Triple Jump and ASN Impact Investors have been working together for years with one aim: to achieve a strong financial performance for the ASN Microkredietfonds (AMP) while also maximizing its contribution to financial inclusion. For more than two decades, the ASN Microkredietfonds (AMP) has been investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs) to give more people in more countries access to loans or secure payment or savings products. These products enable them to make an income, boost their earnings, and improve their financial resilience. By the end of 2021, ASN Microkredietpool had direct investments in 84 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) spanning 40 countries, as well as 6 indirect investments. The average funding is approximately €3.6 million per MFI. The MFIs in turn reach over 1.7 million beneficiaries (83% of which are women) and support over 30 thousand jobs (EOY 2021).
Governance, reporting, and borrower protection
AMP applies the Social Performance Management principles and demands a clear social strategy from investees. The fund has measures in place that help ensure MFIs take proper care in their dealings with borrowers to prevent over-indebtedness. Triple Jump developed an interest-rate traffic light tool that takes such circumstances into account. Interest rates can be high but still be fair. Among other things, we examine the costs of microfinance institutions, their level of profitability, and the circumstances in which it operates. We closely monitor the progress of our customers, both financially and socially. Prior to investment, we assess MFIs in depth on both financial and social outcomes, looking at variables ranging from capitalization and profitability to measuring the number of women and rural borrowers reached. An important aspect for us is the loan portfolio quality. The extent to which loans must be written off (default rate), is not only a financial but also a social indicator: if the default rate is high, it can be a signal that the borrowing capacity of customers is not correctly estimated.
Relationship with MFIs
The ASN fund strives for a sustainable relationship with Microfinance Institutions. The fund not only grants loans to the MFIs but also provides equity in its capacity as a shareholder (currently, around 10% of the fund’s capital is invested directly in MFIs). The additional social impact you can have as a shareholder is just as important. Through equity investments, we help institutions to grow further by expanding the customer base. When an institution can strengthen its own capital base, it can both attract and provide more loans. For every million of equity capital invested, hundreds to thousands of customers can be reached.