Central American Small Enterprise Investment Fund II
15/10/2007
CASEIF II invests in operating SMEs in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Finnfund is one of the development finance companies that invested in CASEIF II.
The Central American Small Enterprise Investment Fund II (CASEIF II), a USD 35 million private equity fund, was inaugurated in February 2007. It invests in operating SMEs in the growth stage. Finnfund is one of the investors of CASEIF II, with an 18.2 % share.
CASEIF II’s operating area is Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The Fund invests in common shares or other equity related instruments such as convertible loans. The Fund has a ten year lifetime.
The establishment of CASEIF II was motivated by the success of CASEIF, the first SME private equity fund established in the Central American region. It is a USD 15 million fund which invested in ten companies and has already executed four exits.
CASEIF II’s first investment made in Grupo ASI
The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Roberto Zamora, President of Lafise Group, Mr. Julio Arango, President of Grupo ASI and Erick Lagos, Managing Director of Lafise Investment Management (LIM)
In September 2007, CASEIF II completed its first investment: a USD 1.0 million equity investment in Grupo ASI, a Panamanian corporation that develops software products and support for micro financial and banking institutions.
Grupo ASI finds in CASEIF II a strategic partner to help it strengthen its corporate governance, improve its financial position, and support its expansion into new market segments. Grupo ASI can now start promoting the ASP ABANKS, a financial solution for small financial institutions, such as micro-financial firms. The company will also strengthen its organization to attract new clients.
Investors from Europe and America
CASEIF II’s investors are the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) (division of Inter-American Development Bank IDB), the Norwegian NORFUND, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), Finnfund, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), and the Latin American Financial Services Corporation (Lafise).
The Fund Manager, Lafise Investment Management Ltd. is based in Managua, Nicaragua, and is a joint venture of Lafise and NORFUND
For more information at Finnfund please contact Mr Pekka Juusela tel. +358 9 3484 3342, email firstname.lastname@finnfund.fi
