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British International Investment (BII), and ILX, the Amsterdam-based emerging market private debt asset manager, have completed their first joint transaction to expand financing for SMEs and agricultural businesses in East Africa.
The $15 million transaction marks ILX’s first sub-participation in a BII investment, since the two institutions formalised their partnership to increase institutional capital flowing into high-impact opportunities in emerging markets.
This investment will support an East African financial institution to scale its lending to MSMEs and agribusinesses.
Holger Rothenbusch, managing director and head of infrastructure and climate at BII, said: “Completing our first transaction with ILX under this partnership demonstrates how BII can originate high‑quality opportunities that attract institutional investment into the sectors that matter most for inclusive and sustainable growth in our markets. By working together, we are creating a pathway to increasing capital availability to our markets that can deliver development impact at scale.”
Manfred Schepers, CEO of ILX, said: “Completing our first transaction with BII demonstrates the scalability and strength of the development finance private debt asset class. BII’s longstanding expertise, resources and approach to originating high-quality opportunities provide pension funds with the confidence to invest in impactful, well-structured investments across emerging markets.”
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