Microfinance helping rural economy

BIO recently supplied Prasac and Sathapana, two leading microfinance institutions (MFI) in Cambodia, with new loan facilities amounting to USD 4 million each. Both are well-established institutions in the country and play an essential role in providing financial services to the rural economy. These investments will consolidate BIO’s role in supporting the microfinance sector, which has proven to be a key sector in the economy of Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in South East Asia.

A USD 5 million equity investment in the Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund (MBCDF)

BIO has committed USD 5 million to the first Asian regional fund dedicated to investing in renewable energy, water and waste management in South East Asia. The fund is managed by Dragon Capital, a well-known asset manager in the region. With this second investment in renewable energy/clean development in Asia, BIO confirms its pledge to provide support to developing and emerging countries in their fight against climate change.

Earlier this week FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) and BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries) signed a Risk Sharing Agreement to start cooperating and jointly finance infrastructure transactions. BIO, a relatively young development finance institution, wishes to expand its business into the financing of infrastructure transactions in developing countries. FMO has extensive experience in that sector, amongst others via its Infrastructure Development Fund, which was recently renewed with an additional EUR 70 million from the Dutch government. BIO has allocated an initial amount of EUR 45 mln to infrastructure transactions that will be financed through this cooperation, FMO allocates a similar amount.

VSEs from ACP countries can now receive medium- and long-term financing

The Minister for Development Cooperation, Charles Michel, BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, and the CDE, Centre for the Development of Enterprise, have today announced the creation of the ATHENA Facility. This entirely unique facility is aimed at entrepreneurs from ACP countries who wish to create or expand their micro-business. Pertaining to the “meso-finance” niche, this instrument aims at providing support for projects which no longer fall within the scope of microfinance, or typical medium-term bank financing. Through this partnership, BIO and the CDE hope to create synergies between the two institutions, by combining their complementarities as a provider of financing on the one hand, and an agent working in the field, on the other.

BIO has committed EUR 6 million to Renewable Energy Asia Fund (“REAF”), managed by Berkeley Energy. REAF aims at renewable energy infrastructure investments in Asia. It will be BIO’s first operation in this sector in Asia, and is completely in line with the company’s strategy to provide a priority support to developing and emerging countries in their fight against climate change.