Proparco provides guarantee to South African fund
Proparco is providing a €2 million portfolio guarantee to the ASISA ESD Fund, managed by Edge Growth Ventures.
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French development finance institution Proparco is providing a €2 million ARIZ PRIME portfolio guarantee to the ASISA ESD Fund, managed by South Africa’s Edge Growth Ventures.
The ASISA ESD Fund targets the expansion and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa, particularly those owned by people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The ASISA ESD Fund was set up by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) in partnership with Edge Growth. ASISA is an association body established in 2008 to represent the savings, investment and insurance sectors.
The ARIZ PRIME portfolio guarantee granted by Proparco is a risk-sharing mechanism that will support the ASISA ESD Fund to invest in SMEs via equity or quasi-equity investments.
The fund manager, Edge Growth Ventures, specialises in managing enterprise and supplier development funds, and has over €115 million of capital under management.
“Proparco is pleased to renew its partnership with the ASISA ESD Fund, following an initial operation in 2019. Through the deployment of the ARIZ PRIME guarantee, Proparco facilitates investments in high-impact SMEs, and thus contributes to one of its strategic objectives of reducing socio-economic inequalities. We are proud to be associated with this project, which exemplifies the essence of inclusive and impactful economic development,” says Steven Gardon, regional director for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region at Proparco.
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