Archive for the ‘Investments’ Category

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 27, 2009: Orissa-based BISWA (Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency) has raised Rs 10 crore from SNS Water Fund, an initiative by the Dutch-based SNS Group, to provide microfinance loans for installation of individual household toilet and drinking water. Mr K.C. Malick, Chairman of the Sambalpur-based microfinance institution informed Microfinance Focus that the target groups will be both urban slum-dwellers and rural poor. The loans will be distributed mainly to provide water and sanitation through BISWA instead of making them dependent on government projects, he said. Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 25, 2009: Rabo India has provided Rs. 50 crore through a credit facility to Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited, to enable about 50,000 rural microfinance clients get loans. Rabo India’s Microfinance portfolio provides a suite of financing and capital market products to enable Microfinance Institutions to access the debt and capital markets. Rated AAA, Rabobank works with partners to serve the rural sector. Spandana, with a ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 22, 2009: There have been startling losses in microfinance institutions that have wandered too far from their original microfinance mission due to fierce competition or of profit-minded management, writes David MacDougall, Director of Risk Management at Swiss microfinance fund manager BlueOrchard. Servicing traditional microfinance clients is expensive because ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 18, 2009: IFC has announced an investment of $1.2 million in Paraguay’s Financiera El Comercio as part of its goal to support micro-enterprises withstand global financial crisis, said a press release on Tuesday. El Comercio, the largest finance company in Paraguay, provides financial services predominantly to microfinance institutions or small enterprises, particularly in the agricultural sector. It also specializes in consumer and home improvement ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug 18, 2009: Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in a Pune-based portable toilet operator Saraplast Pvt. Ltd. which operates under the brand name ‘Shramik’ or ‘3S’. The funds will be used by Saraplast to expand its stock of portable toilets and waste management services. Saraplast, founded in 1999 by a Rajeev Kher, provides sanitation services in areas that had ... Full story

Microfinance focus, Aug. 17, 2009: The World Bank Group’s political risk insurance agency, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Investment Agency (MIGA) has issued a guarantee of $950,000 to Banco de Microempresa S.A. (Mibanco) of Peru for its investment in Microfinanzas del Uruguay S.A. of Uruguay. The coverage is for a period of up to three years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation and war and civil ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 13, 2009: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will increase private sector investment and advisory services, especially for projects on financial inclusion or microfinance in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. “Africa’s development needs combined with its spirit of enterprise reinforce IFC’s strong commitment to the continent,” said Thierry Tanoh, IFC Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa. “IFC has expanded its role in Africa during the financial crisis and intends to continue to do so.” Tanoh and Director for West and Central Africa Yolande Duhem, in their second visit to these countries in less than a year, highlighted IFC’s growing regional ties with Lome-based Ecobank. During the fiscal year ending in June 2009, IFC increased its investment in Sub-Saharan Africa to $1.8 billion reaching 30 countries, up from $1.4 billion in 25 countries the previous year. IFC Advisory Services in Africa increased by 35 percent to $38 million and doubled its work in conflict-affected countries, said a statement from IFC. Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 11, 2009:  Tamil Nadu-based Grama Vidiyal Micro Finance Limited (GVMFL) plans to raise Rs 100 crore by way of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) over the next three months as part of its aggressive fund-rasing efforts to expand the company's portfolio, said S. Devaraj, chairman and managing director of GVMFL on Tuesday. The microfinance institution which obtained the NBFC status in February 2007, will be the second after Hyderabad-based SKS Microfinance to take the NCD route to raise funds.  Full story

Microfinance Focus, August 7, 2009: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed to invest 5 million Chinese renminbi ($700,000) in Renshou Minfu Rural Bank, a village and township bank in Sichuan Province, to support microfinance in rural China. IFC also will provide advisory services to enable Renshou Minfu Rural Bank to increase operational efficiencies, adopt advanced risk management practices, and provide high-quality products and services. Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 05, 2009: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that it will invest $5 million in Poland’s first microfinance bank to support the microfinance sector and improve access to finance for micro and small businesses. FM Bank, which recently received a commercial banking license, will be established from the ... Full story

By Vikash Kumar in Bangalore Microfinance Focus, Aug. 5, 2009: The consolidation process by Indian microfinance institutions may begin in less than a year and may become a norm in three years from now, says Aavishkaar CEO Vineet Rai. "Consolidation would become necessary for MFIs which are large in size while those smaller ... Full story

Microfinance Focus, August 2, 2009: International Monetary Fund has more than doubled its financial assistance to low-income countries to $17 billion to be disbursed through 2014, including up to $8 billion in the first two years. This exceeds the G20 call for $6 billion in new lending over two to three years. “This is an unprecedented scaling up of IMF support for the poorest countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa and all over the world,” said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a press release. “The G20 asked the Fund to help respond to the global economic crisis, which has hit the low-income nations so hard, and we are responding with a historic set of actions in terms of support for the world’s poor. The new resources and new means of delivering them should help prevent millions of people from falling into poverty.” Full story

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 2, 2009: Swiss fund manager BlueOrchard's assets under management grew by nearly 30%  with 131 loans and eight private equity investments with microfinance institutions (MFIs) in over 40 countries and its partner MFIs reached nine million micro-entrepreneurs, majority of them women, said its annual report. Full story

Microfinance Focus, July 31, 2009: MYC4, a peer-to-peer lending facility with 15,643 registered investors from 94 countries, has reported investments in online microfinance amounting to 9.3 million euros in 4,865 businesses in seven African countries so far. And the trend is catching up with other players in microfinance sphere. Micro Place, an e-Bay company, has provided 40,005 loans enabled by investments made online since its inception in Sept. 2007. KIVA, another major US-based not-for-profit company which has pioneered the idea of online lending, is distributing one loan in every 14 seconds giving more than $1 million a week. Full story