- France’s development finance institution Proparco has signed its first deal in the Palestinian Territories with a US$10 million loan to Medjool dates company Nakheel Palestine for Agricultural Development. Proparco claimed it was one of the first DFI investments in the Palestinian Territories outside the banking sector.
- The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a JPY894 billion (US$532 milion) loan agreement with the government of Cameroon to fund the development of 67 kilometre of unpaved road along the Yaounde-Brazzaville International Corridor, which connects Cameroon’s capital city Yaoundé and the Republic of the Congo’s capital Brazzaville, as well as reaching Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
- The Asian Development Bank has lent US$20 million to Pakistan’s Khushhali Microfinance Bank for agriculture businesses and other micro, small and medium enterprises.
- Singapore-based fintech startup Bank-Genie has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding from SBI FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund, a private equity vehicle set up by Japan’s SBI Holdings and Netherlands development finance institution FMO. Bank-Genie aims to democratise financial services and simplify banking operations. The company’s flagship product is a mobile native software, that enables banks and financial institutions to create virtual retail branches.
- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, will invest US$40 million in Indian fund manager Kedaara Capital Fund.
- Indian vaccine company Biological E has been lent US$60 million by the IFC to scale up its product offerings to include a wider range of vaccines and to set up new manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad.
- Peruvian non-bank financial institution Edpyme Acceso Crediticio will receive US$20 million from the IFC to support microfinance clients, particularly micro-entrepreneurs of natural gas vehicles, who are typically unbanked or excluded from the banking system.
- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend Egypt’s Fayoum Water and Wastewater Company €186 million, together with €172 million provided by the European Investment Bank, and an investment grant of €30 million from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility and over €7 million for technical assistance. The funding will support the construction of eight new wastewater treatment plants, the expansion of nine units and the rehabilitation of 10 plants as well as the installation of 3,433 km of pipes and 139 pumping stations.
- The EBRD is also extending a new funding facility of US$16 million to Gobi JSC, a leading cashmere garments maker in Mongolia.
- Finally, China Development Bank and Deutsche Bank signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at supporting US$3 billion of Belt & Road projects and promoting the renminbi’s internationalisation.