This story comes courtesy from the Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the MIX, the microfinance information clearinghouse. The Impulse Microfinance Investment Fund (Impulse), managed by Incofin, a Belgian social investment company, has directed a USD 1 million loan to Fundación José Nieborowski, a Nicaraguan microfinance institution (MFI). The loan investment contributes to the MFI’s gross loan portfolio of USD 20.2 million, increasing its size by roughly 5 percent. Impulse is now the fourth investment vehicle to financially back Fundación José Nieborowski, joining the ranks of MicroVest One, a US-based limited partnership, Oikocredit, a Dutch investment firm, and the Oxfam Novib Fund, a Netherlands philanthropic investment fund.
Impulse was created in 2004 by Incofin, in partnership with four Belgian financial groups: KBC Bank, one of Belgium’s largest banks, Volksvermogen, a financial holding group, Boerenbond, an association of agricultural entrepreneurs, and VDK Spaarbank, a savings bank. As reported by MicroCapital’s Microfinance Funds Universe, the fund’s portfolio includes USD 23.1 million in total assets allocated to at least 22 MFIs worldwide. Previous to this investment in Fundación José Nieborowski, loan investments in Latin America and the Caribbean consisted of 54 percent of Impulse’s total investment dollars (see “Structure and Performance”). By the end of the year, Incofin expects the Impulse fund to increase its portfolio by an additional USD 3.3 million.
In addition to Impulse, Incofin manages its Incofin Fund, a microfinance investment vehicle with USD 10.2 million in assets lent to 19 MFIs. Both the Incofin Fund and the company were founded in 1992 by entrepreneurs and investors of Belgium, many of whom now hold capital shares in the company.
Fundación José Nieborowski was founded in 1993. Today the MFI has 22,259 active borrowers, with an average loan size of USD 907, a increase from USD 788 the previous year (see “Outreach and Impact”). The sizes of loans are not the only part of the MFI’s business to experience growth. The MFI’s return on assets stands at 6.3 percent, and its return on equity at 28.5 percent, a financial performance improvement from a year ago when the said rates stood at 4.2 and 19.4 percent, respectively (see “Financial Data”).
By Quentin Ruiz-Esparza, Research Associate
Additional Resources:
CGAP: “List of Recent Transactions.”
The MIX Market: “Profile for Impulse (Incofin).”
The MIX Market: “Profile for INCOFIN.”
The MIX Market: “Profile for Fundación José Nieborowski.”
MicroCapital: “Impulse (Incofin).”
Incofin: “Origins.”
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