MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Incofin Raises $60m for India Progress Fund, Bringing Equity Investments to Rural Entrepreneurs, Value Chains from DFIs, Family Offices, King Baudouin Foundation, Korys, SDG Frontier Fund

Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management recently announced it has raised USD 60 million for the first close of the Incofin India Progress Fund (IPF). The fund will issue private equity investments that support agricultural value chains in rural India via access to financial services and international markets. IPF also has a mentoring component to support its investees. Incofin raised the capital from three development finance institutions (DFIs) and the following private Belgian investors: the King Baudouin Foundation; Korys; the SDG Frontier Fund and a group of unidentified family offices. The participating DFIs are the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO); the CDC Group of the UK and the French public-private partnership Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Économique (PROPARCO).

Incofin Partner Rahul Rai said, “The modernization of the agri value chain in India is an underinvested opportunity with significant potential for rural impact and for creating meaningful enterprises.”

Founded in 2001, Incofin is a for-profit firm that seeks “to promote inclusive progress.” As of 2021, it has 320 investees in 66 countries, mostly active in financial inclusion and agriculture. Incofin’s portfolio is valued at USD 1 billion and comprises the following funds: agRIF, BRS Microfinance Coop Fund, Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF), Fonds pour l’Inclusion Financière en République Démocratique Congo, Incofin CVSO, Invest in Visions, Rural Impulse Fund II, Volksvermogen and a loan portfolio of vdk bank.

By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with Incofin

BIO homepage
https://www.bio-invest.be/

CDC Group homepage
https://www.cdcgroup.com/

King Baudouin Foundation homepage
https://www.kbs-frb.be/

Korys homepage
www.korys.be

PROPARCO homepage
https://www.proparco.fr/

SDG Frontier Fund description
https://www.bio-invest.be/en/sdg-frontier-fund

Previous MicroCapital brief about Incofin
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-adas-ssnup-incofins-agtaf-supporting-mobile-app-from-sohan-lal-commodity-management-slcm-of-india-easing-farmers-buyers-assessment-of-seed/

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