The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a major funder of institutions that finance housing and micro- and small enterprises, recently announced that it has secured funding commitments equivalent to USD 41 million, much of which will be invested in four countries in which it will invest for the first time: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus. Over the next five years, EFSE plans to provide financing to banks and microfinance institutions totaling EUR 300 million (USD 430 million) that will support 70,000 loans in these four countries, in addition to EUR 1 billion (USD 1.4 billion) planned for the ten countries of east and southeast Europe in which EFSE has previously worked. The new funding commitments include: EUR 10 million (USD 14 million) from the European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) to benefit the four new countries plus Ukraine and Moldova; EUR 15.75 million (USD 22.7 million) from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for the South Caucasus (of which EUR 4.75 million (USD 6.8 million) will be directed to Azerbaijan); and EUR 3 million (USD 4.3 million) C Shares (first-loss tranche of the Fund) from the Development Bank of Austria (OEeB) to benefit the four new countries plus Ukraine and Moldova.
About the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) aims to foster economic development in the Southeast Europe region by providing financial services to micro and small enterprises and housing loans to low-income households via qualified local financial institutions. EFSE was set up in 2005 with Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development bank, as the fund promoter and Oppenheim Pramerica Asset Management S.à.r.l. as the fund manager.
Country of Incorporation: Luxembourg
Year Founded: 2005
Legal Status: Luxembourg Investment fund (SICAV)
Fund Assets (as of day/month/year): USD 735 million (as of 31/December/2008)
Fund Assets Allocated to MFI Investment (as of day/month/year): USD 406 million (as of 31/December/2008)
Number of MFI Investments (as of day/month/year): 56 (as of 31/December/2008)
Area of Operation: East Europe and Central Asia
Participant(s)/Backer(s)/Investor(s): Bankakademie e.V.
Instruments: Loans and Debt Securities, Equity, Guarantees, Technical Assistance
Fund Currency: EUR
Investment Horizon: 10 years (loans and debt securities)
Fund Manager: Oppenheim Pramerica Asset Management S.à.r.l.
Sources and Resources:
Organization’s Website
European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) press release:
http://www.efse.lu/news-events/press-releases/archive/press-releases-2009-12-17.html
European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE):
http://www.efse.lu/
EFSE Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Profile:
http://mixmarket.org/funders/efse
European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF):
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/irc/investment_en.htm
Austrian Development Bank
http://www.oe-eb.at/
German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
http://www.bmz.de/
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