BIO celebrates the opening of its Nairobi office covering Eastern Africa
BIO has officially launched its East African office with a celebration ceremony held at the Residence of the Belgian Embassador, H.E. Mr Peter Maddens, in Nairobi.
05-10-2022
The regional office focuses on sustainable investments in private companies in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It also serves Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. It is strategically positioned in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital city which has long been regarded as East Africa’s economic hub. It also benefits from being close to some partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation, i.e. Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Having a presence in Eastern Africa is key to increase our impact and footprint in the region.
Alexis Losseau, head of the Nairobi office
The purpose of the local office is primarily to assess and identify new investment opportunities with the support of the Belgian head office for the execution of investments. Strengthening the relationships with the European Union, the Belgian Development Cooperation and the Belgian Embassy is also one of the key focus areas. The establishment of the new office shows BIO’s commitment to support private sector development in this important sub-region, and it provides BIO with better market intelligence, which will ultimately improve our sourcing capacity to find new investment opportunities.
The Belgian Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Mr Peter Maddens gave the opening speech.
BIO's investment team in Nairobi
Alexis Losseau, regional representative, joined BIO in 2012 after having gained a first experience in the banking sector. After 4 years at the portfolio monitoring department, he moved to the investment team, focusing on financial institutions transactions in Africa and South East Asia. In late 2019, he moved to Nairobi to open the regional office. Alexis hold a Master's degree in Business Engineering from the Louvain School of Management (Université Catholique de Louvain) and a Master in Financial Risk management from the Université Saint Louis in Brussels.
Pearl Nyaosi, investment officer, joined BIO in 2022 bringing experience from both advisory and impact investing in East Africa. She previously worked at KPMG East Africa (Deal Advisory and Forensics) and AHL Venture Partners, a Nairobi-based impact investor. Pearl holds a Master of Finance degree from University of Cambridge Judge Business School and Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi. She also holds ACCA and CFE qualifications.
Facts & figures
In 2021, BIO exceeded the threshold of one billion euros in assets under management (EUR 1,106M). The net portfolio commitments amounted to EUR 807 million.
As of 31st December 2021, BIO counted 146 customers across Africa, Asia and Latin America:
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 40%
- Asia: 26%
- Latin America: 21%
- Multi-region: 7%
- MENA: 6%
The breakdown between debt and equity investments is as follows:
- Debt: 62%
- Equity: 38%
BIO has a strong presence in Eastern Africa, with more than EUR 103 M invested in the region. The breakdown by investment sector is as follows:
- Financial institutions: 49%
- Infrastructure: 41%
- Private equity funds: 6%
- Small and medium-sized enterprises: 4%
The exposure of BIO’s portfolio in Kenya is EUR 49,724,175 or 4.5% (at H1 2022)
The exposure of BIO’s portfolio in Uganda is EUR 30,205,892 or 2.7% (at H1 2022)
The exposure of BIO’s portfolio in Tanzania is EUR 3,504,335 or 0.3% (at H1 2022)
Signing of the contract between TLcom Capital and BIO; with Ms Andreata Mufaro TLCom partner, HE Peter Maddens, Ambassador of Belgium to Kenya, Mr Luuk Zonneveld, CEO BIO, and Ms Carol Maman, CIO BIO.
The Nairobi office will now focus on strengthening BIO's portfolio in the region, also including direct investments in SMEs and in fragile countries. It will build and maintain an effective network of partners and prospects in the region and strengthen the team.
BIO East Africa representative office has opened its doors!
Do not hesitate to contact us: nairobi@bio-invest.be
BIO’s latest investments in the region are
EFC Uganda
BIO has invested UGX 3,066 M in equity in EFC Uganda, a microfinance deposit-taking institution (MDI) in Uganda.
Learn more
KCB Kenya
BIO has granted a USD 22 M loan to KCB Kenya, the largest commercial bank in Kenya.
Learn more
Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund
BIO has invested USD 5 M in equity in Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund, a closed-end private credit fund focused on FinTech companies in Africa and Asia
Learn more
Poa! Internet
BIO has granted USD 17,149 of technical assistance to Poa! , a Kenyan internet provider.
Learn more
Spark + Africa Fund
BIO has invested USD 3 M in equity in the Spark + Africa Fund, an impact investment fund aiming to develop and scale an inclusive and sustainable clean cooking industry.
Learn more
Victoria Commercial Bank
BIO has granted a USD 10 M loan to Victoria Commercial Bank, a Kenyan commercial bank.
Learn moreAbout BIO
BIO's mission is to promote the establishment of a strong private sector in developing and emerging countries, to enable them to access growth and sustainable development, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
This DFI, “Development Finance Institution” was created in 2001 as a limited company under public law, with the Belgian Federal State as sole shareholder. It operates under a management contract with the Belgian Ministry for Development Cooperation. Its ultimate goal is to help strengthen the private sector in developing countries.
Priority sectors for BIO are agro-industry, renewable energies, and financial services and BIO has several intervention tools, including long-term loans, equity investments, and technical assistance (subsidies).
BIO's investments can be direct or indirect. Indirectly, it refinances financial institutions (banks, micro- or meso-finance institutions) or takes stakes in private equity funds. In this way, it supports financial inclusion and access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.
BIO's investment tickets range from EUR 1 million to EUR 20 million.
BIO is a member of the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) which brings together European DFIs, such as FMO, Proparco, DEG, or the EIB, with whom BIO cooperates a lot by co-investing and aligning its practices in terms of ESG standards applicable to its investments.
More news
News
BIO's response to the articles published by CNCD 11.11.11 on BIO's investment in PHC (Feronia)
15-03-2023
On 13 March 2023, CNCD-11.11.11, the umbrella organisation for French-speaking NGOs in Belgium, published two articles on BIO’s investment in Plantations et Huileries du Congo. The article give CNCD 11.11.11’s interpretation of BIO’s investment cycle in this project, from approval to exit. On several essential items, BIO’s perspective differs from CNCD 11.11.11’s interpretation.
Read more
News
candi solar receives follow-on USD 14 M loan
28-02-2023
candi solar, an innovative financial and clean energy platform that enables distributed energy infrastructure in emerging markets to be built at scale, has received a further USD 14 million equivalent multi-currency loan from a climate fund managed by Swiss impact investment manager, responsAbility Investments AG, and BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries.
Read more