Investments

Investing to overcome fragility

Home » Investments

Offering access to finance

While poverty has decreased globally, fragile communities continue to lag behind in terms of development. For these communities to flourish, economic development is essential. To support this, financial systems must be strengthened, investments in businesses provided, and jobs need to be created. However, the most fragile developing countries lack access to inclusive financial services.

Cordaid Investment Management fills this gap by investing in people and businesses that have limited or no financial alternatives. We offer access to finance using a mix of financial instruments and focus on supporting women and young people.

What we do

Cordaid Investment Management, the asset management branch of Cordaid Foundation, demonstrates that it is possible to create scalable and sustainable social impact in fragile contexts.

We provide patient capital to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). We focus on those opportunities that offer high social impact to stimulate the creation of jobs, to empower women and to catalyse rural businesses.

Cordaid Investment Management strives to invest in markets in fragile communities while maintaining an integrated Environmental, Social and Governance approach.

Our duty towards our investors is to offer a balance between social and financial return and to open markets in which investors would not otherwise be able to invest.

We harness social returns throughout our investment processes and we pride ourselves on being forward-thinking when it comes to measuring social impact and designing social performance indicators and assessment tools.

We have defined a focused investment strategy, contributing to access to finance, decent job creation, ultimately leading to building sustainable livelihoods.

Cordaid Investment Managament supports the rural financial market in Myanmar (© Cordaid/Karen Mol)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The global SME landscape faces a significant finance gap in the mid-late growth stage of innovation. This stage is critical as it is often the time when viable ideas turn into profit-making businesses.

Cordaid invests in established and growing SMEs, bringing job creation and environmental improvements to women and youth. Loans are disbursed for both Capital Investment and Working Capital, blended with Technical Assistance grants to enhance sustainability. Our SME activities are focused on West Africa: Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

Female microentrepreneur who received funding from our partner MFI Hekima in the Democratic Republic of Congo (© Hekima)

Microfinance Institutions

Next to SME investments, we serve MFIs. Worldwide, 1.7 billion adults have inadequate access to formal financial services and do not hold accounts with a financial institution or mobile money provider. This leaves them unable to access reliable credit.

Cordaid has long-term partnerships with mainly second and third-tier MFIs, enabling them to serve especially female and rural micro-entrepreneurs to build sustainable livelihoods. We aim to be the first international lender.

Cordaid Investment Management is a 100% subsidiary of Cordaid Foundation and is a frontrunner in opening markets to impact investment since 1997. We work with a professional investment team of over 20 persons, with backgrounds in banking and development aid. We are currently active in 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Cordaid Investment Management has a strong belief that we can increase our social impact by scaling up. This is the reason why we formulated our ambition statement that will guide our decisions in the following years.

68,000 micro-entrepreneurs reached through investments in 2019
76 partners financed in 2019
71 million € invested in MFIs and SMEs in 2019

Investments Services

Investment management

Cordaid Investment Management manages impact investment funds. We provide patient capital to MFIs and SMEs. We focus on those opportunities that offer high social impact to stimulate the creation of jobs, to empower women and to catalyse rural businesses. We strive to invest in markets in fragile communities while maintaining an integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance approach. Our duty towards our investors is to offer a balance between social and financial return, and to open markets in which investors would not otherwise be able to invest in.