MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Impact Investor Symbiotics Spins Off Consultancy Tameo

Symbiotics Group, a Switzerland-based impact investing firm, recently launched an independent research firm Tameo, which aims to “promote the growth of the impact investing industry by increasing transparency and supporting evidence-based decision-making via independent solutions.” The new firm will provide investors and investment managers with: (1) impact measurement, labeling, reporting and verification services; (2) the publication of benchmarks, indexes and surveys; and (3) “valuations, matchmaking for third party origination, co-investments and secondary trades.”

Tameo is to operate separately from Symbiotics although, “Symbiotics will be launching a fund-raising round amongst industry peers… to further establish the independence of Tameo, while remaining an anchor client and minority shareholder.” Symbiotics owns a 30-percent stake in Tameo as of 2021.

Symbiotics, founded in 2004, focuses on financing small and medium-sized enterprises as well as low- and middle-income households. It does this by providing for-profit investment intermediary and business services to investors in and practitioners of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise development. As of 2019, the company reported a direct investment portfolio of USD 2.3 billion, with its investees funding 1.6 million small businesses and households at “the base of the pyramid” in 77 emerging markets.

By Harriet Ritchie, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Symbiotics press release
https://symbioticsgroup.com/news/symbiotics-launches-tameo-an-independent-spin-off-focusing-on-enhancing-impact-funds-with-support-services/

Tameo homepage
https://tameo.solutions/

Symbiotics 2019 annual report
https://symbioticsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Symbiotics-Annual-Report-2019.pdf

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