Incofin Investment Management, a leading emerging markets impact fund manager, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Swaminathan Dandapani as Chairman of the Board of Directors of newly created Incofin India Investment Management Private Limited (Incofin India IM).
Incofin India IM will act as the investment manager to the soon to be launched Incofin India Progress Fund (SEBI registered, Alternate Investment Fund).
Mr Swaminathan is a seasoned professional with over 40 years of experience in senior management positions with leading international firms in the sales, marketing and operations departments within the automobile, consumer durables, technology, manufacturing and services and infrastructure industries.
Mr Swaminathan was the CEO and Managing Director of Infosys BPO (a fully owned subsidiary of Infosys Ltd), an Indian market leader in technology services, business and process transformation strategies. He was later the Executive Chairman of Manipal Health Enterprises, an industry leader in healthcare in India. Mr Swaminathan currently serves on the boards of several companies engaged in healthcare, talent and technology transformation.
Incofin expects to launch shortly “Incofin India Progress Fund”, a country dedicated investment vehicle with a focus on investing in financial services, agri and food sectors.
Social and environmental impact coupled with strong financial returns are at the heart of investment decisions of Incofin.
By leveraging Incofin’s 18 years of global impact investing experience and over USD 2 billion invested, Incofin India Progress Fund will invest in entrepreneurs with strong operational experience and contribute to impact via (i) innovative practices and technology solutions for the financial inclusion of the underserved and underserviced end customers, and (ii) the sustainable development of the agriculture and food value chain (post-harvest). Typical portfolio ticket sizes will range from USD 3 million to USD 10 million, strongly led by Incofin’s hands on value creation approach.
Loïc De Cannière, Managing Partner and Founder, Incofin Investment Management remarked, “We have made additional local key hires to our team in India and transformed it into a full-fledged investment management company. Incofin is a true “glocal” player: we have a strong, experienced regional team, which understands the Indian market and can tap on the company’s global expertise. We think Mr Swaminathan is the right person to chair and guide our Indian investment management company.”
“I am delighted to be a part of Incofin in India and to be engaged in promoting and adding value to companies that generate social and environmental impact whilst enabling innovative and hardworking entrepreneurs to be commercially successful. I look forward to contributing to Incofin becoming one of the most respected corporations in India,” said Mr Swaminathan.
Current portfolio companies managed by Incofin in India include: Sohan Lal, an agri value chain company, which enables the farmer ecosystem to reduce crop wastage from 10 percent to 0.5 percent (a 95 percent saving) which has a positive impact on farmers’ incomes and the environment; Faircent Technologies, an online peer to peer lending platform that provides access to credit for first time borrowers; and Save Solutions, one of the top 3 Business Correspondents in India, disrupting traditional banking services via process-oriented and tech-enabled systems.
Notable exits representing strong social impact and financial returns by Incofin include the recent exit of its remaining stakes in Annapurna Finance and Fusion Microfinance.
About Incofin
Incofin Investment Management is a leading emerging markets independent impact investment firm, focused on rural and agricultural finance, driven by a desire to promote inclusive progress. It is an AIFM licensed fund manager and has over USD 1 billion in assets under management. Incofin has a team of more than 50 professionals spread over the headquarters in Belgium and local investment teams in India, Colombia, Kenya and Cambodia.
Incofin currently manages the following funds:
- Rural Impulse Fund II (closed-end fund) invests in microfinance institutions that offer financial services in disadvantaged rural areas through debt and equity investments. RIF II focuses on investments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- agRIF is a third generation (closed-end) fund, making equity investments in financial inclusion for the rural sector (smallholder farmers and rural micro-entrepreneurs). agRIF also provides debt investments in agricultural SMEs and agricultural focused financial intermediaries.
- The Fairtrade Access Fund (evergreen fund) contributes to the development of a fair and sustainable agriculture sector by providing working capital and long term financing for smallholder farmers. This evergreen fund is open to investors for commitments.
- Incofin CVSO (evergreen co-operative) specializes in debt and equity investments in the impact investments universe. It is a cooperative fund and open to retail investors.
Contact details
Investor Relations: investorrelations@incofin.com
