MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $9m to Microfinance Institution Letshego Kenya

Letshego Kenya, a microlending unit of Botswana-based Letshego Holdings Limited, recently borrowed USD 9 million from Germany-based Invest in Visions’ (IIV’s) IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a microfinance investment vehicle that lends to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries. IIV Mikrofinanzfonds loaned additional amounts – denominated in a mix of euros and US dollars – totaling the equivalent of USD 19 million to unidentified MFIs in Albania, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Peru.

As of 2017, Letshego Kenya reports net advances of BWP 516 million (USD 48 million) to 26,000 borrowers, of whom 41 percent are women and 86 percent use their loans for “productive” purposes. The firm’s staff includes 55 percent women. Letshego Holdings Limited operates in 13 countries.

IIV was founded in 2006, and it launched IIV Mikrofinanzfonds in 2011. The fund, which focuses on investing in small and medium-sized MFIs in rural areas, accepts investments as small as EUR 100 (USD 118). As of September 2018, it has a volume of EUR 609 million (USD 690 million). Since 2013, IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, which has two share classes, has produced annualized returns ranging from 1.3 percent to 4.4 percent. In addition to microfinance, IIV offers services in sectors such as “sustainable” agriculture and social enterprises.

Sources and Additional Resources

IIV monthly factsheet
https://www.investinvisions.com/files/9_september_iiv_mikrofinanzfonds_factsheet_englisch_9.pdf

Letshego Kenya
https://www.letshego.com/kenya

Letshego Holdings
https://www.letshego.com/about-letshego-group

IIV background
https://www.investinvisions.com/en/about-us.html

MicroCapital Brief; August 10, 2018; Invest in Visions’ IIV Mikrofinanzfonds Lends $4.7m to Microfinance Institution ASA Pakistan
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-invest-in-visions-iiv-mikrofinanzfonds-lends-4-7m-to-microfinance-institution-asa-pakistan/

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