Sanad Fund for MSME, a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle, recently loaned the equivalent of USD 500,000 in local currency to Vitas Egypt, a microfinance institution (MFI) that was launched in 2018. The MFI is a joint venture of Vitas Group, a for-profit entity owned by US-based NGO Global Communities, and Ebtikar for Financial Investment, a subsidiary of BPE Partners, which is based in Egypt and was formerly known as Beltone Private Equity. The goal of Vitas Egypt is assist micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) by providing them with loans.
Founded in 1999, Vitas Group offers financial services and entrepreneurship training to individuals aged 18 to 35 via 60 branches in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Romania. Data from its operations in Egypt are not yet available. As of April 2018, Vitas Group reports a total outstanding portfolio of USD 227 million. Its owner, Global Communities, provides financial, health, urban-management and other services in 43 countries. Global Communities generated revenue of USD 134 million during 2017.
Ebtikar was launched by BPE Partners as a private equity firm in 2017. BPE Partners, in turn, is managed by Egypt-based “growth capital investor” B Investments. B Investments was established in 2006 and reports 24 investors, 17 companies in its portfolio and a history of eight exits. Financial details on the firm are not available.
Sanad was founded in 2011 and is domiciled in Luxembourg. An initiative of German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), it is funded Germany’s GLS Bank; the EU; and development finance institutions of the Austrian, German and Swiss governments. Sanad invests in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia and Yemen with an emphasis on Egypt and Tunisia. As of September 2018, the fund had a debt investment portfolio outstanding of USD 232.7 million. It is advised by Germany’s Finance in Motion, which manages assets valued at EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.7 billion) as of 2017.
By Tiannah Steele, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Sanad press release
https://www.sanad.lu/Press-Releases—Press-Releases—2019-03-28-SANAD-invests-in-new-Egyptian-microfinance-partner——_site.index..html_dir._siteid.67_nav.134_entryid.580_likecms.html
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad Fund for MSME Loans $5m to The National Bank (TNB) of the Palestinian Territories for Microfinance
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-sanad-fund-for-msme-loans-5m-to-the-national-bank-tnb-of-the-palestinian-territories-for-microfinance/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: OPIC Loans $150m to Vitas Lebanon for Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); Women; Rural Microfinance
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-opic-loans-150m-to-vitas-lebanon-for-small-medium-sized-enterprises-smes-women-rural-microfinance/
Sanad fact sheets
https://www.sanad.lu/publications/fact-sheets
About Vitas Group
http://www.vitasgroup.com/summary/
B Investments homepage
http://binvestmentsegypt.com/
Ebtikar for Financial Investment portfolio
http://binvestmentsegypt.com/portfolio/ebtikar/
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