Global, June, 19 2015 - The Fund will invest in financial intermediaries in emerging economies that enhance financial inclusion of smallholder farmers and rural micro, small, and medium sized entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the agricultural value chain.

It will target investments in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States region. The average size of the investments will be between USD 5 million to USD 10 million. First close investors included the European Investment Bank, Proparco, BIO, SIFEM, Volksvermogen, ACV-CSC Metea, KBC Bank, Bank für Kirche und Caritas, VDK Spaarbank, and Incofin IM. 

“agRIF will invest in financial institutions in order to support and accelerate their growth and the expansion of their agricultural and/or rural portfolio. It will do so, thanks to the hands on and dedicated involvement of Incofin IM’s experienced team of private equity and investment managers. In addition, agRIF will benefit from a technical assistance facility that will actively support the portfolio companies. The expected outcome of the Fund’s investments, is the building of stronger, more resilient, and more profitable financial institutions and the access to adapted financial services for substantially larger numbers of actors in the agricultural value chain, especially MSMEs. Incofin IM will rigorously monitor and measure the outcome of agRIF’s investments. We are convinced that the new Fund, based on 15 years of experience in rural finance, will contribute value at all levels: investors, investees, clients, and agricultural value chain operators. We have demonstrated in the past that we always translated our funds’ ambitions into reality. We are happy to observe that top notch investors acknowledge our leadership in this area”, said Loïc De Cannière, CEO of Incofin IM.