Lulalend, a funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, recently partnered with Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle- income countries, to issue bonds supplying USD 4.7 million to Lulalend. The bond issue is deemed socially responsible per the
Tag: Deals
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Loans $4.5m to Financiera FAMA for MSMEs in Nicaragua
US-based asset manager MicroVest recently reported disbursing a loan of USD 4.5 million to Financiera FAMA, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was founded as Fundación para el Apoyo a la Microempresa. Established in 1991 and headquartered in the city of Managua, FAMA provides
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Lends $525k to Smart Credit for Microfinance in Moldova
Smart Credit, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating 12 branch locations in Moldova, recently accepted a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 525,000 from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Founded in 2010, Smart Credit offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Standard Life Organization Borrows $3m from Oikocredit to Invest in MSMEs, Education in Nigeria
Standard Life Organization, an NGO in Nigeria, recently agreed to borrow USD 3 million for three years from Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative. Standard Life provides health services and skills training as well as lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including many
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Buying Maritime Microfinance, Fintech Lender Payhippo Gains Deposit License, Access to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System
Payhippo, a financial technology (fintech) lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, recently agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to acquire Maritime Microfinance Bank. Maritime was founded in 2014 and provides in-person loans and savings services to enterprises in Nigeria that have zero to 500 employees, mainly in the shipping and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CRDB Bank Burundi Borrows $5m from IFC for Agricultural Microfinance, SME Lending
The Burundian affiliate of Tanzania’s CRDB Bank recently borrowed USD 5 million from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) for on-lending primarily to smaller agribusinesses in Burundi. IFC has agreed to support the loan with technical assistance on designing products that meet the needs of the target borrowers.
CRDB Bank Burundi Managing Director Fredrick Siwale said, “IFC’s financing will help us enhance the availability of long-term
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EU Guaranteeing $113m to Support $490m in Lending by EBRD to MSMEs in Eastern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
In partnership with the multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the EU recently agreed to guarantee up to EUR 115 million (USD 113 million) in loans distributed by retail financial services providers (FSPs) to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in selected countries of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Coop TLM Borrows $1.3m from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance in Indonesia
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has reported disbursing a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 1.3 million to Coop TLM, a nonprofit microfinance institution in Indonesia. Established in 2010 by the Tanaoba Lais Manekat (TLM) Foundation and headquartered in the city of Kota Kupang, Coop TLM seeks
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sonata Borrows $6m from MicroVest for Group Microlending to Women in Rural India
Sonata Finance, a provider of loans and insurance to women in India, recently borrowed USD 6 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global. Founded in 2006, Sonata serves 700,000 borrowers on a cash-free basis via 460 branches. While most of the microfinance institution’s loans are to groups of women conducting rural enterprise, the institution also offers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.9m to ACF for Microfinance in Kazakhstan
Asian Credit Fund (ACF), a rural microfinance institution (MFI) in Kazakhstan, recently borrowed approximately USD 2 million from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Founded in 1997 by the US-based NGO Mercy Corps, ACF provides
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.9m to Mikra for Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, has reported issuing a loan of EUR 1.9 million (USD 1.9 million) to the microfinance institution (MFI) Mikra of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mikra, whose head office is in the city of Sarajevo, seeks to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Huruma Fund Expands Impact to Mexico, Lending $15m to Mega, ProCredito for Agricultural SMEs
Spain’s Gawa Capital, manager of the public-private Huruma Fund, recently disbursed the fund’s first investments in Mexico, lending EUR 12 million (USD 12 million) to Mega and EUR 3.6 million (USD 3.6 million) to ProCredito, financial services providers whose clients include many agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both investees are active in lending intended to minimize the effects of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Monte Credit Borrows $600k from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Agricultural, Business Microfinance in Montenegro
The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced disbursing a loan of EUR 600,000 (USD 600,000) to the Montenegro-based microfinance institution (MFI) Monte Credit. Monte Credit focuses on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Refugee Investment Fund Lending $1.5m to FINCA Guatemala to Support Returning Migrants
FINCA Guatemala, whose name derives from that of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently agreed to borrow USD 1.5 million over two years from the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund, which is managed by Kiva Capital, a unit of the US-based NGO Kiva. The goal is to expand lending to “Guatemalan migrants returning
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Helmig’s FS Invest Buys 75% of Invest in Visions, Microfinance Fund Manager in Germany
FS Invest Holding, which is owned by Germany’s Helmig family, recently paid an undisclosed sum to acquire a 75-percent stake in Invest in Visions (IIV). Launched in 2006, IIV manages “investments in sustainable agriculture, social enterprises and social impact lending,” including in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and decentralized
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grupo Mega Nets $10m for SME Leasing in Mexico via Bond Sale to MicroVest
MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, recently purchased USD 10 million in bonds from Mexico’s Grupo Mega to support leasing by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which can help SMEs “remain capital-light [in a way] that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ASN Bank Lends EFSE $50m for Micro-, Small Enterprises; Households in Europe, Western Asia
ASN Bank, a retail banking member of the Netherlands’ de Volksbank, recently agreed to purchase EUR 50 million (USD 50 million) in notes from the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), which provides investments and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other lenders in Eastern and Southeastern Europe as well as Western Asia.
The director of ASN’s sustainable finance team, Yvonne van Hoof, explained, “Via this investment, we are ultimately able to improve the quality of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PAIDEK of DRC, MicroLoan Foundation Zambia Borrow $1m from Grameen Crédit Agricole for Microfinance in Africa
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently announced it has issued a loan of approximately USD 550,000 to Programme d’Appui aux Initiatives de Développement Economique du Kivu (PAIDEK) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and