Since its inception, GAWA has advised 70 impact investments in 20 countries around the world, helping to boost financial inclusion in excluded communities via 4 investment funds.
Funds
GAWA has built up a strong track-record via its management or advisory of four Impact Investment Funds, with EUR 204 million managed or advised. GAWA has launched three of these Funds (Gawa Microfinance Fund, Global Financial Inclusion Fund, and Huruma Fund), whilst acting as investment advisor to Magallanes Impacto FIL. GAWA's fourth investment fund - Huruma - of which GAWA is the management company, was launched in December 2019 and is currently in an advanced investment phase.
GAWA MICROFINANCE FUND (GMF)
Fund Size: EUR 20.4 million
Launch Date: September 2010
GAWA’s first fund was successfully liquidated at the end of December 2018, having returned a 6.34% annual IRR to investors over its lifetime. GAWA Microfinance Fund focused on investments in Microfinance institutions and SME financing in developing countries worldwide. GMF carried out 9 investments in 8 different countries, with a presence in Latin America, Asia, Eurasia, and Africa (7 debt investments and 2 equity investments).This is the first fund in which our collaboration with AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation) and Cofides (Spanish development finance institution) begins.
GLOBAL FINANCIAL INCLUSION FUND (GFIF)
Fund Size: EUR 32.3 million
Launch Date: September 2014
GFIF, GAWA's second fund, executed its last investment at the end of 2017, and since then the Fund has carried out four capital returns to investors. GFIF has focused on investments in Microfinance institutions and Micro & Small Enterprise lenders. The portfolio was made up of a total of 10 investments (7 debt; 3 equity) in 8 countries in Latin America and Asia. To date, three of GFIF’s investments have come to maturity with positive returns.
MAGALLANES IMPACTO FIL
Fund Size: EUR 23 million (Open-ended)
Launch Date: September 2018
GAWA is advising the Fund Magallanes Impacto FIL, the first open-ended impact investing fund in Spain. Magallanes Fund focuses on financial inclusion in Latin America and Asia in its broad spectrum, including microfinance, SME finance and education finance. The Fund is managed by Magallanes Value Investors SGIIC, S.A., a leading fund management company in Spain. The Fund is supervised by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores - CNMV). Learn more...
HURUMA FUND
Fund Size: EUR 120 mn (100% of target)
+ 8 million Technical Assistance
Launch Date: December 2019
Huruma Fund (in an advanced investment phase) has a rural & agricultural focus on Latin America, Asia & Africa. The Fund enjoys a blended finance structure, with EUR 10 million first-loss tranche (EU funds, managed by COFIDES - Spanish Development Finance Institution) and EUR 20 million in concessional debt (AECID, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation), significantly reducing the risk for investors and enhancing the Fund’s target IRR. EUR 8 million in Technical Assistance (EU funds, managed by COFIDES) are available to investees, helping to truly impulse the social value of Huruma’s investments. Read more about Huruma here.
KUALI FUND - FUNDRAISING
Fund Size: EUR 250 mn (target size)
+ Technical Assistance
Launch Date: 2024
Kuali Fund is in the commercialization phase. With a climate focus, Kuali aims to support vulnerable communities in Latin America and India in their efforts to adapt to climate change, as well as to support companies and individuals in climate change mitigation efforts. The Fund enjoys a blended finance structure with fund from the European Union, the Green Climate Fund and COFIDES, significantly reducing the risk for investors and enhancing the Fund’s target IRR. Technical Assistance funds are available to investees, helping to truly impulse the impact of Kuali's investments. Read more about Kuali here.
Portfolio
GAWA has advised 48 investments in 16 countries around the globe, reaching over 9.0 million people in total and directly impacting 256,000 families.
Mexico
MEGA
MEGA is a large financial institution focused on leasing productive assets to MSMEs. The institution has an agricultural portfolio of EUR 165 million, serving medium-sized producers and rural MSMEs excluded by commercial banks. With Huruma's support, MEGA aims to increase its agricultural portfolio to EUR 210 million by 2025.
Investment Date: Aug-22
Bolivia
Promujer
Pro Mujer Bolivia, as part of the ProMujer microfinance network, has been serving low-income, self-employed women all over the country for more than 30 years. Pro Mujer mainly offers community lending products, supporting and empowering women with small loans, while providing health and education services.
Investment Date: Oct-21
Peru
COOPAC Norandino
COOPAC Norandino is a regulated savings & credit cooperative, present in the North of Peru. Norandino was founded in 2005 under the initiative of 24 organized farmers from the coffee segment and 3 coffee cooperatives, under the motto “For farmers, by farmers”, which it continues to adhere to today. Norandino primarily serves smallholder farmers and agricultural cooperatives, offering several tailor-made credit and savings products.
Investment Date: Apr-21
Philippines
ONEPUHUNAN
OnePuhunan started operations in the Philippines in 2014, with the aim of meeting the needs of micro-entrepreneurs who were not being catered for by traditional microfinance companies. Its offer is simple: a single product, very easy to understand and very transparent for women with small businesses, following the group methodology but with individual responsibility.
Investment Date: Mar-21; Aug-19
India
VARTHANA
Since 2013, Varthana offers financing to an emerging MSME market of affordable private schools, driven by the social impact of serving the low-income Indian population and covering the shortfall in quality education that is available to these communities. In only 5 years, it has become a leading player in the education financing market, with a diversified portfolio in 14 regions.
Investment Date: Dec-21; Aug-19
Myanmar
LOLC MYANMAR
Part of the renowned LOLC Group, LOLC Myanmar is one of the leading microfinance institutions in Myanmar, lending to groups of women in underpenetrated rural and urban areas. Since its launch in 2013, the company has consolidated its position in the highly competitive Myanmar market and is currently considered to be among the top 10 MFI’s in Myanmar.
Investment Date: Nov-20; Apr-19; Dec-17
Peru
ACCESO CREDITICIO
Acceso Crediticio, integrated in the holding Acceso Corp, has developed a unique business model in the niche microfinance market for natural gas vehicles (NGV) in Peru, focusing particularly on the trade of taxis. It offers a complete range of services to taxi drivers, including working capital for purchase, voluntary insurance, discounts for fuel and special prices for repairs.
Investment Date: Jul-19; Jun-17
India
FUSION MICROFINANCE
Fusion Microfinance is a registered NBFC – MFI which operates in a Joint Liability Group lending model in India. Their focus is reaching out to the unbanked and providing loans to women entrepreneurs belonging to economically and socially deprived sections of the society. Fusion also teaches its clients to manage their financials by disseminating Financial Literacy to them.
Investment Date: Aug-16
India
JANA SFB
Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS) started in 2009 in India offering a full range of financial inclusion products including micro-loans, small enterprise loans, micro-pensions, and savings. In August 2015 it was granted a banking license by the Reserve Bank of India. Its promoter is Jana Urban Foundation which is focused on alleviating urban poverty.
Investment Date: Nov-14; Jul-12
Azerbaijan
AZERCREDIT
AzerCredit is one of the leading microfinance institutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which operates mostly in the agricultural sector using both the individual and group solidarity methodologies. It was founded in 1996 by the international network Visionfund, the microfinance arm of US NGO World Vision. The mission of AzerCredit is to provide financial inclusion to rural and poor populations.
Investment Date: May-12
Ghana
SINAPI ABA
Sinapi Aba Trust (now Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans) is a non-profit, Christian organization founded in 1994 to support the most vulnerable of the economically active poor in Ghana, mainly in rural areas. Sinapi offered both group and individual loans and, in 2013, was transformed into a Savings and Loans Institution (supervised by the Bank of Ghana) and allowed to offer savings products.
Investment Date: Aug-11
Senegal
Caurie MF
CAURIE has become the leading socially innovative microfinance institution focused on rural areas, reaching more than 73,000 vulnerable women, of whom more than 37,000 live in poverty. Driven by the launch of specific products tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers, CAURIE provides loans to more than 9,400 producers.
Investment Date: Jun-22
India
Waycool
WayCool is one of India's largest and fastest growing agri-food companies, processing, distributing, and supplying dairy and fresh produce staples. WayCool leverages innovative technology to manage the complex agricultural supply chain. Through the Outgrow program, it aims to implement food waste reduction techniques that would increase farmers' incomes by more than 30%.
Investment Date: Dec-21
Peru
Edpyme Alternativa
Alternativa's origins date back to 1992 from a project launched by the Chamber of Commerce of Lambayeque and the Inter-American Development Bank to boost the development of micro and small enterprises. Edpyme Alternativa has focused on building a strong rural presence, aiming to provide formal financing solutions to unbanked communities in remote areas of Northern Peru.
Investment Date: Oct-21
Ecuador
FACES
The Foundation for Community and Social Support of Ecuador (known for its Spanish Acronym FACES) is one of the largest microfinance institutions (NGOs) in Ecuador, created in 1991, with the mission of contributing to fight poverty and unemployment in Ecuador by supporting microentrepreneurs with financial and technical resources.
They are currently serving 19,546 microentrepreneurs in 18 branches and over 50% of the outstanding loans in the portfolio are related to agricultural activities.
Investment Date: Dec-20
India
ASA INDIA
ASA India is part of the microfinance group ASA International, which developed the renowned "ASA methodology“, which has been replicated by other microfinance providers worldwide. ASA focuses on women, to whom it grants individual loans in a group format, without the collective responsibility typically acquired in group loans. It holds a strong social vocation, developing relevant welfare work in addition to its credit operations.
Investment Date: Aug-19
India
KANAKADURGA (KFL)
Founded in 1994 in India, and still run by the promoter family, KFL is a regulated, professionalized and qualified NBFC that offers productive vehicle financing. KFL has identified a segment of excluded customers in the vehicle financing industry, with strong potential for impact and socio-economic development, and expectation of business volume expansion.
Investment Date: Apr-21; Aug-19
India
KINARA CAPITAL
Founded in 2011, Kinara Capital is an Indian NBFC serving the "missing middle" MSME sector - a key motor of socio-economic development at the base of the pyramid. MSMEs are often unable to access the funding offered by micro-finance or commercial lending institutions. Kinara has a unique focus, offering loans via a customized approach and without the need for collateral, and uses state-of-the-art technology to access customers and approve loans.
Investment Date: Mar-19; Oct-17
Panama
MICROSERFIN
As a NBMFI, Microserfin offers productive microcredits to Panama’s most vulnerable part of the population. Since 2011, it is part of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, one of the main microfinance groups operating in Latin-America. Microserfin is known for its strong national network, covering rural areas that are difficult to access for competitors.
Investment Date: Dec-21; May-17
Ecuador
BANCO D-MIRO
Banco D-MIRO is the only bank in Ecuador focused on microfinance - it provides individual loans and savings to low-income clients. It was founded as Mission Alliance's (Norwegian NGO) microfinance program in Ecuador and has been operating as a bank since 2011. In accordance with its mission to serve the most vulnerable, D-MIRO has a very strong social focus.
Investment Date: Jul-15
Colombia
CREZCAMOS
Crezcamos is a leading MFI focused on rural, underpenetrated areas in northern Colombia. Crezcamos started as a non-profit microfinance program and was transformed in 2008 to a limited liability company. Crezcamos supports entrepreneurial families in primarily rural areas with transparent financial and insurance services.
Investment Date: Mar-14
Georgia
CREDO
LLC Micro Finance Organization Credo is a leading microfinance institution operating in Georgia. Founded in 1997, it is part of the World Vision network. Credo’s mission is to provide sustainable financial services to entrepreneurs in vulnerable conditions in addition to Georgian micro and small businesses, with a preference for rural activities and those businesses that create income and employment opportunities for the most vulnerable.
Investment Date: May-12
Mexico
CAMESA
CAMESA (“Consejo de Asistencia al Microemprendedor”) is a regulated financial institution that has the license to mobilize deposits. It exists in Mexico since 1993 with a mission to encourage savings, and entrepreneurial activities and provide credit to the most vulnerable people to improve their financial situation. It is supervised by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores de Mexico (CNBV).
Investment Date: Jun-11
Mexico
ProCredito
ProCrédito's mission is to finance semi-formal SMEs in the transport and agriculture sectors, operating through strategic alliances. In recent years, its agricultural portfolio has experienced strong growth driven by the berry export boom. ProCrédito offers green loans, financing efficient irrigation systems and the reduction of pollutants.
Investment Date: Jul-22; Jun-22
Panama
CFE
Centro Financiero Empresarial (CFE) is one of the most inclusive MFIs in Panama, providing financial products to MSMEs and entrepreneurs at the base of the economic pyramid, the “missing middle”, in a country with a very fragmentated and underpenetrated microfinance market. CFE was founded in 2009 and has identified agricultural financing as the key to effectively fulfilling underserved farmers’ needs.
Investment Date: Dec-21; Nov-21
Bolivia
Crecer IFD
Crecer is a Bolivian IFD (Development Finance Institution) with more than 20 years of experience, focused on offering financial products to improve the quality of life of women and their families. It is the second largest institution in Bolivia by number of clients and serves the poorest areas. It also offers free trainings in financial education, technology, and cervical cancer prevention. In 2021, Crecer will begin to offer savings products and short-term deposits.
Investment Date: Sep-21
Chile
FONDO ESPERANZA
Fondo Esperanza (FE), integrated in the MF BBVA network and sustained on the solidarity spirit of Hogar de Cristo, offers productive microcredit to the most vulnerable Chilean communities. FE is committed to a human development model based on comprehensive microfinance services. It combines economic growth through access to financing, with the expansion of opportunities and capacities through education and networks, which, together, foster human capital, generating social development.
Investment Date: Dec-21; Dec-19
India
AYE FINANCE
Founded in 2014, Aye Finance grants loans to micro & small enterprises (MSMEs) in India. This sector, known as the missing middle, represents a key component of the economy and faces significant difficulties in obtaining financing. Aye's founding partners identified MSMEs' lack of documentation as the main handicap when assessing their repayment capacity and have thus developed a unique cluster-based credit assessment methodology, building up extensive knowledge of MSME profiles in different sectors.
Investment Date: Aug-19
Ecuador
INSOTEC
Insotec began its microfinance activity in the 1990s in Ecuador. It developed an individual methodology with rural agricultural focus in low-income communities with limited financial penetration. The company has become the benchmark lender of small producers, to whom it also provides technical advisory / assistance and training.
Investment Date: Dec-20; Jul-19
Chile
EMPRENDE
Emprende MF grants productive microcredits to the most vulnerable segment of the Chilean population, via an individual loan methodology. It is a leader in the agricultural-lending microfinance sector. The institution has been part of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation since 2009, which is one of the main microfinance groups operating in Latin America.
Investment Date: Apr-21; Oct-18;
Oct-16
Nicaragua
FINANCIERA FONDO DE DESARROLLO LOCAL (FDL)
FDL is the main MFI in rural Nicaragua, with major market penetration in this area, along with presence in urban zones. It was established in 1992 by the Nitlapan Research and Development Institute of the Centro-American University (a prestigious Jesuit University). FDL is the leading microfinance provider in Nicaragua, apart from banks offering microcredits.
Investment Date: Feb-17
Sri Lanka
LOMC SRI LANKA
LOMC provides micro-leasing and group loans to micro-entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka’s rural districts to finance the purchase of basic agriculture machinery. It has extensive reach into the rural areas and the necessary infrastructure from its parent company Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC). It started as an initiative of LOLC, FMO (Netherland's Development Bank) and the Sri Lankan government.
Investment Date: Jul-15; Mar-12
Germany
PROCREDIT
Founded in 1998, ProCredit is a Holding Company based in Frankfurt (Germany) controlling 12 fully fledged MSME banks and one non-bank financial institution in 13 developing countries. The ProCredit group aims to achieve high development impact by helping to create transparent and inclusive financial sectors in developing countries.
Investment Date: Jul-12
Colombia
CONTACTAR
“Nariño, Empresa y futuro – CONTACTAR” was founded in Colombia in 1991 as an NGO, with the objective of supporting microentrepreneurs by commercializing their products and providing training and technical assistance. Contactar is highly focused on rural development and has been internationally recognized for its efforts to bring services and financial literacy education to the most remote areas.
Investment Date: Oct-11