Swiss company Enabling Qapital makes first investment in Sri Lanka with Alliance Finance
- Extends $ 5 Million Financial Support to Boost MSME Entrepreneurs Across Country
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Alliance Finance Company Vice President and General Manager Romani de Silva |
Sri Lanka’s oldest finance company, Alliance Finance Company PLC (AFC), has secured a $ 5 million medium-term finance facility from impact investing fund, EMF Microfinance Fund AGmvK, Liechtenstein advised by the company Swiss Enabling Qapital SA
The funding facility will be used to support microentrepreneurs affected by COVID across the country, in line with AFC’s strong mandate to improve the livelihoods of marginalized communities and developing microentrepreneurs.
Enabling Qapital (EQ) is an impact investing consultancy firm with strong ties, expertise and a proven track record in impact investing. EQ has built a cutting edge approach to microfinance and impact investing.
EQ is the exclusive advisor of the Enabling Microfinance Fund (EMF). EQ has a global presence with teams based in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Africa, Central Asia, East Asia and Latin America. EQ’s investments have reached over 6.2 million microfinance clients worldwide, 51% of whom are women.
AFC Vice President and General Manager Romani de Silva said: “This is an important milestone for AFC and the funding provided by EQ will further strengthen our sustainable finance mandate. In addition, I am very grateful to EQ for identifying AFC as the preferred channel for its first investment in the MSME sector in Sri Lanka. It is also a reflection of the confidence placed in our sustainable business model and the confidence placed in Sri Lanka’s MSME sector. “
“In 2017, AFC became the first financial institution in Sri Lanka’s NBFI sector to commit to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, when they signed the ‘Karlsruhe Resolution’. In recent years, AFC has invested 3-4% of its profits per year in social and environmental sustainability initiatives despite an extremely difficult external environment, â€added de Silva.
AFC has demonstrated strong improvements in all of its performance indicators such as growth, profitability and portfolio quality in recent times, especially after the successful restructuring program implemented with technical assistance from the AFC. IFC.