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Aug 2020
How Blended Finance Can Accelerate MSME Growth in Africa
August, 31 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - To meet the staggering gap in funding to support MSMEs in the region, there needs to be a greater adoption of innovative forms of financial structuring like blended finance to incentivize commercial investors to invest in MSMEs working towards a sustainable and prosperous Africa ...
Symbiotics Launches USD 6.75 Million (INR 506,250,000) Social Bond with Samunnati Financial Intermediation and Services Private Limited in India
August, 31 2020
India - This bond is issued via Symbiotics’ sponsored bond issuance platform (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bonds S.A.) under its Sustainability, Social and Green Bond Framework, which was certified in December 2019 by DNV GL. ...
M. Kothare, University of Texas, and M. Frank, University of Virginia: How Academia Can Do More to Advance Sustainable Finance
August, 31 2020
Global - With looming global crises, scholars now more than ever must connect finance to its role in achieving social and environmental goals. Here are five ways they can step up their teaching and research ...
Blue Like an Orange Invests in “Transitional” Health Care in Brazil
August, 31 2020
Brazil - Blue Like an Orange, a $200 million structured debt fund, extended BRL 30 million (about $5.5 million) to Placi Cuidados Extensivos, which is developing the market for “transitional” health care in Brazil ...
Sri Lanka: NBFIs - Mergers on the Cards
August, 30 2020
Sri Lanka - The regulator has been saying that it wants to limit the number of non-bank financial institutions to around twenty from the current 46 finance companies and leasing companies. The Central Bank also stated that the Micro Credit Act will be replaced with a new Act for better regulation of the microcredit sector ...
Microfinance: EIB Supports Moroccan Very Small Businesses with €3 Million Loan
August, 29 2020
Morocco - The European Investment Bank (EIB) will grant Al Amana Microfinance NGO a €3 million loan destined to support the development of Moroccan micro-enterprises and very small enterprises (VSEs), with a special focus on supporting women entrepreneurs ...
IFC Provides $50m Loan to Societe Generale Bank Ghana to Support SME Growth
August, 28 2020
Ghana - The $50 million senior loan will support SGGH in expanding its provision of loans of up to five years to Ghanaian private enterprises and SMEs, which comprise more than 90 per cent of businesses in Ghana, helping boost their business growth ...
EFSE Lending 7mln Euro to Garanti BBVA Leasing to Finance Romanian MSEs
August, 27 2020
Romania - The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) said on Thursday that it has provided a senior loan of 7 million euro ($8.27 million) to Garanti BBVA Leasing, part of financial group Garanti Romania, to expand financing opportunities for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Romania ...
Total Eren Seeks EBRD Debt for 100-MW Solar Project in Uzbekistan
August, 25 2020
Uzbekistan - According to the EBRD, the project will be one of the first two privately-owned power sector projects in Uzbekistan. The Central Asian nation has set a goal to lift the share of its installed renewables capacity by up to 5 GW in the next 10 years ...
J. Kho, Triple Jump, and K. Hornberger, Dalberg Advisors: Financing “Missing Middle” Enterprises in the Age of COVID-19: Leveraging Nontraditional Finance Pathways in Emerging Markets
August, 25 2020
Global - The pressure of COVID-19 allows high-potential SGBs in each segment to demonstrate to finance providers the ability to adapt and, when necessary, reinvent their business models to maintain growth ...
First-Of-Its-Kind Summit to Push Development Banks on Climate
August, 24 2020
Global - The partly virtual Finance in Common summit on Nov. 10-12, will tackle the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. And climate change will play no small role, particularly as banks discuss sustainable ways to rescue the economy ...
With ‘Mezzanine Capital,’ iungo Seeks to Fill a Gap for East Africa’s Small and Growing Family Businesses
August, 24 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa - iungo's thesis includes improving business resilience and performance through impact-targets to which its financing terms are tied, like paying a reasonable living wage or offering company-wide health insurance ...
India: Nabard Launches Credit Guarantee Programme for NBFC-MFIs
August, 24 2020
India - The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on Monday said it has introduced a dedicated debt and credit guarantee product to ensure the unhindered flow of credit in rural areas hit by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
FINCA Haiti Secures 100 Million Gourde Revolving Loan Facility from Banque Nationale de Crédit
August, 24 2020
Haiti - This is the first locally-sourced credit line obtained without a parent company credit enhancement in its 30 years of operation and will give FINCA Haiti stable liquidity with the flexibility and cost efficiency of a credit-line ...
A. Sotiriou, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP: Microfinance and COVID-19 - Is Insolvency on the Horizon?
August, 21 2020
Global - We see sharp increases in nonperforming and restructured loans during the early months of the pandemic, but we also see strong capitalization mitigating the risk of insolvency for most MFIs ...
ADB Approves $300m Loan to Support Philippines' Financial Inclusion Reforms
August, 21 2020
Philippines - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million policy-based loan to support the Philippine government's efforts to boost inclusive growth by implementing reforms to expand Filipinos' access to financial services, especially in unserved and underserved areas across the country ...
Nigeria: FMDQ Lists LAPO MfB’s N6.2bn Bonds
August, 18 2020
Nigeria - LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited has returned to the Capital Market for the second time in 2020 for a N6.2 billion debt capital raising through bonds issuance ...
Ethiopia Allows Local Banks to Borrow from Foreign Banks
August, 18 2020
Ethiopia - The decision of NBE the country followed the chronic foreign currency shortage the country has been facing for many years. In a related development, NBE has also introduced a directive that will allow microfinance institutions in the country to upgrade themselves into banks ...
EBRD to Finance Agribusiness in Five Countries Including Egypt with $200mln Loan
August, 18 2020
Global - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has handed a $200 million loan to Olam International Limited, a leading global trader in agricultural commodities, to strengthen the agribusiness value chain and trade in five economies across the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region ...
Who Are the Top Investors in Gender-Related Blended Finance Deals?
August, 18 2020
Global - With investors increasing their focus on gender lens investing, we recently explored which institutions and investors have most commonly participated in gender-related blended finance transactions to advance gender equality. ...
COVID-19 Bonds Drive ‘Sustainable’ Debt as Green Issuance Fades
August, 17 2020
Global - Heavy issuance of bonds aimed at tackling the effects of the pandemic could push the size of the “sustainable” debt market to a new record this year, according to Moody’s, even as the frenzy for green bonds cools ...
US Impact Fund SEAF Invests in Philippine Startup CloudCfo
August, 17 2020
Philippines - CloudCfo, a provider of online accounting, bookkeeping, and finance services for SMEs, has received an undisclosed amount of capital from the impact investing fund manager Small Enterprise Assistance Fund (SEAF), the Philippines-based company announced on Sunday ...
India: Microfinance Collections Pick Up in July, Shows Industry Data
August, 17 2020
India - Overall collection rate of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which was 35-40 percent in April, improved to 65-70 percent in July, according to the industry data collated by industry body, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) ...
Brazilian Fintech SuperSim, Which Focuses on Microlending, Secures $5.6 Million via Debt Financing
August, 16 2020
Brazil - The microlending firm mainly focuses on the C and D socioeconomic classes in Brazil. Like microlenders in other parts of the world, the company aims to democratize access to modern financial services, in order to promote financial inclusion ...
Blended Finance Is Struggling to Take Off
August, 15 2020
Global - Since 2014 the flow of public and private capital into blended projects and funds has stayed flat at about $20bn a year, according to data from Convergence, a non-profit organisation. That is far off the goal of $100bn set by the UN in 2015 ...
Microfinance: A Wise Addition to the Conscious Investor’s Portfolio?
August, 14 2020
Global - When uncoupled from traditional asset classes and offering stability, investment in the maturing microfinance sector can bring healthy returns and add diversity to a portfolio ...
Four Ways Microfinance Institutions Are Responding to COVID-19
August, 13 2020
Global - The figures of the CGAP Global Pulse Survey of Microfinance Institutions paint the picture of a microfinance sector that is under significant strain but responding with flexibility, offering breathing room for both clients and staff while building out new ways to reach customers remotely. ...
Kenya: DTB Receives $50 Million Covid-19 SME Support from IFC
August, 12 2020
Kenya - Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Limited (DTB) has signed an agreement for a $50 million loan with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to support its borrowers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) ...
More Than Two Dozen Funds Investing in Tropical Forests and Communities
August, 12 2020
Global - More than two-dozen investment funds are making investments in tropical forests and communities. The funds have at least $2.6 billion in capital to invest in firms and projects generating revenue from tropical forestry and agriculture products and benefiting smallholder farmers and forest-dependent communities ...
EBRD Approves $100m Solidarity Loan to Egypt's Banque Misr
August, 11 2020
Egypt - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the provision of a $100m senior unsecured loan to Banque Misr, under its Resilience Framework ...
Kazakhstan’s First Green Bonds Placed on Astana International Exchange
August, 11 2020
Kazakhstan - Damu Entrepreneurship Fund JSC in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has issued the debut green bonds on the Astana International Exchange (AIХ), UNDP Kazakhstan reported on August 11 ...
AgFunder Launches Impact Fund for Asia Agrifood Tech Startups
August, 11 2020
Asia - San Francisco-based venture capital firm AgFunder launched its GROW accelerator in Singapore last year to support Asia’s agrifood tech ecosystem. It’s now adding an impact fund to support seed and Series A ventures, including companies from GROW’s first cohort ...
India: RBI Gives Affordable Housing, Rural Lending Second Boost with Rs 10,000 Crore Facility
August, 11 2020
India - A new Rs 10,000-crore facility the central bank has offered to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the National Housing Bank (NHB) to boost rural lending and affordable housing is expected to ease liquidity concerns at the bottom of the pyramid ...
Pakistan: SBP Revises Regulations for Microfinance Banks
August, 07 2020
Pakistan - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday revised a range of regulations for microfinance banks such as up-scaling maximum loan sizes upto Rs350,000 for general loans and Rs3,000,000 for housing loans to serve financing needs of the low-income segments ...
MDBs’ Climate Finance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Reaches $41.5bln
August, 07 2020
Global - Climate financing by seven of the world’s largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) accounted for $61.6 billion in 2019, of which $ 41.5 billion or 67% was in low- and middle-income economies, according to the 2019 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance ...
India: RBI Monetary Policy Meet - Central Bank Extends MSME Debt Restructuring till March 31 Next Year
August, 06 2020
India - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday extended the restructuring of MSME debt until March 31, 2021, “provided the borrower’s account was classified as standard with the lender as on March 1, 2020,” according to the statement by the central bank on developmental and regulatory policies to boost liquidity support for financial markets. ...
China Crackdown on Shadow Banking Sector Prompts Warning
August, 06 2020
China - China’s efforts to curb predatory lending to the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises could harm the sector rather than helping it by cutting off access to crucial finance, analysts have warned. ...
New Syndicated Tier-II Facility to Increase COVID-19 Resilience for Access Bank Nigeria
August, 06 2020
Nigeria - FMO, Proparco, Symbiotics and Access Bank Plc announced the signing of a Subordinated Syndicated Loan Agreement totalling USD 93.8 million ...
New EIB Microfinance Initiative Could Ease COVID-19 Burden on Georgia’s Agricultural MSMEs
August, 05 2020
Georgia - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend 10 million euros to Credo Bank, a leading player on the microfinance market in Georgia, to provide more affordable loans to country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), predominantly from the agriculture sector ...
Symbiotics Launches $10m Bond Issue for Abaco of Peru for Microlending, SME Finance
August, 05 2020
Peru - The bond is part of the Sustainability, Social and Green Bond Framework of Symbiotics’ entity Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bonds SA. The proceeds will flow to Abaco in the form of a 4-year, unsecured senior loan of PEN 36 million. ...
Natixis’ Sustainable Investing Arm Mirova Closes Ocean Impact Fund at $132m
August, 05 2020
Global - Mirova, the sustainable investing arm of French bank Natixis, has held a final close at $132m for its Althelia Sustainable Ocean fund, exceeding its $100m target. The strategy, launched in 2018, is dedicated to making impact investments into marine and coastal projects globally ...
IFC Loans to Vietnam Prosperity Bank and Oriental Bank to Boost Finance for Local Businesses Amid COVID-19, Support Economic Recovery
August, 04 2020
Vietnam - As part of its COVID-19 fast-track financing support package, IFC is providing VPBank with $100 million and OCB with $40 million in one-year, renewable senior loans ...
Kenya: Sidian Bank, Aqua for All Launch 4 Million Euro Covid 19-WASH Loan Facility for SMEs
August, 04 2020
Kenya - Kenya’s Sidian Bank has partnered with Aqua for All, Dutch Non-Profit institution to unveil 4 Million Euros Covid -19 Wash loan facility in bridging the service and financial gaps in the water and sanitation sector ...
Philippines: House Panel Approves P125-Billion Microfinance Program for MSMEs
August, 04 2020
Philippines - The goal of the program is to protect the capital of small proprietors, ensure the success of their MSMEs, and likewise transform these MSMEs into five-star businesses by providing them with assistance and the necessary resources to help their businesses flourish ...
Georgia: EIB to Lend EUR 10 Million to Credo Bank to Support MSME
August, 03 2020
Georgia - The loan from the EU bank will be available to MSMEs in synthetic local currency to shield them from risks related to the depreciation of the currency. A grant from the European Union will complement the EIB loan to promote the local currency financing and cover part of the foreign exchange risk-related costs ...

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