by Ananya Tiwari -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s PNB Housing Finance Borrows $50m from International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Mortgages for Low-Income Families

PNB Housing Finance Limited (“PNB Housing”), a subsidiary of the India-based, government-controlled Punjab National Bank (PNB), recently accepted a loan of USD 50 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the US-based World Bank Group.

by Simon Pfanner -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Acquires 10% Stake in Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Credinka from Diviso Grupo Financiero

Accion, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced the acquisition of a 10-percent stake in Credinka, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in the Peruvian city of Cusco, from Diviso Grupo Financiero, a financial group that has been listed on the Lima Stock Exchange since 2007.

by Ben Krupp -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion’s Frontier Investments Invests Equity in Britain’s Eseye, Provider of Machine-to-Machine “M2M” Services That Can Facilitate Utility Service to Low-Income Households

Accion’s Frontier Investments Group, a venture-equity initiative that seeks to invest in companies serving financially excluded populations, has invested an undisclosed amount in Eseye Limited, a UK-based machine-to-machine (M2M) technology provider, during Eseye’s series-B financing round, which raised a total of USD 9 million.

by Aliz Crowley -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Invests $500k in Equity to Acquire 8% of Kenyan Microinsurer Agriculture and Risk Enterprise (ACRE), Loans $334k to Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) for Technical Assistance

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which is based in Luxembourg and invests in “social businesses,” recently informed MicroCapital that it has made an investment of USD 500,000 in Nairobi-based Agriculture and Risk Enterprise Limited (ACRE), a microinsurance provider that aims to launch products in East and West Africa in exchange for an 8-percent stake in the company.

by Juan Blanco Ramos -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Anticipating $1m in Donations to Last Mile Initiative for Latin America

The Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, recently announced that it is anticipating donations to its Last Mile Initiative totaling USD 1 million after receiving a USD 500,000 donation from David and Susan Russell, which must be matched with an equal amount of funds from other sources.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Call for Proposals for 10th International Microinsurance Conference, Hosted by Munich Re Foundation, Microinsurance Network, Mexico City, November 11-13, 2014

Munich Re Foundation, a German nonprofit organization affiliated with reinsurer Munich Re, and the Microinsurance Network, a Luxembourg-based membership organization that seeks to improve access to insurance for poor people, recently issued a call for proposals for presentations to be made at the 10th International Microinsurance Conference.

by A'kos Szebeni -

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.

by Chikondano Faith Chisala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Foundation Receives Innovation Grant from GSMA’s mWomen

The Global Systems for Mobile Association (GSMA), a London-based association of 1,000 mobile operators and associated companies, recently announced that its mWomen programme has awarded the Grameen Foundation, a US-based nonprofit organization, its Innovation Fund grant of an undisclosed amount.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Kreditech Raises $15m in Debt from Kreos Capital for Lending in Eurasia, Latin America

Kreditech, a German technology company that uses an online platform to assess the creditworthiness of loan applicants, recently announced that it has raised USD 15 million in debt financing from UK-based venture capital firm Kreos Capital (Kreos).

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peru-based Financiera Edyficar’s Acquisition of 61% Stake in Mibanco Receives Regulatory Approval

Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian holding company Creditcorp, has received regulatory approval from the Peruvian Superintendency of Banks, Insurance and Pension Funds, the financial sector regulator in the country, for its proposed USD 179 million acquisition of a 60.7-percent stake in Mibanco, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) that is a subsidiary of nonprofit holding company Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP).

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund Invests $170m in Banco CorpBanca Colombia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Capitalization Fund, an investment fund managed by an arm of the World Bank Group’s IFC, has announced a USD 170 million subordinated bond investment in Banco CorpBanca Colombia (CBC), a subsidiary of CorpBanca, a Chile-based commercial bank that is a subsidiary of Brazil’s Itau Unibanco.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: US-based Startups First Access, Cignifi Analyze Mobile Phone Usage to Measure Creditworthiness of Unbanked

A number of startup companies are employing analytical techniques based on “big data” to interpret the mobile phone usage of poor people to assess the creditworthiness of those applying for loans in developing economies.

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creditcorp’s Financiera Edyficar of Peru to Acquire 61% Stake in Mibanco for $179m

Peru-based microlender Financiera Edyficar (Edyficar), an operating subsidiary of Peruvian bank holding company Creditcorp, recently announced that it will acquire a 60.7-percent stake in Mibanco, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) that is a subsidiary of nonprofit holding company Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP).

by A'kos Szebeni -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Owner of Mibanco, Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP) Breaches Debt Covenant; Entire Peruvian Microfinance Sector Under Strain?

Grupo Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP), a Peruvian nonprofit holding company that is the majority shareholder of Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) Mibanco, recently breached a covenant on a 10-year USD 85 million corporate bond due in 2021, resulting in a downgrade of its credit rating by Fitch, a US-based rating agency.

by Meraj Husain -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A Guide to Responsible Investing,” Published by MicroRate

“A Guide to Responsible Investing,” published by MicroRate, December 2013, 7 pages, available at http://www.microrate.com/a-guide-to-responsible-investing-a-microrate-white-paper

MicroRate, a US-based for-profit microfinance rating agency, has published a primer introducing the terminology and practices used by the “responsible” investing community.