MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Invests $40m in Equity in eFishery of Indonesia for Technology Helping Fish, Shrimp Farmers with Feeding, Water Quality, Documenting Sustainable Practices, Market Linkages

Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments recently paid USD 40 million for an equity stake of undisclosed size in eFishery, a company assisting Indonesian fish and shrimp farmers with automatic feeders and mobile apps. The money is sourced from the responsAbility fund Sustainable Food Asia II, which has raised USD 173 million as of 2023.

Founded in 2013, eFishery reports having partnered with 70,000 cultivators, including separate apps for

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Annapurna Finance Borrowing $25m from responsAbility to Boost Renewable Energy, Energy-efficiency in India

The Switzerland-based firm responsAbility Investments recently loaned USD 25 million to Annapurna Finance, a microfinance institution (MFI) seeking to reduce poverty and spread economic opportunity in India. The MFI plans to on-lend the funds to families as well as smaller businesses looking to acquire solar panels and other equipment that reduces the need for fossil fuels. As Annapurna has

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Equity Group Nets Over $165m from IFC, BII, FMO, ResponsAbility, Symbiotics for Climate Projects, Financial Inclusion for MSMEs in Africa

Partially through its Financial Institutions Growth Fund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is paying an undisclosed sum to acquire a 6.7-percent stake in Equity Group Holdings, which has banking operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. IFC and the UK government’s British International Investment (BII) also are each lending the group’s Equity Bank Kenya

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Lends $18m to Fintech U Gro Capital for MSME Funding in India

ResponsAbility Investments, a Swiss firm in the process of being acquired by UK-based M&G, recently facilitated INR 1.4 billion (USD 18 million) in borrowing by U Gro Capital, an Indian financial technology (fintech) platform, to increase its funding of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The debt package comprises INR 1.1 billion (USD 14 million) in nonconvertible debentures (NCDs) with the remainder in the form of an external commercial borrowing transaction. The latter is

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: M&G Acquiring Majority Stake in Impact Investment Firm responsAbility

M&G, a UK-based holding company seeking “to help our customers invest for a more sustainable future for the planet and society,” recently moved to acquire 90 percent of responsAbility Investments of Switzerland. ResponsAbility invests in low- and middle-income countries with the aim of increasing financial inclusion, supporting agriculture deemed sustainable and reducing the effects of climate change. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and M&G is expected to acquire

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Utkarsh Raises $32m in Equity from Aavishkaar, Growth Catalyst, Olympus, responsAbility, Triodos for Microfinance in India

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (SFB) of India recently concluded a private placement of equity shares, raising INR 2.4 billion (USD 32 million) shortly after filing with local regulatory authorities for an upcoming IPO, through which it plans to raise an additional INR 7.5 billion (USD 100 million). The participants in the recent funding round were

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Securitizes $175m for 26 Microfinance Institutions, SME Lenders from Investors Including Alecta, Calvert, OPIC

A Switzerland-based “impact asset manager,” responsAbility Investments, recently securitized USD 175 million for lending to 26 funders of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The three-year securitization offers listed bonds at senior and mezzanine levels with unspecified “commercial” fixed rates of return, as well as a junior level with

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Electronica Finance of India Sells $10m in “Masala Bonds” to responsAbility Climate Fund for Lending to Manufacturing SMEs to Cut Greenhouse Emissions

Electronica Finance Limited, a lender to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India, recently raised the local-currency equivalent of USD 10 million through a bond issue to a fund managed by Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments whose goal is to reduce the impact of people on climate. Electronica, which lends to firms involved in services and manufacturing, will use the funds to facilitate purchases of energy-efficient equipment for creating plastics, machine tools, packaging and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Buys Equity Stake in C88, Fintech Expanding Access to Lending, Insurance via CekAja.com in Indonesia, eCompareMo.com in the Philippines

A private equity investment vehicle managed by responsAbility Investments AG, a Switzerland-based asset manager specializing in impact investments in developing countries, recently paid an undisclosed sum to buy a minority stake of undisclosed size in Singapore-based C88 Financial Technologies. C88 operates online platforms that help consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines compare and

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility-managed Private Equity Vehicle Acquires 51% Stake in Bank Lviv, Lender to SMEs, Agricultural Firms in the Ukraine

A private equity investment vehicle managed by responsAbility Investments AG, a Switzerland-based asset manager specializing in impact investments in developing countries, recently paid an undisclosed sum to buy a 51-percent

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Sells Equity Stake in Mibanco of Peru to Microfinance Institution’s Majority Shareholder, Credicorp

ResponsAbility Investments AG, a Switzerland-based asset manager specializing in impact investments in developing countries, recently sold its entire equity position in Mibanco, a microfinance bank in Peru, to Credicorp Limited, a banking institution with subsidiaries operating mainly

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas Continues Buying Equity in Microfinance Institution Financiera Confianza of Peru with responsAbility Transaction

Fundacion BBVA MicroFinanzas, which was launched by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in 1998, recently added to its shareholding in Financiera Confianza, a Peruvian microfinance institution (MFI) by purchasing the stake held by Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments. Although the size and price of the holding, which responsAbility began building in 2008, remains confidential, responsAbility reports that it earned “over three

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Agriculture I Fund Takes Equity Stake in Indian Value-chain Lender Samunnati

Switzerland-based responsAbility Investments recently disbursed the first investment from its private equity fund responsAbility Agriculture I, acquiring a “significant” minority stake in Samunnati, a non-banking financial company in India that provides loans and advisory services to players in agricultural value chains. Although the price and size of the stake remain confidential, responsAbility Agriculture I generally places investments of

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Egyptian Mobile Payment Platform Fawry Sells Equity Stake to Private Equity Firm Managed by responsAbility

An entity managed by Switzerland’s responsAbility Investments recently purchased a stake of undisclosed size and price in Fawry, a mobile payments platform in Egypt. Fawry has 20 million customers, whom it enables to pay bills and make retail purchases via mobile phones, credit cards, automatic teller machines, accounts at 23 banks, and point-of-sale machines at 65,000

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility to Loan Additional $3m to Bolivian Microfinance Institution Diaconia FRIF

ResponsAbility, a Switzerland-based asset management firm specializing in development investments, recently informed MicroCapital that it is lending an additional USD 3 million to Diaconia Fondo Rotativo de Inversion y Fomento (FRIF), a non-banking financial institution based in Bolivia.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ResponsAbility Investments Loans $15m to Trustco of Namibia for Education Funding

ResponsAbility Investments AG, a Swiss company specializing in investments in areas such as fair trade, recently informed MicroCapital that it has agreed to loan USD 15 million to Trustco Group Holdings Limited (Trustco), a company based in Windhoek, Namibia, that specializes in microfinance, micro-insurance and financial education.