21 January 2008 | Luca Del Buono

 

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, announced that it will invest in n environment-focused private equity fund to help benefit the environment and combat climate change.

The IFC will invest up to €15 million to be managed by Aloe Private Equity, according to an IFC release, and will be used to fund companies primarily in India and China, with a focus on clean and renewable energy, waste recycling, emissions controls, and eco-processes.

Through its involvement in this fund, IFC says it will provide support to smaller businesses in the clean energy and environment sectors that are unlikely to receive funding from mainstream private equity groups.

Jean-Pascal Tranié, General Partner at Aloe Private Equity, said, "Through this environment- and sustainability-focused fund we aim to offer economic, environmental, and social returns to our investors. We look forward to working with IFC to repeat the success of our previous funds and further demonstrate the commercial viability of the clean energy and environment sectors."

Swedfund, a risk capital company owned by the Swedish government, and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency, will invest €8 million and €5 million, respectively, in the new fund alongside IFC. Aloe Private Equity manages a number of environment funds.

It recently raised over €110 million for the Aloe Environment Fund 2, which will invest in companies in Asia and Europe. The fund in which IFC will participate will co-invest alongside Aloe 2 but will support companies primarily in India and China.

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC's vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through loan participations and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries.

About Aloe Private Equity

Aloe Private Equity is a French management company founded in 2004 that has a proven track record in the environment sector and is a pioneer in social and environmental corporate responsibility. It manages a number of environment funds that invest in companies that seek to make a positive contribution to society, both socially and environmentally, while providing high financial returns to investors. Aloe Private Equity's culture and strategy emphasize investments where it can not only make a significant strategic value contribution to the investee but also help promote environmental and social sustainable growth. Aloe has a particular interest in companies with proven products or solutions that wish to expand their businesses in India and China.

This article is reproduced with kind permission of SustainableBusiness.com

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