On July 30, 2019 Bloomberg reported that “(im)pact investor responsAbility Investments AG sold a $175 million so-called microfinance collateralized loan obligation earlier this month with the help of JPMorgan Chase & Co., reviving a type of financing for emerging-market entrepreneurs and small businesses that last saw the light of day in 2007.
The proceeds of the responsAbility deal, which was arranged and structured by JPMorgan and took a year to put together, will flow through to 26 bank and non-bank financial intermediaries in 17 developing countries as far-flung as Botswana and Kyrgyzstan, according to bankers on the transaction. These organizations, in turn, will provide capital to 30,000 small businesses and 5.6 million microfinance borrowers — 81% of whom are women.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government development finance institution that helps American businesses gain footholds in emerging markets, was a key investor and partner on the deal, putting up $150 million. Alecta, a Swedish pension plan, bought the so-called equity piece, which is the riskiest and first to take losses if there are loan defaults. Impact investor Calvert Impact Capital was another key investor.”
You may read the article on the Bloomberg/Quint internet site.