This year’s summit of the US-based NGO Concordia is intended to further the organization’s mission of confronting “the world’s most pressing challenges through
Tag: Europe
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFC, UNHCR to Convene Working Group on Access to Microfinance, Business Development for Refugees in Europe
The Microfinance Centre (MFC), a network of 95 microfinance providers in Europe and Central Asia, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently launched a project to support refugees in Europe by helping them become self-reliant via access to microfinance and business services. The partners will build a working group of financial services providers, regulators and other stakeholders
MICROFINANCE WRAP-UP: “Resilience: COVID-19 Crisis Through A Migration Lens;” Published by Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD)
This brief provides an overview of recent trends in migration and remittances globally. Overall, remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remained relatively stable through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing from USD 548 billion in 2019 to USD 540 billion in 2020. Many countries used “counter-cyclical fiscal policy” to stimulate their economies, which
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SaltPay Acquires Paymentology, Tutuka to Boost Cloud Payments in Africa, Asia, Europe
SaltPay, a UK-based payment technology firm serving small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe, recently struck deals to acquire International Tutuka Holdings, a provider of payment cards that is based in South Africa, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Luxembourg Pledges $1.4m to UNCDF for Work Toward SDGs Including Microfinance
The government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg recently announced its 2019 contribution to support the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in working toward the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) in least developed countries
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Impact Investing Summit; December 6 – 7, 2018; London, United Kingdom
This Impact Investing Summit aims to create dialogue among current and potential impact investors regarding the future of international impact investing. The term refers to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab, Oikocredit Invest $5.7m in Equity in Sempli of Colombia to Expand Fintech Services for SMEs
The multilateral Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently closed an investment of USD 5.7 million in Colombian financial technology (fintech) company Sempli to increase its services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The amount invested by each organization
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BIO, EIB, PROPARCO Participating in $2.6m agTAF Technical Assistance Fund Launched by Incofin for Rural Entrepreneurs
Belgium-based impact investor Incofin Investment Management recently signed agreements with three government-backed institutions, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Société de Promotion et de Participation pour La Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) of France and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), to commit
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin-managed Funds Buying $10m in Equity in Financiamiento Progresemos for Financial Inclusion of Micro-, Small Enterprises in Mexico
A Belgium-based manager of microfinance funds, Incofin Investment Management, recently announced an investment of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Société Générale de Banque au Liban to Borrow $50m from EBRD for On-lending to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in Lebanon
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently agreed to loan Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), a Lebanese bank, USD 50 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas and another USD 50 million for firms involved in importing and exporting. The latter allocation falls under EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), which was launched in 1999 and is intended to promote trade among Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central and Western Asia. As of 2018, TFP engages approximately 100 issuing banks in 28 economies, with total approved financing limits exceeding EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.8 billion). TFP also works with approximately 800
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Mulling $17m Loan to Belinvestbank of Belarus for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering assembling a loan of up to EUR 50 million (USD 58.2 million) for Belinvestbank, a bank in Belarus, for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The loan would include at least EUR 15 million (USD 17.4 million)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $20m in Local-currency to BNB-Bank, MTBank for SMEs in Belarus
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently signed its first transactions providing local-currency funding in Belarus. EBRD extended lines of credit equivalent to USD 10 million each to Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB-Bank) and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Point-of-sale Service Provider Yoco of South Africa Raises $16m in Equity from Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, FMO, Paratech
Yoco, a South African point-of-sale payment enabler, recently raised USD 16 million through its Series B funding round, which was led by US-based venture capital firm Paratech.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $13m to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Mongolia – Including $1.5m to JSC Georgian Credit
Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently announced that it loaned USD 1.5 million to Joint Stock Company (JSC) Georgian Credit, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Georgia. IIV disbursed the loan from its microfinance investment vehicle IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, which lends to MFIs in developing countries. Including this loan, IIV Mikrofinanzfonds loaned
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Invests $9m in Kredobank Bond Issue for Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Lending in Ukraine
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-domiciled microfinance investment vehicle, recently invested UAH 312 million (USD 11 million) in Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Kredobank, a Ukrainian bank owned by the Polish financial services firm, Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci (PKO) Bank Polski Spolka Akcyjna.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $7.1m to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK); Advans Group to Refinance in DRC, Myanmar
The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing loans to: (1) Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) in the amount of EUR 1.4 million (USD 1.6 million),
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroFinanza Rating Issues Financial, Social, Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV) Ratings; Client Protection Certifications in Burkina Faso, France, Asia, Latin America
Italy-based MicroFinanza Rating (MFR) recently informed MicroCapital that during June it issued three Social Ratings, 11 Financial Ratings and two Client Protection Certifications to 13 microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Training Farmer Cooperatives in Serbia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development bank, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an Italy-based organization of the UN dedicated to addressing world hunger, recently have united to support farmer cooperatives in Serbia. With assistance from the Serbian government,