Invest In Visions Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund managed by Germany-based Invest In Visions (IIV), recently made loans totaling EUR 30 million (USD 35.6 million) to two Indian microfinance institutions, Asirvad Microfinance and Sonata Finance. Asirvad received EUR 25 million (USD 29.6 million) and Sonata received EUR 5 million (USD 5.9 million). Both microfinance institutions serve low-income female customers in India, and intend to use the fresh funds to boost lending to their clients to encourage business expansion.
Asirvad Microfinance, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance Limited, was founded in 2007 and aims to serve low-income women by providing loans for microbusinesses as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises. As of December 2019, Asirvad controlled INR 50 billion (USD 679 million) in total assets.
Sonata Finance, founded in 1995, disburses microloans to low-income female clients in an effort to stimulate entrepreneurship and income growth. As of March 2020, the MFI controlled total assets of INR 15.5 billion (USD 210.6 million).
Launched in 2006, IIV manages “investments in sustainable agriculture, social enterprises and social impact lending.” The firm created IIV Mikrofinanzfonds in 2011 to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises via intermediaries in developing countries. It does this mainly via “small and medium-sized MFIs, particularly in rural areas.” The minimum investment in the fund is EUR 100 (USD 109). During the first eight months of 2020, the two share classes of IIV Mikrofinanzfonds generated losses 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent. This follows two years of positive annual returns of 1.2 percent to 1.7 percent. As of August 2020, the volume of IIV Mikrofinanzfonds totaled EUR 754 million (USD 889 million), supporting 485,000 microborrowers with an average loan size of USD 1,178. Of these borrowers, 52 percent are women and 18 percent work in agriculture.
By Kate Finster, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Economic Times article on Asirvad Microfinance
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/asirvad-microfinance-raises-rs-220-crore-from-invest-in-visions-gmbh/articleshow/78100595.cms
Asirvad Microfinance homepage
https://asirvadmicrofinance.co.in/
Sonata Finance homepage
https://www.sonataindia.com/
IIV Mikrofinanzfonds August 2020 monthly report
https://www.investinvisions.com/files/200910_iiv_factsheet_englisch_august_2020.pdf
IIV financial statements
https://www.investinvisions.com/en/downloads.html
IIV homepage
https://www.investinvisions.com
Previous MicroCapital article on IIV Mikrofinanzfonds
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-iiv-mikrofinanzfonds-invests-720k-in-premier-credit-refinancing-microfinance-loans-in-kenya/
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