Taking into account the provisions for governing bodies that apply under the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ (‘Wet openbaarheid van bestuur’) and the ‘Data Protection Act’ (‘Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens’), the Fund Manager of the DGGF part ‘Financing local SMEs’ will publish its anticipated transactions.
Views
Parties can express their views on the proposed transaction to the Fund Manager by contacting dggf@pwc.com within 30 days after the publication date of the notice. After the transaction has been closed, or after it has become clear that the transaction will not take place, the Fund Manager will respond as soon as possible to these Parties concluding on the expressed views by these Parties.
Description of proposed transaction
Part of DGGF
Financing Local SMEs
Name of Intermediary Fund (IF)
Africa Women Entrepreneurs Fund B.V. (“AWEF”)
Domicile IF
the Netherlands
Nature of the activities of the IF
AWEF is an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) domiciled in the Netherlands and managed by the Dutch Impact Investment Manager Triple Jump. The fund will focus on providing debt to financial intermediaries serving women-led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and smallholder farmers in Africa. It will also provide guarantees to Banks and institutional investors which are co-lending to these financial intermediaries. AWEF seeks to activate local markets to improve the flow of affordable local currency funding to financial institutions, to enable them to pass through these benefits to end clients.
Size of proposed investment
DGGF will act as a cornerstone investor by investing EUR 15 million into the equity tranche of the fund.
Intended transaction date
The Fund Manager aims to close the agreement with AWEF in the third quarter of 2026.
Expected financial results
The expected return of the equity tranche is 2%-3% on USD.
Expected impact
AWEF aims to tackle key challenges of Impact-First Lenders (IFLs) in Sub-Saharan Africa to provide better and more affordable credit to underserved MSMEs, in particular those of women and smallholder farmers, thereby improving livelihoods, driving job creation and stimulating economic growth. AWEF’s goal is to address structural market shortcomings, with the ultimate goal of improving livelihoods for those underserved target groups through a stronger inclusive finance sector. AWEF expects to reach around 300.000 end clients.
DGGF is crucial as a cornerstone investor allowing the fund to reach a minimum fund size of USD 50 million with a target size of USD 150 million. Depending on its final size, the Fund is expected to provide direct funding to 20-40 Financial Intermediaries and guarantees to 15-30 local banks, thereby providing making a total of USD 100-300 million available to Impact-First Landers for on lending to small entrepreneurs, including the intended leverage.
ESG compliance
AWEF has developed a structured ESG framework that is aligned with DGGF requirements. ESG is integrated throughout screening, risk categorization, due diligence, investment approval, contractual ESG requirements, and monitoring. The process is supported by client protection assessments and on-site due diligence, providing a good basis for identifying and managing ESG risks. The internal and external grievance mechanism, as well as requirements for clients are considered aligned with DGGF.
Tax compliance
The Fund is domiciled in the Netherlands and is subject to the statutory tax rates applicable to it. The Financial Intermediaries which it finances are in principle subject to the local statutory tax rates in their respective countries. AWEF is not making use of artificial constructions to lower its taxation or the taxation of the Financial Intermediaries which it finances and DGGF’s investment conditions focus on ascertaining this. AWEF requires Financial Intermediaries that it finances to comply with local laws and regulations, among others those in respect of tax. DGGF will monitor whether AWEF meets its ongoing tax obligations and act in accordance with the DGGF tax criteria.