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
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxus Kyrgyzstan Borrowing $1.6m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance Lending
Oxus Kyrgyzstan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, recently borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.6 million from Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg. Like its partner MFIs in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, Oxus Kyrgyzstan seeks to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $760k to Microfinance Institution Oxus Tajikistan
Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg, recently lent Oxus Tajikistan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 760,000. The purpose is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $700k to LAPO SL for Microlending to Women in Sierra Leone
The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has announced it lent approximately USD 700,000 to Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) Microfinance Company SL, which is located in Sierra Leone, mainly serving women in rural areas. Its product lineup includes savings accounts as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Symbiotics Raises $4.6m via Green Bond for Samunnati Financial for Sustainable Agriculture in India
India’s Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services, whose customers are farmer-producer organizations and other members of agricultural value chains, recently raised the rupee-equivalent of USD 4.6 million in a bond issue handled by Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based impact investing platform. The bond transaction is the first by Symbiotics that specifically promotes
SPECIAL REPORT: Online Event: Strengthening Cybersecurity to Boost Financial Inclusion in Africa; July 13, 2021
The 
53rd Midi de la Microfinance, held by Luxembourg-based NGO ADA Microfinance, will focus on cybersecurity as it relates to financial inclusion in Africa. This includes suggested “points of attention and concrete actions” microfinance institutions may use to minimize the risks associated with
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP UP: “Microfinance in the United States: Early Impacts of the Grameen America Program,” Published by Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
This a summary of a paper by Kelsey Schaberg, Victoria Quiroz-Becerra, Toni Castro-Cosio, Stephen Nuñez and Richard Hendra; published by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation; March 2019; 34 pages; available at: https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/Grameen_Report_final-web.pdf
Grameen America is an NGO that provides loans to low-income female entrepreneurs in the US. Women apply for loans as a group of five, and if approved, loans are distributed on an individual basis. However, if any member fails to repay her loan, other members cannot receive further loans until that individual’s loan is paid. To form a group, the members must
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Foro Latinoamericano de Inversión de Impacto (Latin American Impact Investing Forum); February 19-21, 2019; Merida, Mexico
This forum will host conversations among representatives of organizations that partake in and advocate for entrepreneurship in Latin America in general, and especially those focused on impact investing, a term that refers to investing with the dual aims of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BRAC, LOLC Micro Investments Buy 90% of Shares of Sri Lanka’s Nanda Investments and Finance, Plan its Downscaling to Microfinance
BRAC, an NGO that was formally known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee and serves eleven countries as of 2013, has bought 56.6 percent of the shares of Nanda Investments and Finance Public Limited Company, a Sri Lankan finance company specializing in deposits, loans, leasing and installment-based purchases [1].