The Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, the UK-based Schroders Group and its Switzerland-based unit BlueOrchard Finance recently announced the first closing of the Green Impact Earth Fund (GEIF) with a USD 25 million commitment from the Ministry of Finance. The fund “allows institutional investors to invest in a portfolio of funds, which seek to address environmental protection and climate change and to benefit from de-risking mechanisms such as first-loss protection.” The Ministry of Finance initiated GEIF and also is funding a first-loss feature intended to attract private investment. BlueOrchard and Schroders will manage the fund, whose target size is USD 250 million.
Luxembourg’s Finance Minister, Yuriko Backes, argued that the first “closing of this innovative investment fund is a significant milestone in our efforts to achieve sustainable growth and build carbon-neutral and resilient economies in emerging markets. As we face unprecedented environmental challenges… [t]his blended finance partnership is a powerful example of how public and private sectors can work together to drive meaningful impact.”
Founded in 2001, BlueOrchard’s goal is “generating lasting positive impact for communities and the environment, while aiming at providing attractive returns to investors.” As of December 2022, the firm has disbursed USD 10 billion in private debt. Of the clients served by BlueOrchard’s investees, 80 percent are women, two thirds live in rural areas and 130,000 are students and educational institutions.
Founded in 1804, UK-based asset manager Schroders is a publicly traded firm with operations in 32 countries. As of 2022, it reports assets under management valued at GBP 737 billion (USD 992 billion).
By Vaughn Rajah, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
BlueOrchard press release
https://www.blueorchard.com/launch-of-the-green-earth-impact-fund
Luxembourg Ministry of Finance homepage
https://mfin.gouvernement.lu
Schroders homepage
https://www.schroders.com
BlueOrchard homepage
https://www.blueorchard.com
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