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Latest news
CIM’s Impact Report 2022: Celebrating Our Investees and End-clients
We are pleased to introduce our latest impact report for 2022, which aims to acknowledge and celebrate the impressive achievements of our investees and their end-clients.
"First impact investor providing loans in Guinea..."
Impact investing is about to come to Guinea. "Investing here takes more time, patience, and understanding, but the resilience of people in Guinea is truly inspiring,” says Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at CIM.
Clean Energy in West Africa White Paper
Clean Energy in West Africa explained: we have just released a white paper sharing the latest industry research insights, in-house expertise, and first-hand experience with investments in the clean energy sector in West Africa.
MFIs forum in Sierra Leone: resilience through partnerships
The managing directors of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Sierra Leone recently gathered to discuss financial inclusion developments in the country. The meeting was initiated by Cordaid Investment Management (CIM) to promote dialogue among industry key players – the MFIs, CIM and the development institution UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
Visit to Mali: "a robust pipeline for WABFF"
"Great to see many resilient businesses in Mali addressing social and environmental challenges in the region. We are building a robust pipeline of potential investees for the West Africa Bright Future Fund. During my stay, I visited quite an impactful MFI and resilient SMEs operating in Agriculture and Clean energy sectors," says Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager.
CIM quarter highlights December 2022
Portfolio overview and impact highlights for the last quarter of 2022
When the WABFF is a success, other investors will follow
PART 2: CIM's Investment Manager based in Freetown, Archibald Shodeke, talks about the lessons learned towards launching the West Africa Bright Future Fund (WABFF), the importance of in-house expertise and local presence, and the critical components to succeeding in the fragile environment.
Open call for SMEs in West Africa
We are looking for impactful partners in Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
Investors' thought revolves around risk, which makes them overlook enormous opportunities in Sierra Leone
PART 1: CIM's Investment Manager based in Freetown, Archibald Shodeke, talks about biases surrounding investments in Africa, opportunities of investing in Sierra Leone and how we realize them in the newly launched West Africa Bright Future Fund (WABFF).
Portfolio Highlights: Ecuador
Learn about CIM's partner MFIs in Ecuador
We are off to travel the world.. NOT
But here are our favourite destinations to inspire you for great adventures in 2023
And… Action! West Africa Bright Future Fund goes live
It is now official. All papers are signed - West Africa Bright Future Fund (WABFF) is launched. We hope that this long and careful journey towards the launch, the dedication of the whole team, the confidence and trust of our partners and external investors will result in a brighter and more sustainable future for people in the fragile states of Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
CIM quarter highlights September 2022
Portfolio overview and impact highlights for the past quarter.
Portfolio Highlights: Latin America
CIM's partner MFIs in Latin America are showing remarkable growth
Pioneering investments in turbulent markets
In the spotlight with Daniela Luppi, Finance and Risk Manager at Cordaid Investment Management
Watching the World Cup but not looking away
We join our colleagues from Cordaid in a commitment to catalyzing positive social change in Qatar through football diplomacy. Cordaid's inspiring campaign produced mourning bands with the names of migrant workers who died during the 2022 World Cup preparations.
New milestone for the industry - over 1 trillion USD allocated to impact investing strategies
Despite the significant challenges of our time, the size of the impact investing market grew to USD 1.164 trillion in assets under management, according to the Global Impact Investing Network's report.
Value-based impact investing is gathering momentum
Dedicated to unlocking faith-based investors' capital for positive social impact, Cordaid Investment Management has signed the Catholic Impact Investing Pledge. Faith-based impact investing is gaining momentum, and we urge religiously and spiritually driven investors to join the movement.
25 Years of Impact Reunion
One of the highlights of our 25th Anniversary celebrations was a get-together with the team members who worked in Cordaid Investments over the years.
Are we in Compliance?
As the impact investing industry matures, we, asset managers, must take the time to understand better the legal and compliance challenges of investing in emerging and, especially, fragile countries.
Team strategy week: energized and inspired for 2023
The Cordaid Investment Management team just came back from the annual strategy week. This was an intense and rewarding week with the team getaway to the North Sea, brainstorming sessions and workshops under the October sun, and in our headquarters in the Hague.
Just one week away: 25 years of Impact Webinar
25 years of impact with Cordaid Investments is a milestone for the whole industry as well. We were at the dawn of impact investing, and now we are looking to celebrate the 25th anniversary with Global Webinar. Join us!
Speaker Announcement: 25 years of impact with Cordaid Investments
How do impact investors catalyze much-needed finance to the most underserved markets of Africa? Heather Bateman will guide us through the partnership between the DFC and CIM and the key development impacts it attained.
Investing in fragile settings: How to make it work?
The learning session, held in The Hague on September 21, 2022, dived into the specifics of doing business and investing in fragile settings in Sudan, South Sudan, and Somaliland.
Speaker Announcement: 25 years of impact with Cordaid Investments
Equitable access to opportunities for people is the key to a sustainable economy. What can we do to facilitate systemic social change and build an equal world? Tune into the conversation about the future of investing in social causes with our keynote speaker Tynesia Boyea-Robinson.
Speaker Announcement: 25 years of impact with Cordaid Investments
Rethinking Microfinance? Tune into the conversation about the future of impact investing with Jonathan Morduch, a co-author of “Portfolios of the Poor” and professor at New York University, known for his work in assessing microfinance's impact since the movement's early years.
CIM quarter highlights June 2022
Portfolio overview and impact highlights for the past quarter.
“Local expertise is a key driver of success in West Africa…”
Sjoerd has just returned from a business trip to Mali where he could meet the investees in person. Having extensive experience over the past 15 years in financing many companies in Africa, Sjoerd joined CIM five months ago. With Mariam Niangado, our Mali-based investment manager, they strategized with investees and developed a solid pipeline of sustainable businesses in the region.
With the trade embargo lifted, Malian enterprises are ready to scale
The lifting of severe economic sanctions offers the Malian economy a much-needed relief after a half-year trade embargo that paralyzed many sustainable businesses in the country.
"Blended finance is a superpower"
“Blended finance is like a superpower that enables capital flow to Africa’s most underserved markets” – discover how innovative financial instruments, including first-loss grants and credit guarantees, allow for mobilizing private capital flows to fragile countries.
Livelihoods of Congolese entrepreneurs
DRC has the third-largest impoverished population in the world, and poverty is increasing due to the impacts of COVID-19. Against all odds, small-scale entrepreneurs in the DRC are navigating the precarity of day-to-day lives and have ambitious business plans.
Call for proposals: piloting impact survey in Mali and Sierra Leone
Cordaid Investment Management is looking for a consultant to conduct a pilot impact survey in Mali and Sierra Leone.
Blended finance talk: tune into the podcast featuring Hann Verheijen
How can the blended finance approach benefit impact investors? Learn about innovative finance tools and practices in the latest episode of Just for a change podcast Blended Finance: when to use what instrument when?, featuring managing director of Cordaid Investment Management.
Les Orangers’ Grand Opening: CIM’s investee makes Malian national news
After a series of obstacles and delays caused by COVID and political unrest in Mali, a new high-quality medical care facility has opened its doors at the end of February. Most importantly, it is going to be affordable for low-income populations who often struggle to access healthcare.
Faces of microfinance: saving groups for women in the DRC
Fueled by social biases, discriminatory laws, practices, and disproportionate household responsibilities, gender inequality limits women’s life choices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decades of armed conflict in the eastern DRC region Kivu have made the villages unsafe for women and their children. They had to largely abandon farming and move to rural areas with few job opportunities for females. Usually, that means engaging in small-scale trade or cooking meals for sale. The necessity of caring for families pushes women to create their own opportunities.
Faces of microfinance: stories and dreams of small-scale entrepreneurs in DRC
73% of the Congolese population lives on less than $1.90 a day, according to World Bank data of 2018. In the conflict-affected eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kivu struggles with even higher unemployment rates than the country’s average. In a situation like this, many people have no other option but to open their micro-business and hope it would be enough to sustain their families.
Investments in fragile countries do offer returns
CIM's Managing Director, Hann Verheijen, talks about the development of impact investing, challenges of SME financing, and the refinement of CIM's approach to creating impact .
Promoting growth sectors and entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone
Two of CIM’s Investment Managers based in Freetown, Lorisa Canillas and Archibald Shodeke, talk about the investment landscape in Sierra Leone, and the difficulties and opportunities of investing in MFIs and SMEs in the region.
Only impact-first investors are able to make the shift in Mali
CIM’s Investment Manager in Mali, Mariam Niangado, talks about the local investment climate, challenges and opportunities of different sectors, and the transformational impact that our investments have.
Claiming impact? Research is key
Fund Manager of WABFF, Brenda Pennell, talks about the research project, the importance of looking at downstream outcomes, and the challenges of measuring impact in fragile environments.
Vacancy alert: Investment Committee members for the West Africa Bright Future Fund
The West Africa Bright Future Fund invests in job creation, sustainable economic development, and a better environment. Growth capital for SMEs and MFIs in agriculture, clean energy and waste management creates a brighter future for women and youth in fragile West Africa. The Fund will be launched in early 2022.
Investors, we can’t wait on policymakers anymore
Scientists have warned us: not reacting fast enough is the same as failing. We lost too much time discussing wherever it is even necessary to “phase out” fossil fuels.
Connecting faith and finance to unlock the capital for deeper impact
Aligning capital with moral values holds immense potential to help the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and fight climate change. Hann Verheijen, Managing Director at Cordaid Investment Management, discussed challenges and opportunities for raising the level of faith-based impact investing at the Oxford Faith-Aligned Impact Finance project (OxFAIF) conference on November 20th.
Welcome, Julie! A finance and legal assistant joins our team
We are excited to welcome Julie Nzambi - Finance and Legal Assistant - to the team. Passionate about women's empowerment, Julie believes that through impact investing we can fight gender inequalities, especially in fragile countries where women suffer from extreme societal injustice.
Best SME Financier of the year
Cordaid Investment Management wins the Africa Global Funds Awards for outstanding efforts to support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in fragile contexts.
Adisa: Reducing inequality in Guatemala
The recent disbursement to microfinance institution Adisa is aimed to increase the resilience of rural and indigenous communities. They are most affected by poverty and inequality in Guatemala, even more so due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Bringing SME and MFI partners together
Determined to foster investees’ collaboration, Cordaid Investment Management’s team in Sierra Leone brought together an SME and several MFIs to work for mutual benefit and higher social impact.
Talking strategies with Malian entrepreneurs
Our Senior Investment Manager Brenda Pennell just came back from a three-week trip business to Mali. Together with Mariam Niangado, our new colleague in West Africa, they had a chance to reconnect and talk strategies with local entrepreneurs that Cordaid Investment Management supports with investments.
Major investment program in West Africa
West Africa is grappling with challenges of unprecedented magnitude. Despite the extremely difficult conditions.
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