MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $6.7m to Interfisa of Paraguay, Ecofuturo of Bolivia, FIE Grand Poder of Argentina, Locfund

responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility), a Swiss asset management company that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it made debt investments totaling approximately USD 6.7 million through MIVs it manages to Locfund, an MIV with offices in Costa Rica and Bolivia, and the following three MFIs: Interfisa, a financial intermediation company offering loans, voluntary savings and fund transfer services in Paraguay; Ecofuturo, a regulated Bolivian MFI that supports the development of small and micro-enterprises; and FIE Grand Poder of Argentina.

responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF), an MIV that invests in MFIs through short- to medium-term debt securities and up to 25 percent in equity investments, loaned approximately USD 180,000 to Locfund, USD 500,000 to Interfisa, USD 1.5 million to Ecofuturo and USD 250,000 to FIE Grand Poder. Locfund provides local currency loans to microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean and reported total assets of USD 28.7 million in 2009. Interfisa reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 114 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 99.2 million as of March 2011. Ecofuturo reported total assets of USD 132 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 108 million in 2010. FIE Grand Poder is an Argentinian MFI established in 2001 by the nonprofit Centro de Fomento de Inciaticas Economicas (FIE) and in 2009 reported MIX total assets of USD 12.2 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 9.7 million.

responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), an MIV that invests MFIs and other MIVs mostly through short- to medium-term debt securities and up to 10 percent in equity investments, loaned USD 1.5 million to Interfisa, USD 1.25 million to Ecofuturo and USD 500,000 to FIE Grand Poder.

responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds (Mikrofinanz-Fonds), an MIV that invests in MFIs and other MIVs through short- to medium-term debt securities and is funded by German financial institutions Bank im Bistum Essen and Stadtsparkasse Dusseldorf, loaned USD 750,000 to Ecofuturo and USD 250,000 to FIE Grand Poder.

By Carol Kim, Research Associate

About responsAbility Social Investments AG (responsAbility): Founded in 2003, responsAbility Social Investments AG is a Swiss investment company whose products aim to enable investors to earn a financial return while assisting people in emerging markets to access information and markets in sectors such as microfinance, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing, fair trade and independent media. According to calculations based on data from the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) from 2009 and 2010, responsAbility manages approximately USD 800 million in total assets. responsAbility is backed by Swiss financial institutions and a social venture capital company as founders and shareholders including Baumann & Cie, Banquiers, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen Schweiz, Swiss Re, Bank Vontobel AG as well as George Avenue.

About responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF): rAMLF is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG that invests microfinance institutions (MFIs) through short- to medium-term debt securities and up to 25 percent of its assets in equity investments. In April 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector.

About responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF): rAGMF is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by Switzerland’s responsAbility Social Investments AG that invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other MIVs, mostly through short- to medium-term debt securities. rAGMF also invests up to 10 percent of its assets in the equity of MFIs. In March 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. In 2010, rAGMF reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) that it had USD 474 million in fund assets.

About responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds (Mikrofinanz-Fonds): Mikrofinanz-Fonds is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) that was launched in 2007, is managed by responsAbility Social Investments AG of Switzerland and is funded by German financial institutions Bank im Bistum Essen and Stadtsparkasse Dusseldorf. It invests in short to medium-term income-bearing debt securities of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Mikrofinanz-Fonds reports to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US-based nonprofit data provider, that it held USD 103 million in assets as of 2010. In April 2011, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector.

About Locfund: Locfund provides local-currency loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean through its managing offices in La Paz, Bolivia, and San Jose, Costa Rica. Locfund loans amounts between USD 250,000 and USD 1.5 million per institution and also offers a technical assistance facility that aims to manage the risks relating to the management of assets and liabilities. In 2009, Locfund reported USD 28.7 million in funded assets.

About Interfisa Financiera: Interfisa is a financial company offering loans, voluntary savings and fund transfer services in Paraguay. Founded in 1978 Interfisa currently operates through 24 branches across the country. As of March 2011, Interfisa reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 114 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 99.2 million, a return on assets of 4.34 percent and a return on equity of 29 percent.

About Ecofuturo: Ecofuturo is a regulated Bolivian microfinance institution (MFI) whose mission is to become a competitive, efficient and sustainable financial entity that supports the development of small and micro-enterprises in urban and rural areas with innovative services. Ecofuturo was created by a group of financial NGOs (ANED, FADES, IDEPRO and UNITAS), together with a group of businessmen and with support from the Swiss government. In 2010, Ecofuturo reported to the US nonprofit data provider Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 132 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 108 million, a return on assets of 2.5 percent and a return on equity of 26.4 percent.

About FIE Grand Poder: FIE Grand Poder is an Argentinian microfinance institution (MFI) established in 2001 by the nonprofit Centro de Fomento de Inciaticas Economicas (FIE). In 2009, FIE Grand Poder reported to the US nonprofit data provider Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 12.2 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 9.7 million, a return on assets of 1.02 percent and a return on equity of 4.9 percent.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Data submitted by responsAbility Social Investments AG to MicroCapital, June 2011

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