Union, Microfinance Institution Cebuana Luhillier to Introduce Online Money Transfer Service in the Philippines
The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services and communications firm, recently partnered with Cebuana Luhillier, a microfinance services provider in the Philippines, to allow
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: REGMIFA Raises $10m from FMO to Invest in MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Recently, the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA), a fund that invests in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in 19 countries, accepted an investment of USD 10 million from Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership. The purpose of REGMIFA is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IIV Disburses $18m to Khan Bank of Mongolia, Including for On-lending to MSMEs Developing Post-COVID Business Models
Germany’s Invest in Visions (IIV), under the advice of Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management, recently lent USD 18 million to Khan Bank of Mongolia from the fund IIV Mikrofinanzfonds. The proceeds primarily are slated for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Loans $2m to Bina Artha for Microfinance, Small Business Loans for Rural Women in Indonesia
Recently, Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management (IM) lent USD 2 million from its Incofin CVSO fund to Bina Artha, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Indonesia. Incofin IM acknowledges that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Disburses $10m to Microfinance Institutions for On-lending in Indonesia, Myanmar
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently announced it has disbursed loans in local currency to three microfinance institutions (MFIs) active in Indonesia and Myanmar. GCA Foundation loaned the