19 August 2008
IGNIA Social Investment Fund, a venture fund for commercial enterprises serving the poorest populations, will receive a US$5 million loan and a US$205,000 technical cooperation grant from the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).
IGNIA will invest in 8 to 12 early stage and growth companies in Latin America whose core business is to deliver commercial solutions to unmet needs at the base of the socio-economic pyramid.
The MIF, in partnership with the IDB Opportunities for the Majority Initiative (OM), works to catalyze and leverage resources to expand access to credit for low-income people in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“By supporting IGNIA, MIF is not only supporting the creation of a new venture fund dedicated to the base of the pyramid segment, but is also helping create a new segment within the venture capital industry that will focus on fighting poverty, combining the lessons learned from microfinance with the financial tools of venture capital,” explained MIF team leader Susana García-Robles. “The demonstration effect of this fund could lead the way for many more similar initiatives in the region.”
MIF, an autonomous fund administered by the IDB, supports private sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on microenterprise and small business.
This article was originally published on the IDB-MIF website.