BlueOrchard fund reaches second close at over $200m
BlueOrchard Finance Ltd, an impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group, has announced the second closing of the BlueOrchard Covid-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund, welcoming new public and private investors.
The wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic threatens decades of progress made towards reducing global poverty and inequality. Though many financial institutions in emerging and frontier markets have weathered the current crisis without major disruption, others need support in order to keep financing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which build the backbone of developing countries’ economic growth and employment. To support these MSMEs, BlueOrchard launched the BlueOrchard Covid-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME Support Fund in partnership with leading public and private investors at the end of 2020.
For the second closing at $207 million, the fund welcomes IDB Invest, part of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, and Visa Foundation as new investors into the fund. With the participation of IDB Invest and Visa Foundation, the fund sharpens its profile as a blended finance vehicle, fighting against the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other investors include Schroders, CDC (the UK’s development finance institution), DFC (U.S. International Development Finance Corporation), FSD Africa Investments (the investment arm of FSD Africa, a specialist development agency supported by UK aid), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), KfW (the German development bank) and SECO (Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs), as donor for the fund’s Technical Assistance Facility.
As of March 2021, the fund has invested in 14 financial institutions across 13 countries, spanning Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
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