MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $3m to Microfinance Institution Vision Banco Paraguay

Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it loaned USD 3 million during May 2018 to Vision Banco Paraguay, a microfinance institution (MFI) providing credit and deposit services to individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). IIV executed the investment

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, YourNest Invest $1.3m for Equity Stakes in Digital Lender CredRight of India

CredRight, an online lender to individuals as well as micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India, recently received equity investments totaling INR 90 million (USD 1.3 million) from Accion Venture Labs, a fund of US-based NGO Accion, and YourNest, a venture capital firm

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ (ANDE’s) Metrics from the Ground Up; June 12 – 13, 2018; Washington, DC, USA

Summary of Event: The tenth iteration of this event will address how to quantify impact in the “small and growing businesses” (SGBs) sector. Participants will take stock of the progress made over the last decade as well as discussing ways to overcome challenges in the industry. Draft agenda items include; Collecting Data Across the Five Dimensions of Impact, Using Outcome Data to

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group’s IBRD Lending $400m to Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) for SMEs, “Women-inclusive” Enterprises, Businesses Serving Syrian Refugees

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a unit of the US-based World Bank, recently approved a 29-year loan of USD 400 million to the Inclusive Access to Finance Project, an initiative sponsored by the Turkish government that is designed

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Toffee Insurance of India Secures $1.5m in Equity for Digital Microinsurance from Kalaari Capital, Omidyar Network, Accion Venture Lab

Toffee Insurance, an online microinsurance firm based in India, recently received a total of USD 1.5 million in equity from Accion Venture Labs, a fund of US-based NGO Accion; Kalaari Capital, an Indian for-profit investment firm; and Omidyar Network, a US-based NGO. Toffee will use the

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB Buys $3m Equity Stake in Digital Lender, Payments Provider Moni of Argentina

IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently invested USD 3 million in Moni Online, a financial technology (fintech) firm whose app allows users – who are primarily in Mexico and Argentina – to pay bills as well as apply for and receive loans with

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $59m in Local Currency to ProCredit Bank of Bulgaria for On-lending to SMEs

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development bank, recently loaned EUR 50 million (USD 59 million) to ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) EAD, a provider of financial services to individuals and

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) Conference; June 4 – 7, 2018; Singapore

Summary of Event: This sixth iteration of this event centers on maximizing social impact in Asia through investing and philanthropy. The topics are to include “strategic philanthropy,” investing in education and healthcare, investing with a gender lens, government policy implications, and

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Innovation Summit (AIS); June 6 – 8, 2018: Kigali, Rwanda

Summary of Event: The theme of this conference is facilitating development in Africa by empowering entrepreneurs across the continent. The topics include Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation in Africa; Building a Resilient and Competitive Economy for Africa’s Future; 21st Century African Cities; Financing and Scaling up

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Microfinance Funds Exit Equity Investments in Bolivia’s Banco FIE

Incofin Investment Management, a Belgium-based investment management firm focusing on microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, recently announced sales of some of its equity in Banco para el Fomento a las Iniciativas Económicas (Banco FIE), a Bolivian bank focusing on the financially excluded, to the bank’s incumbent shareholders.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank Buying BSS Microfinance for $21m

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB), a private-sector Indian bank, recently announced plans to acquire BSS Microfinance, a Karnataka-based non-banking financial company run by the Bharatha Swamukthi Samsthe (BSS) Trust, for INR 1.4 billion (USD 21 million)

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Announces $10m Loan to Egyptian AlexBank

The Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises), a provider of loans and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, recently announced that it will lend an additional USD 10 million to AlexBank, an Egypt-based financial services institution, to on-lend to MSMEs in Egypt [1].

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Verdant Capital Arranges $3m Revolving Credit Facility for Zambia’s Pan African Building Society (PABS)

Verdant Capital, a corporate finance firm serving Africa, recently informed MicroCapital that it has arranged a revolving credit facility in the amount of USD 3 million for the Pan African Building Society (PABS), a deposit-taking, non-banking financial institution operating in Zambia.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Role of Impact Investing in Achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals; Microfinance Investment Vehicle Survey; Lessons from Tanzania’s Digitization Efforts

“Achieving The Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Impact Investing;” published by The Global Impact Investing Network; September 12, 2016; 9 pages; available at https://thegiin.org/knowledge/publication/sdgs-impinv

This report profiles impact investors that have leveraged the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the following purposes: (1) as a framework to communicate their social impact goals; (2) to develop new or realign existing investment strategies and; (3) to attract capital from private investors that are new to impact investing.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation, Root Capital to Invest $5.2m in Early-Stage Agricultural Businesses in West Africa

Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit investment fund, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard Worldwide, recently announced a partnership aimed at raising incomes for 300,000 smallholder farmers in West Africa.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Rwanda’s New Faces New Voices Raising $20m for Women’s Microfinance Fund, 25% From Selling Shares to Members

New Faces New Voices (NFNV), a group of advocates from 15 African countries focusing on expanding financial inclusion for women, recently announced plans to raise RWF 16 billion (USD 20 million) for a fund to expand women’s access to finance.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $2.3m to Kosovo’s AFK for On-Lending to Rural Microfinance Clients

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle, recently announced a senior loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.3 million) to Agjencioni për Financim në Kosovë (AFK), a non-banking microfinance institution operating in Kosovo.