REAL TIME VC & PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS AND NEWS
ACCION International, a global microfinance organization, is to receive a $1m investment from IFC to strengthen the operations of its Chinese affiliate ACCION Microfinance China (AMC). The investment of Chinese RMB 7m represents an 18.9% equity interest in AMC. IFC previously signed a cooperation agreement with ACCION to provide up to $1m to finance a […]
PerMicro, an Italian financial institution that focuses on micro-credit, has raised €4m in capital. The increase was subscribed by the existing shareholders including Oltre Venture, Fondazione Paideia, UBI Banca, Fondazione CRT e PhiTrust, the European Investment Fund (EIF), which committed €1m to acquire a 20.4% stake, and other private investors. PerMicro will use the resources […]
The European Union is setting up a new initiative aimed at supporting entrepreneurship and employment for groups that need it most in the current period of financial crisis. The European Progress Microfinance Facility (EPMF) intends to increase access to finance for individuals facing uncertainty in the job market, who wish to set up their own […]
At a press conference held today in Skopje, FYR Macedonia, the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), announced that, over the next five years, it is prepared to provide an additional €900m of financing to financial institutions in the region for on-lending. The money is specifically meant to finance long-term loans to small business, in […]
Belstar Investment and Finance, a microfinance institution operating principally in the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, has received an investment of approximately US$900,000 from the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) Frontier Fund. Other investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Swedfund (the Swedish Development Finance Institution), and Aavishkaar Goodwell, an India-focused Microfinance Investment […]
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed US$15m in REGMIFA, a US$150m microfinance fund targeting small enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. EIB will also provide a further US$2m in technical assistance grant funding. Investors in the fund include the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ), KfW Development Bank, IFC, part of the World Bank […]
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a microfinance investment fund, agreed a €25m senior loan to Banca Intesa a.d. Belgrade, Serbia. The loan will be used to further on-lending to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) across the country, especially supporting the bank’s growth strategy, which aims to expand the penetration of loans to small […]
Angel Acquisition Corp. (OTCBB: AGEL) has opened a new micro-lending division of its company called Angels In Action. Angels In Action is a new microfinance and peer-to-peer lending social network for underserved American entrepreneurs seeking financing. The service’s Web site (www.angelsinaction.tv) features a social network wherein prospective lenders and buyers can interact and communicate. Angels […]
Investment management company Elevar has raised a $70m equity fund to invest in growth companies expanding the reach of microfinance and other essential services to the 4bn underserved people at the base of the economic pyramid in countries like India, Mexico, the Philippines and Peru. Elevar Equity II is the second poverty focused fund managed […]
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission are launching an initiative to support microfinancing in EU Member States. The facility, which combines €100m from the European Commission matched with funding from the EIB and which will be managed through the European Investment Fund (EIF), is aimed at individuals who want to start […]
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is prolonging its existing agreements with European banks, microfinance providers and guarantee institutions, resulting in an extra €315m of guarantees covering SMEs’ financing through the EU Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). The EIF’s decision to extend guarantee agreements with these financial institutions is based on a healthy demand in […]
Aavishkaar Goodwell, a specialized equity fund dedicated to supporting Indian Micro Finance Institutions, (MFIs) has recently completed a minority investment in Shre Pathrakali Finance Co. Pvt Ltd (SPFCL). Operating under the brand name of “Utkarsh”, Shre Pathrakali Finance has begun its operations in September 2009 in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh – one of the most […]
Rabo India Finance Limited, a 100% subsidiary of Rabobank International, has provided debt funds of INR 350m to Asmitha Microfin Limited (AML), one of the top five micro finance institutions in India in terms of portfolio size. Asmitha currently serves over 1.36m customers with a loan portfolio of about Rs. 990 crore ($220m) with the […]
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), through its Community Development Finance group, committed $1m in debt financing over the next three years to Grameen America, a not-for-profit microfinance organization that makes small loans to entrepreneurs living below the poverty line so they may start a business and begin to improve their financial situations. The Grameen Bank was […]
Grameen Koota, a division of Grameen Financial Services Pvt.Ltd., a Bangalore-based Microfinance Institution (MFI), announced that it has received over Rs 27.5 crores in a second round of funding. The investment was made by MicroVentures Investments (Luxembourg), MicroVentures SPA (Italy), Incofin (Belgium) and Aavishkar Goodwell (India). Grameen Koota, a Non-Banking Financial Company-Microfinance Institution, provides poor […]