Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited , a non-banking finance company providing microfinance services in India, recently raised INR 1 billion (USD 15 million) from investors including the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) Bank; ASK Pravi; the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Standard Life Insurance; Arpwood Investment Advisors; Kiran Vyapar, the investment arm of LN Bangur Group; Polaris Banyan Holding and Dr. Aravind Srinivasan [2].
Tag: India
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Developing World Markets Closes Debt Investments Totaling $8.3m in Armenia, Colombia, India, Nicaragua
Developing World Markets (DWM), a US-based asset manager and investment bank, recently announced that it issued loans in February and March 2016 to four unidentified financial institutions serving microentrepreneurs, including a Colombian bank and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) in Armenia, India and Nicaragua.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation Investing Up To $70m in Debt in India-based Microfinance Institutions Grameen Koota, Janalakshmi Financial Services
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced that it will invest up to INR 1.4 billion (USD 20 million) in Grameen Financial Services Private Limited and INR 3.4 billion (USD 50 million) in Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), Bangalore-based microfinance institutions (MFIs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Janalakshmi Sells $7.5m in Securitized Microloans to Government-backed MUDRA, Arranged by IFMR Capital
IFMR Capital, an affiliate of the Chennai-based nonprofit Institute of Financial Management and Research (IFMR), recently structured the first capital market transaction for the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, an Indian public-sector financial institution that provides subsidized loans and other services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs).
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Improving Financial Capability in India, Mexico; Mobile Money Usage; Post-Disaster, Post-Conflict Microfinance
“A Change in Behavior: Innovations in Financial Capability;” by J. Arnold, E. Rhyne; published by the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, JPMorgan Chase & Co; April 2016; 47 pages; available at: https://centerforfinancialinclusionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/a-change-in-behavior-final.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Ujjivan Goes Public, Raising $95m in Association With IPO
Ujjivan Financial Services, an Indian provider of microloans and life insurance, recently conducted its initial public offering (IPO), generating INR 3.6 billion (USD 54 million) from the sale of newly issued shares.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Lender Equitas Holdings Goes Public, Raising $330m
Equitas Holdings Limited, an Indian microfinance lender, recently opened its primary market sale.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion; Inclusive Finance in India; Financial Regulation for Inclusion and Development in Latin America
“Current Trends in International Funding for Financial Inclusion;” by M. Soursourian, E. Dashi and E. Dokle; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2015; 4 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Current-Trends-in-International-Funding-Dec-2015.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Extends Microinsurance Compliance Deadline to March 31, 2016
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the government agency charged with overseeing the country’s insurance market, recently announced that it has extended the deadline for insurance companies to withdraw non-compliant microinsurance products from their portfolios to March 31, 2016.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: ING’s Billion to Gain: Geographic Variations in Microfinance Impact; Indian Mobile Wallet Market Growth; Profiting From Financial Inclusion
“A Billion to Gain? Microfinance Clients Are Not Cut from the Same Cloth,” by G. Hieminga, R. Budjhawan, S. Eriksen, I. Unger; published by ING Bank; November 2015; 8 pages; available at: http://www.ingcb.com/insights/research/microfinance-emancipating-the-worlds-poorest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Sa-Dhan, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) Revise Code of Conduct
Sa-Dhan, an India-based association of 214 microlenders and other financial institutions, and the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a trade association of 48 Indian microfinance lenders, recently launched a revised code of conduct.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s SKS Microfinance Seeks to Go Paperless with IBM MobileFirst Tablet System
SKS Microfinance Limited, a for-profit microfinance institution (MFI) headquartered in Hyderabad, India, recently partnered with IBM MobileFirst, the mobile division of US-based information technology company International Business Machines (IBM), in an effort to improve staff productivity in acquiring customers, completing loan disbursements and collecting repayments [1][2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bajaj Group, CDC, CX, Newquest Place $96m in India’s Ujjivan as Elevar, Lok, Sequoia, Wolfenson, Others Exit
Ujjivan, a microfinance lender primarily serving women in urban areas recently raised the equivalent of USD 48 million in a set of transactions that reportedly comprise the largest microfinance deal in India’s history.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Vikram Akula Buys 26% Stake in India’s Vaya Finserv
Vikram Akula, the founder and former chairman of Indian group-lender SKS Microfinance, recently bought 26-percent stake in the start-up Vaya Finserv. Launched in 2014, Vaya Finserv has plans to acquire a “small finance bank” license, which will it will use to provide credit to individuals in India who have been rejected by traditional banks, primarily women’s self-help groups.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IndiaFirst Life Insurance to Offer Pension Products and Microinsurance
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture backed by two public-sector Indian banks and the local arm of the UK-based Legal and General Group, reportedly has announced plans to start offering pension products and microinsurance during the financial year 2013-14 following the release of the updates to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) guidelines on microinsurance, according to a statement attributed to the IndiaFirst Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer P. Nandagopal [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Bandhan Microfinance Institution to Cut Interest Rates as a Commercial Bank
Bandhan Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Kolkata, India, has applied for a banking license to convert to a commercial bank, which reportedly will reduce costs, reduce interest rates on loans and increase the number of clients [1]. The current interest rate on loans that Bandhan offers is 22 percent; as a commercial bank it can potentially offer rates as low as 12 percent because it can fund loans from deposits, thus reducing its dependence on borrowing costly funds from other banks [2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Launches India Microfinance Platform
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a state-owned bank, with the help of the World Bank, a US-based international development institution, and implemented by the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), has launched the India Microfinance Platform, a web-based portal that will provide information on all the microfinance organizations in India.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Germany’s Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Loans $130m to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSME)
Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German development bank, recently loaned a total of EUR 100 million (USD 130 million) to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a state-owned bank, for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India.