VisionFund Myanmar, a microfinance institution serving rural Myanmar, recently received a two-year loan of USD 4 million from two investment vehicles managed by BlueOrchard, a for-profit, Switzerland-based firm: the Japan ASEAN Women Empowerment Fund (JAWEF) and the Microfinance Initiative for Asia (MIFA) Debt Fund.
The organization’s CEO, Rommel Caringal, said, “We believe in brighter futures for children, empowering families to create incomes and jobs, and unlocking economic potential for communities to thrive. This partnership will go a long way in helping us make that mission a reality for many people.”
As of 2016, VisionFund Myanmar reported total assets of USD 16.2 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 16.2 million. As of September 2015, 87 percent of its borrowers were women [2]. VisionFund Myanmar does not report its savings data. The microbank is a subsidiary of VisionFund International, which handles microfinance activities in 32 countries for World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization.
Founded in 2016, JAWEF has assets of USD 120 million and was initiated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private Japanese investors including Sumito Life. MIFA, which has assets of USD 100 million, was founded in 2010 by the World bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
BlueOrchard, which was founded in 2001 with support from the UN, provides debt and equity investments to companies in emerging markets. As of 2017, it reports net assets of USD 1.1 billion, and its investees serve 18.7 million microentrepreneurs.
By Aleks Marceau, Research Associate
Sources and additional resources:
VisionFund Myanmar press release:
http://www.visionfund.org/library/client/images/mfi/Myanmar/Press%20release.pdf
VisionFund Myanmar home page:
http://www.visionfund.org/2101/myanmar/asia-pacific/where/
BlueOrchard home page:
http://www.blueorchard.com
More on JAWEF:
http://www.blueorchard.com/investment-solutions/customized-mandates/fighting-poverty-striving-women-empowerment/
More on MIFA:
http://www.blueorchard.com/investment-solutions/customized-mandates/mifa/
MicroCapital on VisionFund and LIFT in Myanmar:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-livelihoods-and-food-security-trust-fund-lift-donates-4-5m-to-world-vision-myanmar-for-microfinance-lending-savings/
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