EMGA completes US$25M capital raise for Kashf Foundation with financing from CDC and Finnfund
- “EMGA has successfully secured new foreign financing from two organizations that will allow us to deliver on our stated mission, including the provision of quality and cost-effective microfinance services to low-income households with a focus on women,” says CFO of Kashf Foundation.
- “Empowering women entrepreneurs is one of the best ways of achieving significant development impact. In the Foundation, we have the perfect partner in Pakistan to deliver on this goal.”
The US$25 million funding facility for Kashf Foundation was originated, structured, and negotiated by Emerging Markets Global Advisory Limited (EMGA), the emerging market investment bank, which continues to execute capital raising operations in most emerging countries, despite COVID-19.
Kashf Foundation is registered as a Non-Banking Micro Finance Company regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Set up in 1996 as the first specialized microfinance institution of Pakistan it began its operations as a Grameen replicator and since then, Kashf has successfully carved out a distinct and unique niche for itself in the microfinance sector in Pakistan by offering a suite of innovative and transformative products and services to low-income households especially women.
Speaking on the transaction, Mr Shazad Iqbal, CFO of Kashf Foundation said ‘EMGA has successfully secured new foreign financing from two organizations that will allow us to deliver on our stated mission, including the provision of quality and cost-effective microfinance services to low-income households with a focus on women. As we continue to grow, we have decided that additional financing will be needed as we continue to implement our expansion plans, we are more than happy to extend our engagement with EMGA, tasking them to deliver additional financing for this year. We have found EMGA very helpful in expanding our investor base for debt raising in the international market. Our relationship with them has been built over several years and closing transactions such as this one has been key for us further build our offshore funder base, and can also help leverage further funding from these and other like-minded investors in the future.
Commentating on the transaction Emerging Markets Global Advisory Limited (EMGA)’s Managing Director and Transaction co-head Sajeev Chakkalakal said “it has been a pleasure to continue our work with Kashf Foundation and deliver this new financing solution and continue to help support Kashf Foundation’s female-oriented microfinance client base with the solid institutional support and financial capacity that CDC and Finnfund represent. Also commentating on the transaction, Emerging Markets Global Advisory Limited (EMGA)’s Managing Director Jeremy Dobson said, “Kashf Foundation’s strong management continue to impress our funding partners and it has been fantastic to support their growth with this latest transaction.”
Stephen Priestley, Managing Director, Head of Financial Services at CDC, said:” Empowering women entrepreneurs is one of the best ways of achieving significant development impact. In the Kashf Foundation, we have the perfect partner in Pakistan to deliver on this goal.”
Ulla Huotari, Finnfund’s Investment Manager,said “This is Finnfund’s first direct investment in Pakistan. We are looking forward to a partnership with Kashf Foundation as we share the commitment to empowering women through enabling financial services. Kashf has truly been a pioneer in the country and they are transforming lives in Pakistan.”
Emerging Markets Global Advisory Limited (EMGA), with offices in New York and London helps financial institutions and corporates that seek new debt or equity capital. EMGA provides its services, to clients within many of the worlds rapidly developing economies, including Pakistan. EMGA’s multi-national investment banking team combine the decades of experience necessary to complete transactions on behalf of their clients within the worlds emerging markets and frontier economies. With a proven track record in capital formation and strategic advisory throughout diverse economic cycles, EMGA continues to expand its geographic reach and service offering, as they solidify their place in the market as one of the industries preeminent emerging markets focused investment banks.
CDC helps solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation. It is the world’s first impact investor with over 70 years of experience of successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and South Asia. CDC is a UK champion of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – the global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all. The company has investments in over 1,200 businesses in emerging economies with total net assets of £6.5bn and a portfolio of £4.7bn.
Finnfund is a development financier and impact investor which builds a sustainable world by investing in responsible and profitable businesses in developing countries. They provide businesses operating in developing countries with risk capital, long-term investment loans, mezzanine financing and expertise on how to invest in the developing markets. They expect their projects to be profitable, socially and environmentally responsible and produce measurable development impact in their target countries. They put special emphasis on sectors that are critical to sustainable development, such as clean energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture and financial services, but they do invest in other sectors as well. Today Finnfund’s investments and commitments total about 957 million euros, half of them in Africa.
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40071733/emga-completes-us25m-capital-raise-for-kashf-foundation-with-financing-from-cdc-and-finnfund
