Press releases

Zurich, 22 June 2017 — A responsAbility-managed company designed to finance, build, own and operate renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa has started construction on a 2.7 MW hydropower plant in the Republic of Rwanda. The run-of-the-river plant is located on the Mukungwa River, in the Northern Province close to the city of Musanze. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2018.

Zurich, 20 June 2017 — A responsAbility-managed private equity vehicle has completed a USD 6 million investment in the Brazilian factoring company Dunasplus and now holds a significant minority stake in the company. Dunasplus focuses on supplying short-term working capital to SMEs, thus closing a gap in Brazil’s financial market.

Zurich - AmeriaBank, Armenia’s leading corporate and SME bank, has signed a USD 30 million loan agreement with a responsAbility-managed fund focusing on climate financing. The facility is dedicated to financing corporate energy efficiency measures in sectors such as agriculture and industry in Armenia.

Tbilisi and Zurich - Georgia-based TBC Bank has signed a USD 25 million loan agreement with a responsAbility-managed fund focusing on climate financing. The facility is dedicated to financing small-scale hydropower plants in Georgia.

Zurich - Take USD 3 million of start-up financing from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), an asset management team with initiative and 13 years in the fertile ground of development investments and the result is: A total of USD 3.2 billion of assets – 80% of which is from the private sector – invested through 14 investment vehicles in a total of 560 companies across 96 countries. The responsAbility success story is a prime example of effective collaboration between the public and private sectors. A new publication examines this recipe for success.

Zurich - responsAbility Investments AG, the asset manager specialising in development investments, has appointed Roland Pfeuti as Head Investment Solutions & Sales and a member of its Executive Management team. The Swiss specialist in private equity and sustainable finance will be responsible for the investor-oriented areas of the business, Investment Solutions and Sales.

Zurich and Phnom Penh - Cambodia’s leading microfinance institution Prasac has signed an agreement for a USD 20 million green lending facility with a responsAbility-managed fund focusing on climate financing. The facility that took effect in October 2016, enables Prasac to pioneer green lending in Cambodia by offering its customers financing in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Global micro and SME finance markets are expected to grow by 10-15% next year according to the newly published responsAbility ‘Micro and SME Finance Market Outlook 2017’. The Asia Pacific region remains the principal driver of this trend. In addition to traditional microfinance, SME financing in developing countries is booming.

Zurich - Developing economies will account for the vast majority of growth in global energy demand and CO2 emissions over the coming decades. Innovative investment vehicles targeting this part of the world enable private entities to invest, along with public institutions, in renewable-energy generation and energy efficiency. With this objective, Netherlands-based ASN Bank recently invested in a responsAbility-managed fund set up as a public-private partnership and aimed at mitigating climate change.
 

The Hague/Zurich – The Dutch development bank FMO has sold a portion of its subordinated debt portfolio amounting to USD 67.4 million to three investment vehicles managed by Swiss-based asset manager responsAbility Investments AG. The portion of the portfolio comprises transactions with nine financial institutions active across 14 developing and emerging countries which predominantly serve small to mid-sized enterprises.