The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral development finance institution, recently committed loans to two members of Georgia’s Tbilisi Business Centre (TBC) Bank Group: one in local currency up to the equivalent of USD 20 million to TBC Bank and another of up to EUR 3 million (USD 3.1 million) to TBC Leasing. The purpose of the “medium- to long-term” loans is to enable micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Georgia to acquire technology that helps them meet EU standards of
Tag: MSMEs
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fusion Microfinance Borrows $4m from Crédit Agricole CIB for Group Lending to Rural, Women-owned Businesses in India, Guaranteed by GCA Foundation
Fusion Microfinance, an India-based microfinance institution (MFI), recently borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 4.4 million from Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) India, a unit of France-based Crédit Agricole. The loan, which is guaranteed by the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, is for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC Loans $105m to CRDB Bank to Increase Funding for MSMEs – Especially Women-owned Enterprises – in Tanzania, Burundi
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced a loan equivalent to USD 100 million – half in local currency – to Tanzania-based Cooperative Rural and Development Bank (CRDB Bank) and a loan of USD 5 million to CRDB Bank Burundi. The goal of the loans to these two members of the CRDB Bank Group, whose head office is in Tanzania, is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Providing $52m to Lesotho to Boost Financial Access, Resilience of MSMEs – Especially Women-, Youth-owned Enterprises
The World Bank recently issued a USD 45 million loan to the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, supported by a USD 7.5 million grant from the World Bank’s Global Risk Financing Facility. The purpose of the project is to: (1) provide “business support services and financial products” to 500 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), of which half are to women-owned and a quarter are to be youth-owned; and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADB Lends $15m to KMF to Boost Financial Inclusion for MSMEs, Post-Covid Growth in Kazakhstan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development finance institution, recently agreed to lend USD 15 million to KazMicroFinance (KMF), a microlender in Kazakhstan. The loan is intended to boost its services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) – especially in rural areas – to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MSME Clients of Sudameris Bank to Benefit from $15m Bond Issued by IDB Invest in Paraguay
IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, recently arranged a bond in the amount of PYG 100 billion (USD 15 million) to fund “medium- and long-term” lending in local currency by Paraguay’s Banco Sudameris to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. The bond is priced at 7.9 percent and was intermediated by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DFC, USAID, African Union’s AUDA-NEPAD Partner to Expand Access to Finance for MSMEs in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria
The US Agency for International Development (AID) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently joined with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) to provide loan guarantees to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Nigeria. The goals of the partnership are to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Belize, ICDF, IDB Seek to Create Employment, Aid Pandemic Recovery Among MSMEs, Especially Women-led Firms
The multilateral Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and Belize’s government recently agreed to collaborate on an effort to facilitate job creation and the growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Belize. With a focus on female entrepreneurs, the program targets MSMEs with investments to “finance
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Invests $7.5m in Evocabank of Armenia for MSMEs
Evocabank of Armenia recently gained access to USD 7.5 million from Switzerland-based Symbiotics to on-lend to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with goals including to boost market competition and job creation. Symbiotics sourced the funds from
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Launches 2nd Private Equity Fund, Seeking to Invest $300m in Financial Inclusion of 30m Poor Households, MSMEs
BlueOrchard Finance, a Switzerland-based member of the UK-based Schroders Group, recently launched its BlueOrchard Financial Inclusion Fund, seeking to invest
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Sells 30% Equity Stake in GlobalCorp of Egypt, as Amethis, EBRD, SPE Capital Acquire Controlling Stake
A group of three entities recently acquired majority control of GlobalCorp for Financial Services, an Egyptian provider of leasing and factoring services to small and large enterprises. The buyers are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics to Place $105m in Debt for Pensioenfonds Detailhandel in Microfinance, SME Finance in Emerging Markets
Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based investor, recently announced that Pensioenfonds Detailhandel, an administrator of pensions for Dutch retail workers, has selected the firm to manage a private debt fund with a volume of EUR 100 million (USD 105 million) with the aim of enabling progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The portfolio will focus on investing local currency to support
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Group Nets Over $165m from IFC, BII, FMO, ResponsAbility, Symbiotics for Climate Projects, Financial Inclusion for MSMEs in Africa
Partially through its Financial Institutions Growth Fund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is paying an undisclosed sum to acquire a 6.7-percent stake in Equity Group Holdings, which has banking operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. IFC and the UK government’s British International Investment (BII) also are each lending the group’s Equity Bank Kenya
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kinara Capital Raises $50m in Equity from Nuveen, ASN Microkredietfonds to Boost Lending to MSMEs in India
India’s Kinara Capital recently raised INR 3.8 billion (USD 50 million) in equity from the Global Impact Fund of US-based Nuveen, which led the investment round, and ASN Microkredietfonds, which is advised by the Netherlands’ Triple Jump, to boost Kinara’s lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India. According to Kinara Founder and CEO Hardika Shah
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Lender KixiCrédito to Boost E-services in Angola with Support from IFC
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a partnership with KixiCrédito, an Angolan microcredit company, to strengthen KixiCrédito’s “delivery of digital financial services to individuals and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.” The plan includes
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $2.2m in Local Currency to ACEP Burkina for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has announced it lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.2 million to the microfinance institution Agence de Credit pour l’Entreprise Privee (ACEP) Burkina. One of four members of the ACEP Group, ACEP Burkina provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in urban regions of Burkina Faso. The institution was created in 2009 and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Lends $18m to Fintech U Gro Capital for MSME Funding in India
ResponsAbility Investments, a Swiss firm in the process of being acquired by UK-based M&G, recently facilitated INR 1.4 billion (USD 18 million) in borrowing by U Gro Capital, an Indian financial technology (fintech) platform, to increase its funding of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The debt package comprises INR 1.1 billion (USD 14 million) in nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) with the remainder in the form of an external commercial borrowing transaction. The latter is
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cooperative Daquilema, Symbiotics Partner on $6.5m Bond Issue to Boost MSME Lending Among Indigenous Populations in Ecuador
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Fernando Daquilema, a cooperative in Ecuador, recently partnered with Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, to raise USD 6.5 million via a bond issue with a term of three years. Daquilema is to on-lend the funds in amounts up to