As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a 50+ year proven track-record of empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. Each month we give an overview of the transactions we have signed.
Araz owns and operates approximately 400 supermarkets under the Araz brand and stores under the SPAR franchise. FMO's long-term facility funding of USD 23 mln provides capex financing for Araz to build and equip a new FMCG logistics facility near its existing distribution center in the Absheron region and open new stores under the Araz brand, including in rural areas of the country. The transaction contributes to gender equality, as a substantial number of Araz employees are women, and the investment contributes to increased women's participation in the workforce. It also enhances decent work and economic development, as Araz provides modern working conditions in the less developed regions of Azerbaijan.
We signed a USD 25mln working capital facility with Volcafe Costa Rica (part of the Volcafe Coffee Group), a leading exporter of high quality and sustainable coffee. In Costa Rica, Volcafe sources mostly from smallholder farmers (over 85% of the farmers are smallholder farmers) and more than 70% of the coffee procured is certified by Rainforest Alliance.
FMO joined Kernel’s Pre-Export Facility with a USD 25 million participation, led by Dutch Rabobank and ING Bank and supported by another development finance institution, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. The funds of the Pre-Export Facility will be used for the procurement of sunflower, rapeseed, and soybean seeds from local farmers for subsequent processing and exporting of vegetable oils and meals to global markets. This collaboration marks FMO’s first direct investment in Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale war, signifying a major milestone in our commitment to support Ukraine during these challenging times.
Machu Picchu Foods (MPF) is the largest local cocoa processor in Peru, and its operations are pivotal in Peru’s agricultural exports, contributing to the country’s economic growth. MPF enhances the value of cocoa by processing it into final products, thereby boosting income for local communities. High cocoa prices significantly increase working capital needs for cocoa processors. FMO’s USD 20 mln loan to MPF is aimed to support its permanent working capital needs and diversify its funding sources.
Miro Forestry operates plantations in Ghana and Sierra Leone, developing and managing high quality, cost-competitive, FSC certified, fast-growing industrial timber species (mainly: eucalyptus/acacia) and processes the harvested timbers into high-value ready-made plywood, edged glued boards, and utility poles for local and export markets. The funding of USD 2.5 mln supports the plywood mill to increase process. FMO continues to support Miro's impactful work, which drives sustainable socio-economic development in rural communities across Ghana and Sierra Leone.
With a USD 20mln FMO participation in a 60mln Proparco-led Friendship Facility transaction, the financing will support Valency's expansion plan in Nigeria, establishing new warehouses, extending the capacity of the group’s cashew processing factory in Ibafo, setting up a multi-seed crushing plant, and setting up a food processing and packaging plant. The project supports economic growth in Nigeria through export diversification, value addition via local processing of raw materials, development of quality employment and indirect engagement with smallholder farmers in the poorest regions of Nigeria.
Acciona is a Spanish company that develops and manages sustainable infrastructure solutions, especially in renewable energy. IFC provided an unsecured corporate facility to Acciona Financiación Filiales, a financial holding company that was set up to raise financing and provide funding to sub-holdings of the Group. FMO is participating as a B-lender under the IFC facility in Tranche 1 of the transaction with an amount up to USD 100mln. The financing proceeds in Tranche 1 will be used to finance three power transmission projects in Peru (increasing the capacity of existing transmission lines, building new transmission line capacity, and building new substations) and include the expansion of metro line 6 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The total financing of the project is estimated at USD 600mln.
FMO’s debt funding of EUR 50 mln will be invested into different projects and companies in the renewable energy sector, including smaller Independent Power Producers, mini-grids, isolated grids and energy access companies. Debt financing for small to medium scale energy companies and projects in Africa is considered scarce, particularly in LDCs. The Fund is highly aligned with FMO’s strategy to reduce inequalities between countries and to support initiatives related to energy access.
CEC-R issued the second tranche of Zambia's inaugural, senior-secured green bond to a selected number of investors. The green bond's second tranche, valued at USD 96.7 mln, finances the second phase of the Itimpi Solar photovoltaic Plant. The Project is in Garneton, Kitwe, in Zambia's Copperbelt province. It contributes 136 MW to CEC-R's renewable energy portfolio, bringing CEC-R's total solar generation capacity to 230 MW. With this investment FMO provides scarce long-term USD debt via a capital market instrument in Zambia.
We are supporting the Araratbank —a long standing FMO partner since 2014—with a USD 25mln loan that will go towards women, youth, agriculture (M)SME customers, and Green projects. The private sector in Armenia is dominated by MSME’s, making up about 99% of total registered enterprises. Access to credit remains critical for further development of the MSME segment, supporting supports job creation and livelihood maintenance.
FMO signed a USD 60mln senior syndicated transaction of which USD 40mln will be provided by FMO and the remaining USD 20 million were provided by our partner Norfund. The funds will be used by Banco Promerica Guatemala to finance green loans and to provide loans SMEs including women-owned and women-led SMEs. FMO's financing provides a great value-add given that access to large, long-tenor funding remains scarce in Guatemala. FMO further assumes a mobilizing role, increasing and scaling the impact of the transaction. The bank is part of Grupo Promerica, a regional banking group operating in 9 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bogd Bank is a new client for FMO in Mongolia. The USD 20 mln facility promotes financial inclusion and climate action goals, critical for the diversification of Mongolia’s economy which relies heavily on mining industry. At least 30 percent of the facility will be dedicated toward green projects, while 70 percent will go towards the agriculture, youth, and women SMEs in Mongolia.
Burkina Faso based, with operations spanning a dozen African countries, Coris Holding and the Coris Group support their clients as a universal bank by leveraging the region’s reach and vast resources to offer a wide range of products and services to individuals, SMEs, and corporates. FMO is providing a total of EUR 35 mln senior B-loan with IFC acting as the lender of record. The proposed financing will enable increased access to finance for underserved Micro, Small, and medium Enterprises and Women-owned and led SMEs in West Africa, focused primarily on Burkina Faso, Chad, Senegal and Mali.
FMO arranged a syndicated multicurrency senior facility of USD 200 mln for Khan Bank, the largest bank in Mongolia and a long-standing client of FMO since 2009. The facility includes a USD 40mln local currency tranche provided by FMO and sets a new precedent for being the 1st international multicurrency funding for Khan Bank.
Through our first partnership with an Ivorian bank, FMO is providing a EUR 30 mln loan—part of a EUR 90 mln syndicated facility led by DEG and with Proparco, to NSIA. NSIA will use the funding to expand its lending to SMEs and small corporates across Ivory Coast, who are the engine of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy The loan will also support NSIA in becoming an E&S champion.
Watu Credit Uganda Limited is a digitally enabled lender providing pay as you go financing to young entrepreneurs operating motorcycles and affordable financing of smartphones in Uganda. Watu has been operating since 2019 and currently serves more than 140,000 clients, of which 90% are young entrepreneurs (aged between 20 and 34 years) and 70% are based in rural areas. FMO’s loan of USD 5 mln is used to grow Watu’s youth and rural focused MSME e-mobility portfolio in Uganda.
Afrigreen answers to the urgent need to scale up clean energy solutions in Central and West Africa, where there is scarce network capacity to accommodate the needed capacity to fulfill the growing electricity demand. Debt financing for small- to medium-scale (decentralized) energy projects that provide energy solutions for the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sector in Africa are considered particularly scarce. FMO's investment in the fund is EUR 10 mln.
FMO committed USD 15m to the Fund at the initial closing to support its fundraising and allow it to reach its target fund size. The Fund targets growth-oriented, structured significant minority equity and quasi-equity investments in mid-market companies in Vietnam's consumer, healthcare, technology, education, and logistics sectors. Through its investment, FMO intends to support local entrepreneurship, stimulate the growth of mid-sized companies, and contribute to economic development and job creation in Vietnam. As a 2X Challenge-aligned fund through committing to FMO's Gender Smart Criteria, FMO's investment specifically supports opportunities for women in the Vietnamese market.
FMO committed an investment of USD 10 million in primary equity to I&M Group as part of an ~USD 85 mln transaction, led by AfricInvest – a longstanding FMO partner fund. I&M Group is a multi-country banking group with a legacy of several successful decades in financial services. The equity infusion is intended to support the growth of the group – mainly for portfolio expansion in existing markets, but also for exploring opportunities in new markets in the region.
TechCoop Investment & Technology aims to digitize transactions, bridge the working capital gap, and connect and provide access to the market across the agricultural supply chain. The company's digital and advisory solutions aim to increase the quality of farmers' yields through traceability solutions and provide stable revenue generation in a volatile sector through connections to local and international buyers. FMO committed USD 5.76mln, which will be used to support the Company’s growth, helping fund the scaling of its operations and further software and product development for the cross-border digital platform.
FMO committed USD 25 mln to the fund, which will invest in the construction of both utility-scale as well as distributed renewable energy infrastructure, benefitting both the general public as well as SMEs. By investing in XIC, FMO seeks to address the Energy Transition needs in the region in a sustainable and responsible manner as the Fund, through its underlying investments, will significantly contribute to the renewable energy deployment in the region.
