MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FIE NGO of Bolivia Buys Back Equity Stake in Its Spanish Subsidiary CONFIE from Impact Investor Bamboo Capital

Bamboo Capital Partners, a Luxembourg-based impact fund manager, recently announced its exit from Spain-based Corporación para el Fomento a Iniciativas Económicas (CONFIE), whose holdings include Banco FIE, a microfinance institution in Bolivia. Bolivia-based Fomento a Iniciativas Económicas (FIE) NGO, the parent organization of CONFIE, bought the stake for an undisclosed sum.

Since Bamboo Capital Partners invested in CONFIE in 2007, Banco FIE has grown to employ 200,000 people, serve 1,041,000 customers, and offer 470 branches and automatic teller machines (ATMs). Banco FIE has grown its loan portfolio by a factor of 11 and its savings portfolio by a factor of 16. The microbank also offers microinsurance, remittances and financial education. In 2019, US-based nonprofit Pro Mujer bought a majority stake of CONFIE’s Argentinian subsidiary FIE Gran Poder, changing the institution’s name to Ilumina Soluciones Financieras.

Established in 2008, CONFIE “supports the development of the microfinance industry through investment, financing and technology to promote equitable and inclusive development in Latin America.” Founded in 1985, FIE NGO aims to boost “the socio-economic inclusion and improvement of the living conditions of low-income people, through training services and technical assistance.”

Bamboo Capital Partners, which was established in 2007, deploys investments intended to “generate lasting impact and improve the lives of the world’s most marginalised communities while delivering strong financial returns” in four main sectors: access to clean energy, access to healthcare, agribusiness and financial inclusion. Since its launch through 2020, the firm has raised approximately USD 370 million for investments in approximately 30 countries.

By Harriet Ritchie, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Bamboo Capital Partners press release
https://www.bamboocp.com/bamboo-capital-partners-exits-confie-after-triple-digit-growth-in-loans-and-savings-portfolios-in-banco-fie-and-other-subsidiaries/

CONFIE homepage
https://www.confieholding.com/

FIE NGO homepage
https://www.ongfie.org.bo/

Banco FIE homepage
https://www.bancofie.com.bo/

Bamboo Capital Partners homepage
https://www.bamboocp.com/

Ilumina Soluciones Financieras homepage
https://iluminasoluciones.com/

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.