FMO is proud to announce the closing of its first debt financing in the microfinance sector in Myanmar. The project is one of the first off-shore investments in the sector that has been approved by the Myanmar authorities. The project is in the form of senior unsecured debt, the local currency equivalent of USD 3 million and will be financed from the Dutch government fund, MASSIF, fund managed by FMO.
The funds will be provided to Early Dawn Microfinance Company Limited (‘DAWN’), one of Myanmar’s leading microfinance institutions. DAWN currently has a balance sheet above USD 10 million, and serves around 70,000 women micro-entrepreneurs, with loans starting as low as USD 100, up to USD 800, and an average loan size of USD 200. DAWN’s shareholders are Accion (40%), FMO (30%) and Triodos (30%).
The facility will be used by DAWN to serve its existing clients with growing working capital needs, as well as new clients who have limited or no access to capital. With this investment, FMO supports the development and growth of the nascent Myanmar microfinance sector by providing much needed long-term capital to an important financial intermediary in the market.
DAWN’s CEO, Gonzalo González A., thanked FMO for its willingness to provide growth capital to the institution. “FMO’s loan will enable DAWN to provide more appropriately sized loans to our existing clients and to expand to underserved regions where few or no other financial institutions are currently working.”
FMO’s Chief Investment Officer, Linda Broekhuizen said: “FMO is proud to support the financial sector in Myanmar, a country with great economic prospects. Working together with DAWN will contribute greatly to improving access to finance and supporting much needed job creation”.
Jeroen Harteveld, Fund Manager MASSIF, stated: “DAWN has been a MASSIF equity investee since 2014 and we are proud to additionally provide them with the much-needed debt financing in order to grow its portfolio. DAWN is a great partner and is well-positioned to address financial inclusion of women and individuals at the base of the pyramid in Myanmar.”
About MASSIF
MASSIF is a financial inclusion fund that FMO manages on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Fund provides much needed resources to small business and micro-entrepreneurs (MSMEs) by supporting the local financial intermediaries that can contribute to their development.
