This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.
We have now exited this investment. This is what we achieved.
Achieved impact
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that supply large retailers and distributors often have to wait up to 90 days to receive payment for supplied goods and services, resulting in severe working capital constraints. This is especially difficult for smaller businesses as there are fewer financing options available to cover their costs as they await payment.
In 2018, we signed a risk-sharing agreement with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to increase the availability of supply chain finance in five African markets with the aim to provide a working capital solution to SMEs and enable them to manage their cash flows more effectively.
When we ended the risk-sharing facility in 2022, it had cumulatively supported over $38 million in invoices across more than 3,700 transactions of 58 suppliers in Nigeria. While the facility was effective in reaching smaller suppliers, we decided to end the facility as it did not manage to scale to multiple countries as we had originally intended.
Expected impact
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2024
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D3395
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Exited
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- Rest of the World
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Financial services
- Investment type :
- Guarantee
- Start date :
- October 2018
- End date :
- February 2022
- Amount :
- $75m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- United Kingdom
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
