MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deetken Impact Invests in Pro Mujer Mexico - Provider of Education, Healthcare, Microfinance - Through Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund

Canada-based asset management company Deetken Impact and US-based nonprofit women’s development organization Pro Mujer recently announced they are making an investment in Pro Mujer Mexico from the investment vehicle they co-manage, the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund. The parties to the transaction wish the size of the investment to remain confidential.

Established in 2001, Pro Mujer Mexico is a unit of Pro Mujer that operates 25 branches in six states. Pro Mujer Mexico offers healthcare; group and individual loans; and education in business, finance, health and human development. Of its clients, 92 percent are women.

Established in 1990 in Bolivia, Pro Mujer operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Its focus is to increase access to financial, health and educational services for women and their families. During 2020, Pro Mujer provided: (1) financial services to 195,000 clients, disbursing loans totaling USD 202 million; (2) 126,000 health interventions, including 11,300 cancer screenings; and (3) online workshops for 90,000 people.

Launched in 2016, Ilu seeks to progress women’s entrepreneurship and other forms of women’s economic empowerment. This includes efforts to “promote women in leadership and governance, products and services that meet the needs of women and girls, gender-sensitive value chains and equity.” During 2020, Ilu supported the delivery of health care to 280,000 clients, training in financial literacy to 340,000 clients, and loans averaging USD 6,800 at annual interest rates near 24 percent, creating 4,600 jobs. As of 2021, the organizations in which the fund is invested have reported generating 348 GWh of sustainable energy, enough to power approximately 111,500 households per year. As of 2020, Ilu has secured commitments of USD 28 million from a group of investors of which approximately 70 are private institutions.

Deetken primarily invests in Latin America and the Caribbean in the following sectors: funders of small and medium-sized enterprises, women’s enterprise, renewable energy, housing, and health. As of 2021, the firm manages or co-manages assets valued at USD 150 million deployed via 44 companies in 14 countries. It accepts fixed-income and equity investments of USD 250,000 and larger via multiple vehicles, one with a target return as high as 7 percent and another with a 10-percent first-loss guarantee.

By Harriet Ritchie, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with Deetken

Deetken Twitter post
https://twitter.com/DeetkenImpact/status/1425871275709411330

Pro Mujer Mexico homepage
https://mexico.promujer.org/

Pro Mujer homepage
https://promujer.org/

Pro Mujer 2020 annual report
https://promujer.org/content/uploads/2020/12/ANNUAL_REPORT_2020_final.pdf

Ilu homepage
https://iluwomensempowermentfund.com/

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