In the News

• MFBA Completes $25 million Bond Issue- March 3, 2008. DWM advises the second closing of MFBA Bond 1, the first international bond issue for any issuer in Azerbaijan.<<Read more >>

• Azeri Manat Debt investment with MFBA marks another first - December 7, 2007.  DWM advises the first Azeri Manat Loan funded by international private capital.  The AZN 4.2 million investment marks another historic step in the development of capital markets both for MFBA and Azerbaijan. <<Read more >>
  
  
• Fast Company recognizes DWM with Inaugural Social Capitalist Award - December 3, 2007.  The award was established in 2003 to celebrate excellence in social entrepreneurship.  This is the first year that for-profit businesses like DWM have been eligible for the awards. <<Read more>>
  
  
• $11.4 million bond issue for Microfinance Bank of Azerbaijan – August 31, 2007. DWM is pleased to announce the successful completion of a debut bond issue for the MFBA. The funding will be used by MFBA for on-lending to Azeri small business. <<Read MFBA press release >>

• Microfinance: not as risky as you think. “Many MFIs report historical repayment levels on loans of 97 per cent or more," despite volatility in domestic and international markets, according to a Financial Times article featuring a correlation study sponsored by DWM.   Read more>>

• Hive of microfinance activity attracts serious attention - July 2, 2007 - Investment banks and institutional fund managers are being persuaded to take microfinance institutions seriously as they show better returns than some emerging market investment vehicles and prove their stability in the face of external shocks. Kathryn Tully reports. Read more>>

• $170 million First Closing of the SNS Institutional Microfinance Fund - June 6, 2007 - SNS Asset Management and DWM today announced the first closing of an investment fund aimed at alleviating poverty and producing an attractive investment return by providing capital to MFIs in developing countries. Using initial seed capital, the Fund has already made eight investments, totalling over USD $17 million in six countries.  Read Press Release (pdf)>>

• Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund 2006 - March 30, 2007.  DWM announced today the closing of Global Partnerships Microfinance Fund 2006.  The five-year fund closed at $8.5 million, which will be lent by the fund manager, Global Partnerships, to MFIs in Latin America.  Read more>>

• DWM Advises on Largest Microfinance Private Placement – September 19, 2006.
  DWM has advised a microfinance company on the largest ever private placement of equity in the microfinance industry.  See press release in which TIAA-CREF, one of the largest pension funds in the US, announces a $43 million investment in the equity of ProCredit Holding, A.G.,  the world’s largest integrated microfinance holding company.  DWM advised ProCredit. Read more>>
  

• LA Times: Tiny Loans Seen as Big Way to Invest in Developing Nations' Poor, July 20, 2006. Roger Frank, managing director of DWM, said "investors were starting to figure out that putting money into poor communities could be profitable, in part because the borrowers are highly motivated to repay their debt." Read article (PDF)>>

• Chronicle of Philanthropy - The Big Promise of Small Loans, July 20, 2006. Read Article >>

• Microfinance Securities XXEB (MFS), June 29, 2006 - Developing World Markets has successfully structured and closed Microfinance Securities XXEB, a $60 million securitization of cross-border loans to approximately 30 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 15 countries. Read Press Release (PDF) >>

• Microfinance Gateway - Foreign Currency Risk for Secound Tier MFIs: Facts or Folly? May, 2006 - "noteworthy private sector organizations including... Developing World Markets... are focused on building viable capital markets for top tier MFIs." Read More>>

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy - International Gathering Seeks to Give "Social Investing" Mass Appeal, April 20, 2006. Mentioned alongside Generation Investment Management, co-founded by Al Gore and David Blood, DWM "has been able to create investments that pay market-rate returns and then channel that capital to the microfinance institutions..." More>>

• World Economic Forum - Blended Value Investing: Capital Opportunities for Social and Environmental Impact, a paper authored by Jed Emerson and Josh Spitzer featuring microfinance debt financing, including the work of Developing World Markets and Global Partnerships. March 2006. More (PDF) >>

• Dow Jones Wires reporting on the ACCION Conference, Feb 8, 2006. Microfinance firms in developing markets are starting to tap into national and international capital markets to finance their growing operations and booming loan portfolios. More (PDF) >>

• Wall Street Journal: New Way of Doing Well While Doing Good, January 5, 2006. “Some investment firms are marketing securities that are similar to bonds ... developed by ... Developing World Markets, Darien, Conn. More>>

• The Economist: Hidden Wealth of the Poor – Micro No More, November 5, 2005. “More than a dozen (microfinance) institutions recently raised money from American investors, including a university, in a deal structured by Developing World Markets, a specialised American firm of financial adviser... More >>