The Dutch NGO Aflatoun International and Bahrain-based financial advisory firm Fintech Robos recently agreed to collaborate on their efforts to expand financial literacy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The partners plan to promote financial education through the development of “curriculum and training materials”
Tag: investment
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Michael Apel Named CEO of DAI’s MicroVest Asset Management
The US-based impact investing firm MicroVest recently selected Michael Apel as its new CEO and Chief Investment Officer. In taking on these roles, Mr Apel will be in charge of the company’s daily operations, including entering into new markets to expand the company’s deployment of private capital to boost micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Mr Apel has 25 years of experience at IDB Invest,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Okra Solar of Nigeria Raises Equity, Debt Totaling $12m to Expand Mesh Grids in Africa, Americas, Asia
Nigeria-based Okra Solar, whose products serve 14,000 people in Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria, and the Philippines, recently raised USD 8 million in equity from five investors. The investment package is led by US-based At One Ventures and includes USD 1.5 million from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Fellows of Egypt Borrowing $2.2m from Symbiotics to Support Digital ROSCAs
Symbiotics Investments, a Switzerland-based investor focused on smaller businesses in low- and middle-income countries, recently issued a loan of USD 2.25 million to Egypt-based Money Fellows. Money Fellows plans to use the fresh capital to expand its digitization of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), also known as money circles, as well as to broaden
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Committing $30m to South Asia Growth Fund III to Support Equity Placements in Businesses Reducing Environmental Impacts, Mainly in India
US-based Global Environment Fund (GEF) Capital Partners recently secured USD 30 million for its South Asia Growth Fund (SAGF) III from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). The funding is to boost the fund’s “equity and equity-linked” investments in middle-market institutions engaged in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
The Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) recently loaned USD 50 million to Uzbekistan-based Joint Stock Commercial Bank Hamkorbank. Hamkorbank plans to use 70 percent of the fresh funds to finance
MICROFINANCE EVENT: AFSIC: Investing in Africa; October 9-10, 2023; London, UK
The tenth edition of the Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC) will promote investing in the continent with presentations on trends in environmental protection and sectors such as agriculture and financial technology (fintech). In addition to country-specific investment and networking meetings, the agenda includes sessions titled: (1) Banking in Africa – for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FSD Africa Issues Convertible Loan of $1.2m to Africa Climate Ventures (ACV) Fund to Reduce Human Impacts on Environment
Africa Climate Ventures (ACV), a Rwanda-based venture fund that invests in “green” companies across Africa, recently borrowed EUR 1 million (USD 1.1 million) in the form of a convertible loan from Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa Investments, an affiliate of the Kenya-based NGO FSD Africa. FSD Africa Investments is supporting the loan with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access Bank Botswana Borrows $20m from OPEC Fund for MSMEs, 30% Earmarked for Women
Access Bank Botswana, a subsidiary of the Nigeria-based Access Bank Group, recently agreed to borrow USD 20 million from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development to on-lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with USD 6 million of the total
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Satya of India Borrowing $35m from FMO, Finnfund for Microfinance for Rural Women, Youth – Including to Enable Green Transition
Satya MicroCapital, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently borrowed the local-currency equivalent of USD 25 million from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) and USD 10 million from Finnfund, a development finance institution controlled by the government of Finland. The funding is intended to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Consult, Mastercard Foundation, Seek to Create 400k Jobs in Ethiopia via Access to Finance, Wraparound Support for MSMEs, Entrepreneurs
Ethiopia’s First Consult and the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched a programme intended to increase financial inclusion and support 72,000 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ethiopia to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Loans $214m to Sicredi for Solar Panels for Households, SMEs in Brazil
Banco Cooperativo Sicredi, a Brazil-based financial cooperative owned by its 6.5 million members, recently agreed to borrow EUR 200 million (USD 214 million) from the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB). Sicredi plans to use the capital to equip houses and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uzpromstroybank (UzPSB) Borrowing $15m from EBRD for SMEs in Uzbekistan
The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to provide a two-year loan in local currency equivalent to USD 15 million to the Uzbekistani bank Uzpromstroybank (UzPSB) for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. Contingent on the performance of the wholesale loan, EBRD is planning to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Raises $26m from ASN Bank, Calvert Impact to Boost Financial Inclusion, Resilience in MENA
The Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME recently agreed to borrow EUR 15 million (USD 16.5 million) from Algemene Spaarbank voor Nederland (ASN) Bank, a retail banking member of the Netherlands’ de Volksbank, and USD 10 million from the US-based NGO Calvert Impact Capital. Sanad intends to use the fresh funds to facilitate
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Futu Expanding Digital Investment, Financial Education Platform to Malaysia
The Hong Kong-based wealth management company Futu Holdings is adding Malaysia to the list of countries whose residents can access its investment platform Moomoo, following the firm’s local subsidiary receiving preliminary regulatory approval for the service. Moomoo allows
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroVest Lending $3.4m to Financiera Finexpar for Agriculture, SME Lending in Paraguay
MicroVest, an asset management subsidiary of US-based DAI Global, recently issued a loan of USD 3.4 million to the Paraguay-based microfinance institution (MFI) Financiera Finexpar to support the MFI’s lending activities, specifically the funding of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Temenos Launches Artificial Intelligence Platform for Mortgage Lenders
Temenos, a Switzerland-based provider of software to financial institutions, recently expanded its product portfolio with a mortgage processing solution that leverages artificial intelligence (AI). Its aim is to “help lenders to deliver a personalised
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS); November 2-3, 2023; Lusaka, Zambia
Twice a year, this event convenes to promote collaboration on entrepreneurship as well as issues and opportunities regarding financial technology (fintech) in Africa. Following a pre-event dinner on November 1, the first day will include a