MiGroF
The purpose of the Microfinance Growth Fund (MiGroF) is to provide funding to microfinance institutions so that they may expand their loan portfolios and foster the sustained growth of micro and small enterprises, which are expected to help Latin America and the Caribbean recover from the crisis. MiGroF was established by its sponsors in response to the need to close gaps arising from the financial crisis in the United States and Europe.
The MIF and the IIC, MiGroF’s lead investors, will hold up to approximately 30% of the fund’s total equity capital. To date, six other investors have approved investments of up to US$20 million in MiGroF.
OPIC has approved a credit line of up to US$125 million to supply MiGroF with initial funding, thus bringing to US$156 million the funding that is expected to be made available to microfinance institutions in this initial phase. MiGroF is expected to reach US$250 million in resources during a second phase.
Fund Manager: BlueOrchard Finance S.A.
Environmental and Labor Issues:
This is a category III project according to the IIC’s environmental and labor review procedure because it could produce certain effects that may be avoided or mitigated by following generally recognized performance standards, guidelines, or design criteria. To enable the MiGroF to better understand the IIC’s requirements, it shall be required to attend the IIC financial intermediary environmental training workshop. Each subproject will be subject to an environmental review and must comply with national environmental and labor laws, regulations, and standards as well as IIC environmental guidelines.
