MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $6m to Microfinance Institution Financiera Creditos Arequipa SA (Financiera Crear), Fair Trade Groups Asociacion de Comites de Productores Agropecuarios (ACOPAGRO), Frontera de San Ignacio, All of Peru

responsAbility Social Investments AG, an investment company based in Switzerland, recently reported to MicroCapital that it has loaned the equivalent of USD 6.62 million to microfinance institution Financiera Creditos Arequipa SA (Financiera Crear) and fair trade groups Asociacion de Comites de Productores Agropecuarios (ACOPAGRO) and Frontera de San Ignacio, all of Peru.

The responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF), responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) and Mikrofinanz-Fonds, three microfinance investment vehicles managed by responsAbility, made investments of USD 1.65 million, USD 1.65 million and USD 2.21 million, respectively, in Financiera Crear. As of the end of 2010, Financiera Crear reported to the US-based, nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 151 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 130 million, return on assets of 4.37 percent, return on equity of 32.1 percent and 87,300 borrowers.

Mikrofinanz-Fonds and rAGMF made local-currency debt investments worth USD 300,000 and USD 500,000, respectively, in ACOPAGRO, a cooperative of roughly 1,800 small-scale cocoa producers in Peru. Financial information is not available for ACOPAGRO.

rAGMF made a local-currency debt investment of USD 300,000 in Frontera, a cooperative of approximately 320 coffee growers in Peru. Founded in 1968, Frontera supports its members through a certification and control system, a technical assistance program and a burial service fund. Financial information is not available for Frontera.

According to calculations based on data from MIX from 2009 and 2010, responsAbility manages approximately USD 800 million in total assets.

By Jacqueline Foelster, Research Associate

About responsAbility Social Investments AG: 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 Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF): rAGMF is a microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) managed by responsAbility 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. rAGMF reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) that it had USD 474 million in fund assets as of 2010.

About responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF): The responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) invests in large microfinance institutions (MFIs) through debt securities and equity investments. rAMLF reported to the US-based, nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) that it had USD 160 million in fund assets as of 2010. LuxFLAG, an independent organization that certifies that microfinance vehicles actually invest in the microfinance sector, renewed rAMFL’s label in March 2011.

About responsAbility 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 microfinance institutions (MFIs) through debt securities and equity investments. 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. Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector, renewed its certification of Mikrofinanz-Fonds in March 2011.

About Financiera Creditos Arequipa SA (Financiera Crear): Financiera Creditos Arequipa SA (Financiera Crear) is a microfinance institution that was founded in 1998 by the NGO “Habitat Arequipa Siglo XXI”. As of the end of 2010, Financiera Crear reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 151 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 130 million, return on assets (ROA) of 4.37 percent, return on equity of 32.1 percent and 87,300 borrowers.

Source and Additional Resources:

[1] Data provided by responsAbility Social Investments to MicroCapital, May 2011

MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsibility social investments AG, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility

MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (RAGMF), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility+Global+Microfinance+Fund+%28rAGMF%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (Ramlf), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility+Microfinance+Leaders+Fund+%28rAMLF%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: responsAbility Mikrofinanz-Fonds, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=responsAbility+Mikrofinanz-Fonds

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Financiera Creditos Arequipa SA (Financiera Crear), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Financiera+Creditos+Arequipa+SA+%28Financiera+Crear%29

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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