Archive for the ‘Investments’ Category

By Matthew Fuchs Microfinance Focus, Feb 18, 2010: Demand for credit from microfinance institutions is expected to increase 10-15% in 2010 as MFIs revert to a modest growth path, ResponsAbility's Chief  Investment Officer Christian Speckhardt said. This will be in response to increased demand from micro-entrepreneurs in-line with strengthening economic conditions across most ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Feb 10, 2010:  Women’s World Banking, the global network of leading microfinance institutions and banks focusing on women empowerment, announced on Wednesday its first ever loan guarantee in Asia to support a $1.6 million loan by Standard Chartered Bank Philippines to WWB network member, CARD Bank in the Philippines. WWB pledged $500,000, which was leveraged more than three times, in its effort to promote ... Full story

By Nagesh Narayana Microfinance Focus, Feb. 5, 2010: Incofin, a Belgium-based microfinance fund, is raising funds for its second Rural Impulse Fund with a target of about EUR100 million ($186 million), Incofin's equity expert in India Aditya Bhandari told Microfinance Focus. It would be a successor to the existing fund and part of it would be invested ... Full story

By Matthew Fuchs Microfinance Focus, Feb 4, 2010: While microfinance institutions in Latin America are recovering as the general economic climate stabilizes, demand from MFIs for debt from external sources such as microfinance funds will remain subdued in the first half of 2010. And when growth returns, it is unlikely to be at the pace the ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Jan 25, 2010: Leading Minds in the Asian microfinance industry meet at a conference in Singapore bringing together central banks and policy makers, commercial banks, asset managers, private and institutional investors, multilateral investors, foundations and family offices to shape the future of the microfinance market in the Asia region. This is the first of its kind of investment conference on microfinance in Asia ... Full story

By Nagesh Narayana Microfinance Focus, Dec. 16, 2009: Apoyo Integral Inversiones, a microfinance investment company in Central America, has acquired acquired a controlling interest in the Mexican MFI Semisol, last October, through a buy-out of  “Investisseur & Partenaire pour le dévéloppement”, said a statement. Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund is shareholder of Apoyo Integral Inversiones, a microfinance investment company in Central America.  Since 2008 Apoyo Integral Inversiones is ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 16, 2009: The Flemish government has approved the request for guarantee for the Incofin investment in DR Congo, which will facilitate Incofin to invest safely in Finca Congo, a microfinance institution with more reach and posting a steady growth, said a note. Despite negative coverage, Congo microfinance institutions have managed to keep offering micro-entrepreneurs opportunities to progress, it said. Incofin in association with Finca ... Full story

By Matthew Fuchs Microfinance Focus, Dec. 16, 2009: Microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) remain "largely de-correlated" from other capital markets, a study of by LuxFlag of MIV performance during the economic crisis has found. Despite a slowing down in the pace of investment and increase in cash positions, these MIVs have demonstrated resilience, posting positive though relatively low returns during the global economic crisis. Despite some low performance ... Full story

By Matthew Fuchs Microfinance Focus, Dec. 15, 2009: Dexia Microcredit Fund (DMCF) posted slightly negative returns in November due to continued provisioning against loans to microfinance institutions in Nicaguara, according to fund manager BlueOrchard. The fund declined 0.04% during November but year-to-date performance remains on track, says BlueOrchard in its monthly report. The microfinance sector in Nicaragua has been effected significantly by the international financial crisis, which ... Full story

Microfinance Focus , Dec. 09, 2009/Bangalore: Grameen Koota, a division of Grameen Financial Services P. Ltd., a Bangalore-based Microfinance Institution (MFI), today announced equity funding of Rs 27.5 crores( approx USD 6 mn) from MicroVentures Investments (Luxembourg), MicroVentures SPA (Italy), Incofin (Belgium) and Aavishkar Goodwell (India). Grameen Koota, an NBFC-MFI, works with poor and low-income households, providing financial and developmental services. Grameen Koota has close to ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 2, 2009: The Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) will make an equity investment of up to $3.5 million in AgroDesarrollo, a fund that backs agribusiness entrepreneurs in rural Chile. MIF is an autonomous fund administered by the IDB that promotes the development of microenterprises and small and medium-size businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to various forms of ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 1, 2009: Financiera Independencia, a Mexican microfinance institution, has launched a sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program in the United States. BNY Mellon has been appointed as the Company's depositary bank to administer the ADR program. Each ADR represents 15 shares of Independencia common stock and will begin trading over-the-counter (OTC) effective Nov. 30, 2009. Independencia's common shares are listed and ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 1, 2009: Financiera Independencia, a Mexican microfinance institution (MFI), has announced that it will acquire all outstanding shares of Financiera Finsol for Ps 530 million ($41 million). Finsol is the second largest group lending MFI in Mexico and includes Finsol Vida, an insurance broker, and Finsol Brazil, a subsidiary in Brazil. Upon completion of the transaction, Independencia will increase its loan portfolio by Ps. ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Nov. 30, 2009 : The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) recently approved a $25 million loan ProCredit Holding (PCH) to boost lending to expand lending to micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The OPIC loan will provide PCH, the parent company for 22 financial subsidiaries worldwide which provide finance for micro and small businesses in developing countries, with capital in order to expand ... Full story