DFI Directory | Autumn 2017
The DFI Directory provides valuable information about the following DFIs’ activities, including investment priorities, fund manager criteria, and investment structures:
Belgian Investment Company for Development Companies (BIO) (EMPEA Member)
The Belgian Investment Company for Development Companies (BIO) is a DFI established in 2001 in the framework of the Belgian Development Cooperation to support private sector growth in developing and emerging countries. BIO supports financial institutions, investment funds, enterprises and private infrastructure projects. BIO provides tailored long-term financial products (equity, quasi-equity, debt and guarantees), either directly or through intermediary structures. BIO is also able to fund technical assistance programs for client companies as well as feasibility studies. BIO requires its business partners to implement environmental, social and governance standards. BIO operates as an additional partner to the traditional financial institutions and supports projects with a balance between return on investment and development impact. BIO is a member of EDFI (European Development Finance Institutions).
CDC Group (EMPEA Member)
Founded in 1948, CDC is the UK’s Development Finance Institution, wholly owned by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). It is the world’s oldest DFI and its mission is to support the building of businesses throughout Africa and South Asia, to create jobs and make a lasting difference to peoples’ lives in some of the world’s poorest places. CDC’s portfolio of investments is valued at US$4.7 billion (year end 2016) and includes over 1,200 investee businesses.
Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) (EMPEA Member)
CAF is a development bank created in 1970, whose shareholders are 19 countries – 17 of Latin America and the Caribbean plus Spain and Portugal – as well as 14 private banks in the region. It promotes a sustainable development model through credit and investment operations, non-reimbursable resources, and support in the technical and financial structuring of projects in the public and private sectors of Latin America.
Deutsche Investitions–und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) (EMPEA Member)
DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. For more than 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries. DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing to services. The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital locally. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (EMPEA Member)
The EBRD is an international financial institution that is active in 36 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia to North Africa (“Countries of Operation”). Its mission is to develop open and sustainable market economies in countries committed to, and applying, democratic principles and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative whilst applying sound banking principles. The EBRD today is among the largest investors in private equity funds operating in its Countries of Operation and acts as a catalyst to mobilize significant foreign direct investment beyond its own financing.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) (EMPEA Member)
The European Investment Bank was created by the Treaty of Rome in 1948 as the long-term lending bank of the European Union. The task of the Bank is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States. The EIB raises substantial volumes of funds on the capital markets which it lends on favorable terms to projects furthering EU policy objectives. The EIB continuously adapts its activity to developments in EU policies. The majority of financing is offered through loans, but the Bank is also a significant provider of guarantees and equity investments. Investments that make a significant contribution to growth, employment, regional cohesion and environmental sustainability in Europe and beyond.
Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund) (EMPEA Member)
Finnfund is a Finnish development finance company that provides long-term risk capital for private projects in developing countries.
Inter-American Development Bank–Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) (EMPEA Member)
The Multilateral Investment Fund of the IDB Group is the leading provider of technical assistance for the private sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. The MIF, or FOMIN as the fund is known in Spanish, is also one of the region’s biggest investors in microfinance and venture capital funds for small businesses. Projects to be financed should increase access to finance, markets and capabilities and basic services. The MIF always works with local, mostly private partners, to help fund and execute projects. It provides grants, loans, guarantees, equity and quasi-equity as well as advisory services to business associations, non-governmental organizations, foundations, public sector agencies and financial institutions and, in some cases, private sector firms to support projects that benefit the poor – their businesses, their farms, and their households – throughout the 26 Latin American and Caribbean borrowing member countries of the IDB Group. The MIF does not directly finance micro and small enterprises.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) (EMPEA Member)
IFC uses fund investments to complement IFC’s direct activities, and believes that the combination of capital and management advice that private equity funds bring to companies, aids development by supporting growth in a stable and sustainable manner, which has a major impact on job creation. In 2000, IFC created a dedicated unit to specialize in fund investments. The structured approach has produced solid results for both development impact and returns. 50% of the funds that IFC backs are first time funds, and IFC has a track record of identifying managers who have developed into premier players in their respective regions.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (EMPEA Member)
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), established as an Incorporated Administrative Agency of Japanese Government, aims to contribute to the promotion of international cooperation as well as the sound development of Japanese and global economy by supporting the socioeconomic development, recovery or economic stability of developing regions. JICA resumed financing to non-sovereign development projects in developing countries through Private Sector Investment Finance (PSIF) since October 2012.
Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) (EMPEA Member)
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) is the international development bank of the Netherlands. FMO invests risk capital in companies, projects and financial institutions in developing countries. FMO believes that entrepreneurship is key in creating sustainable economic growth and improving people’s quality of life. FMO specializes in sectors where its contribution can have the highest long-term impact: financial institutions; energy; and agribusiness, food & water. With a committed investment portfolio of approximately EUR9 billion FMO is one of the largest bilateral development banks worldwide. Private equity investments are an important part of FMO’s portfolio. FMO’s private equity team manages a committed portfolio of both direct and fund investments totaling more than EUR2 billion.
Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund)
NORFUND (Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries) is a major investor in emerging markets, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises in East Africa, Southern Africa, Central America and selected countries in Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh). This includes investments in funds and financial institutions that operate within these market segments. Outside of the clean energy and financial sectors, direct investments are normally only made in agri-businesses in East and Southern Africa.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) (EMPEA Member)
OPIC is a self-sustaining development finance institution of the United States. OPIC helps catalyze U.S. and private sector commercial investment overseas in support of U.S. foreign policy and national security interests. Established in 1971, OPIC provides businesses with tools to manage risks associated with foreign direct investment, fosters economic development in emerging markets, helps American businesses gain footholds in new markets, and contributes to job growth opportunities both in the U.S. and abroad. OPIC fulfills its mission by providing businesses with financing and political risk insurance.
PROPARCO (EMPEA Member)
Created in 1977, PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution held by Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and private shareholders from the North and South. PROPARCO finances operations which are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. Proparco provides a full and customized range of financial tools – equity and quasi-equity, loans and guarantees, to supplement the activity of commercial banks. PROPARCO beneficiates from an international presence on 4 continents and more than 70 countries.
SWEDFUND (EMPEA Member)
Swedfund is Sweden’s Development Finance Institution, founded in 1979. Swedfund provides risk capital and expertise for investments in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Swedfund’s aim is to contribute to the development of sound and profitable businesses, thereby ensuring a positive and sustainable economic development in the countries where we invest. Swedfund is 100 % owned by the Swedish state.
Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) (EMPEA Member)
SIFEM AG is the development finance institution of Switzerland, fully owned and capitalized by the Swiss Confederation. SIFEM provides long-term finance to private equity funds that invest in small-and medium sized enterprises (SME) and fast growing companies in developing and transition economies. On a selective basis, SIFEM also co-invests in the underlying portfolio companies of its private equity funds, and makes direct debt investments in financial institutions. SIFEM is managed by Obviam, a privately owned advisory group.