CASEIF IV (FMO-58648)

Regions
  • Latin America and Caribbean
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 11, 2020
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Central America Small Enterprises Investment Fund (CASEIF IV)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ FMO website

Updated in EWS Dec 4, 2023

Disclosed by Bank Sep 24, 2020

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

WHO IS OUR PROSPECTIVE CLIENT?

The Central America Small Enterprises Investment Fund (CASEIF IV) aims to provide growth capital to small and medium companies (SMEs) in Central America, Panama, Dominican Republic and Colombia. CASEIF IV targets to raise USD 75m in commitments and will be managed by Lafise Investment Management (LIM), a fund management company resulting from a joint venture between NORFUND and LAFISE Group. This represents a continuing relationship for FMO, having committed to the predecessor fund managed by LIM, CASEIF III, in 2014.

WHAT IS THE FUNDING OBJECTIVE?

LIM intends to promote development and fight poverty by enhancing sustainable growth of private sector businesses. The investment strategy of CASEIF IV will be in line with the successfully implemented strategy of CASEIF III. CASEIF IV will provide mainly mezzanine and to a smaller extent equity financing to a diversified portfolio of SMEs in Central America, Panama, Dominican Republic and Colombia. This geographical focus is in line with the presence of LAFISE Group's local offices. While LIM targets a multi-sectoral portfolio, the key focus will be on sectors such as agroindustry, food and beverage processing where LIM has gained considerable expertise. CASEIF IV will target a portfolio of 10-12 investees with an average ticket size of USD 6m.

WHY DO WE WANT TO FUND THIS PROJECT?

An investment in CASEIF IV aligns strongly with FMO's strategy to deepen relationships with existing partners and contribute to improving access to finance for SMEs in the Central American region.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RATIONALE

The E&S categorization of CASEIF IV is B based on the pipeline and on LIM's strategy. LIM has demonstrated a proven commitment towards E&S, undertakes rigorous ESG due diligence on its investees and ensures risk mitigation through an action plan aligned with the IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

As part of FMOÕs Òex-ante disclosureÓ (disclosure of transactions before contracting), you can send requests or questions for additional information to: disclosure@fmo.nl

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF FMO

Communities who believe they will be negatively affected by a project funded by the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) may be able to file a complaint with the Independent Complaints Mechanism, which is the joint independent accountability mechanism of the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the German Investment Corporation (KfW). A complaint can be filed in writing, by email, post, or online. The complaint can be filed in English or any other language of the complainant. The Independent Complaints Mechanism is comprised of a three-member Independent Expert Panel and it can provide either problem-solving, compliance review or both, in either order. Additional information about this accountability mechanism, including a guide and template for filing a complaint, can be found at: https://www.fmo.nl/independent-complaints-mechanism

How it works

How it works