Incofin, a Belgian investor in lower-income countries, has invested INR 350 million (USD 4.3 million) to take an equity stake of undisclosed size in Varashakti Housing Finance (VHF), a firm active in
Tag: Housing Finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CEB, EU Expand Roma Housing Microfinance, Financial Inclusion Program to Bulgaria
The multilateral Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and two EU institutions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, recently launched the Housing and Empowerment for Roma (HERO) program in Bulgaria. As part of the program, Tokuda Bank, which is based in the Bulgarian city of Sofia, will provide 200 members of the Roma community with microloans totaling EUR 490,000 (USD 550,000) as well as financial literacy training. The purpose of the loans is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SEWA Affiliate Sitara Raises $20m in Equity from Nordic Microfinance Initiative, Women’s World Banking, Ongoing Shareholders to Improve Housing Conditions for Women in India
SEWA Grih Lin, an Indian affordable housing finance company also known as Sitara, recently raised USD 20 million in equity, including USD 8 million from the Norway-based Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI). Sitara sourced the remainder in unspecified portions from
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Growth and Performance of Affordable Housing Finance Lenders in India;” by Nadeem Karmali, Guillermo Rodriguez Ruiz
In studying the growth of affordable housing finance corporations (AHFCs) in India, the authors review the history of the Indian housing market and related government policies. After independence in 1947, the Indian government acted as a direct provider of housing. Since then, the government migrated its role into being a “facilitator of housing.” Starting in the 1990s,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Creation, Norwest, IIFL Place $200m in Equity in Vastu Platform Offering Housing Loans via Alternative Credit Scoring in India
Two US-based firms, Creation Investments and Norwest Venture Partners, recently co-led a Series C financing round of USD 200 million for Vastu Housing Finance of India. Each investor committed USD 75 million to Vastu, with India’s IIFL Finance investing the remaining USD 50 million. Vastu plans to use the financing to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Approves $250m Loan to HDFC for Housing Finance for Low-, Middle-income Borrowers in India; 25% Earmarked for Green Buildings
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently approved a loan of USD 250 million to Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), a housing lender based in India. Whereas green housing has “largely been regarded as a luxury market in the country,” one quarter of the loan amount is reserved for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, Futuregrowth Participate in $36m Funding Package for Divercity Urban Property Fund to Build 2,500 Sustainable Housing Units in South Africa
The CDC Group, a development finance institution backed by the UK government, has announced a commitment of ZAR 500 million (USD 36 million) from it and other investors to the Divercity Urban Property Fund, a for-profit entity based in South Africa that invests in high-density urban areas. The funding is designated for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions (IIV) Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $12m to Bayport for Payroll Lending in Colombia
Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest In Visions (IIV), has disbursed a senior loan of EUR 10 million (USD 12.1 million) to Bayport Colombia, one of the nine financial services providers (FSPs) of Mauritius-based microfinance network Bayport Management Limited. Bayport Colombia is using the cash to fund
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $33m to Erste Bank Montenegro for Housing Microfinance
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, recently announced it has lent EUR 30 million (USD 33 million) to Erste Bank Montenegro, a commercial banking member of the Austria-based Erste Group, to expand housing finance in Montenegro. Erste Bank Montenegro CEO Aleksa Lukic commented