Incofin Investment Management, a leading emerging markets focused impact investing fund manager,
announces it has obtained debt commitments for a total USD 76 million for its agRIF fund. This is a key
step for the financial inclusion focused agRIF, that will keep on delivering financing to rural microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers. agRIF is a close ended fund and will mature in 2025.
“This success is a strong vote of confidence for our team and strategy, and a recognition of
what has been achieved in the first five years of the agRIF-fund. We generated strong interest
from existing and new investors.”, Geert Peetermans, CIO Incofin
Besides existing investors like the Belgian bank vdk, the Dutch railway pension fund SPF, and the public
transport pension fund SPOV, Incofin succeeded to attract new partners; BNP Paribas for example
committed USD 11 million and OeEB, the development Bank of Austria, indicated USD 15 million.
“Increasing financial inclusion is one of our main strategic goals. With our investment in agRIF
we can contribute to improving access to finance in the agricultural value chain and specifically
for smallholder farmers and rural MSMEs”, says Sabine Gaber, member of the OeEB’s
Executive Board.
“BNP Paribas Fortis is proud to finance Incofin’s impact fund agRIF, which has a unique
balanced impact thesis around financial inclusion and the agricultural value chain. Incofin’s
has a strong capacity to innovate for the people at the bottom of the pyramid, with a particular
focus on rural areas that we have recognized for several years, as BNP Paribas Fortis invested
into one of Incofin’s fund for the first time in 2010”, states Wilfried Remans, Head of CSR &
Public Affairs of BNP Paribas Fortis.
“For several years, vdk bank is happy to have a partnership with the agRIF fund, through which
we can actively contribute to a sustainable development of emerging countries.”, Isabelle
Heyndrickx, Secretary General, vdk Bank.
Availability to financing in the agricultural value chain is a critical contributor to a sustainable
development of emerging countries. One of agRIF’s portfolio highlights, the investee Ecookim in Ivory
Coast, shares this vision. Ecookim is a union of 23 cooperatives that collects and exports cocoa beans
from around 21,000 smallholder farmers (less than 5 hectares per producer) in Ivory Coast. Through
this union of cooperatives, agRIF provides financing to smallholder farmer organizations and helps to
increase the income of their farmers through a fair and equitable price.
About agRIF
agRIF, launched in 2015 as a closed fund, is a third generation fund managed by Incofin Investment
Management and builds on the success of the Rural Impulse Fund I (2007) and the Rural Impulse Fund
II (2010). It addresses the scarcity of financial services in the agricultural sector by investing in
agricultural and rural-focused institutions that serve smallholder farmers, microentrepreneurs and
small enterprises in developing countries worldwide. It also provides debt investments in agricultural
SMEs and agricultural focused financial intermediaries. While improving the living conditions of
people in emerging countries it intends to generate attractive market competitive returns for its
investors.
About Incofin Investment Management
Incofin Investment Management is a global independent impact investment fund manager, focused
on financial inclusion and the agri-food value chain, driven by a purpose to promote inclusive progress.
It is an AIFM licensed fund manager and has over EUR 1 billion in assets under management. Incofin
has a team of more than 60 professionals spread over its headquarters in Belgium and local
investment teams in Colombia, India, Kenya and Cambodia.
As a leading impact investment firm, Incofin has invested (via equity and debt financing) over EUR 2.1
billion in more than 320 investees, financial institutions and SMEs in the agri-food value chain, across
65 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.
www.incofin.com
About OeEB
Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB) has been operating as the Development Bank of Austria
since March 2008. The bank specializes in the provision of long-term finance for the implementation
of private sector projects in developing countries which create sustainable development. Additionally,
OeEB provides technical assistance, which can be used to enhance the development impact of
projects.
www.oe-eb.at
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in the eurozone and a prominent international banking institution
serving nearly 33 million clients worldwide with more than 200,000 employees in 7 countries. The
Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial
Services (Retail Banking) and Corporate & Institutional Banking.
www.bnpparibasfortis.com
About vdk
Belgian retail vdk bank with headquarters in Ghent was established in 1926, and serves today more
than 142,000 clients via 75 branches in Belgium. Their clients have access to a wide range of banking
services: savings and investment products, various loans and credit products and all kind of payment
services. vdk aspires to be a sustainable bank with a clear social commitment.
www.vdk.be
About Ecookim
Ecookim – Entreprise Coopérative Kimbe – was founded in 2004 and is a cooperative union in Ivory
Coast of 23 cooperatives. The strategy of the union is to build the capacity of its members and
coordinate their commercial activities. Today Ecookim has 23 cooperative members and 21,000
producers with a total of 74,000 hectares of cocoa and 7,500 hectares of cashew.
www.ecookim.com
For further information, please contact:
Jorgen Muylaert
Communications Associate Incofin
jorgen.muylaert@incofin.com
+32 3 829 25 87I
