ImpactAlpha, April 4 – Calvert Impact Capital has invested a “significant” though undisclosed amount in the BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund. The 20-year-old fund has invested more than $1 billion in global microfinance institutions, generating 4.3% annual returns while supporting more than 18 million microentrepreneurs in 50 countries, according to BlueOrchard.
- BlueOrchard… was founded by the UN in 2001 as one of the world’s first commercial managers of microfinance debt investments.
- The firm says… 60% of its investees’ clients are women (contributing to SDG No. 5: gender equality), one-quarter offer green loans for clean water and energy (meeting SDG Nos. 6 and 7).
- Calvert’s 2004 investment in BlueOrchard… matured in 2011. Calvert’s Jennifer Pryce noted the organizations’ “shared goal of increasing access to financial services in emerging and frontier markets.”
