IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
BlueOrchard Finance Ltd
Clean Technology, Alternative Energy & Climate Change
Small/Medium Business Development
Microfinance, low-income financial services & micro-insuranceFirm Overview
BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group. Founded in 2001, BlueOrchard pioneered commercial microfinance and manages today the largest microfinance fund in the world. The firm has built a distinct track record in offering premium impact investment solutions, including credit, private equity, and sustainable infrastructure. Being an expert in innovative blended finance mandates, the firm is a trusted partner of leading global development finance institutions. Today, BlueOrchard splits their activities into two broad topics: inclusion and climate. The firm has significantly increased its climate investing capabilities to contribute to the target of the Paris agreement. To date, BlueOrchard has invested more than USD 10 bn across more than 100 countries and has reached more than 280 mn people with low income in emerging and frontier markets (as of December 2022). The BlueOrchard offices are located in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Georgia, Peru, Kenya and Singapore.
Years of Operation: 10 years or more
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 25% – 49%
At BlueOrchard, we truly believe in profit with purpose. Our goal is to create lasting positive impact for underserved communities and the environment, while providing attractive returns for our investors. Our mission is to address the world’s most serious challenges and to “include the excluded” through innovation, expertise & network.
Sustainable and responsible investments are the heart of BlueOrchard’s operations. The company strategy is unique in combining a stable financial return with fundamental social and environmental focus. Investments in impact investing, specifically aim to invest in institutions that are resulting in a positive social and environmental impact. This is achieved through the expansion of financial services to those who have historically been excluded from such services (financial inclusion and reduction of inequalities) or through the financing of the transition towards a low carbon economy (climate finance). BlueOrchard’s strategy consists of identifying promising socially responsible investees worldwide, and to accompany them in their growth and development while earning a stable financial return for investors through a risk-controlled, rigorous asset selection process. BlueOrchard focuses on “including the excluded” and recognizes the importance of the financial sector in accelerating the transition to climate neutrality and meeting the goals set by the Paris Agreement.
1. Impact pioneer and leader: global reach of over 280m people (as of December 2022) & manager of the largest commercial microfinance fund globally. 2. Expertise and track record: unprecedented 20+ year track record & highly experienced staff, local know-how and network across the countries in which we operate. 3. Proven investment platform: we provide impact investment solutions, focusing on emerging & frontier markets across multiple asset classes & impact themes 4.Thought leadership: through BlueOrchard's proprietary B.Impact Framework which has inspired Schroders impact framework. A key differentiator of the framework is the ability to measure the social & environmental impact across different asset classes with dedicated tools and independent governance. 5. Gender-lens investing: As part of BlueOrchards Gender, Diversity & Inclusion (GDI) strategy, the team developed a gender rating tool to assess an institution’s gender smart & inclusive products & services, and their corporate GDI practices.
Investment Example
BlueOrchard supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) that provide financial products to low-income groups, enabling them to grow income-generating activities and to break out of poverty. An illustrative example is an MFI in Guatemala that BlueOrchard supports via the newly established Latin America and the Caribbean Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Fund. The MFI focuses on the holistic development for disadvantaged people and communities in rural areas of Guatemala. In addition to the institution’s focus on economic development and self-empowerment through microcredit, they offer a range of social programs related to education, healthcare, and other services such as technical skills training to micro-entrepreneurs. 70% of beneficiaries of these social programs are women. 88% of the institution’s borrowers are women, the majority receiving group and village bank loans. Gender equality within the institution is also taken seriously. Female representation across all management levels is approximately 50% and almost 60% of all employees are women.
Leadership and Team
 |
Philipp Müller – Chief Executive Officer More Info
Philipp Mueller is Chief Executive Officer of BlueOrchard. As CEO, he leads the executive and extended management team and has executive oversight of the firm’s client and business areas, including strategy and resource management. Prior to that, Philipp held the position of Head Investment Solutions, heading the Global Investment Committee, and overseeing the portfolio management and asset allocation of all funds and mandates. Philipp joined BlueOrchard in 2018 from Partners Group, where he worked for ten years in Switzerland and the UK, most recently as Senior Vice President of Investment Solutions. |
 |
Maria Teresa Zappia – Chief Impact & Blended Finance Officer, Deputy CEO More Info
Maria Teresa Zappia is responsible for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) funds under BlueOrchard’s management and impact practice. Maria Teresa joined BlueOrchard in 2008 as Chief Investment Officer. Previously Maria Teresa worked as Senior Banker in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development financial institution team both in London and Central Asia. Prior to that she worked for the Asian Development Bank in Manila and was an ODI Fellow in Africa. |
 |
Normunds Mizis – Chief Credit Officer More Info
Normunds Mizis leads BlueOrchard’s private debt investment team globally. Before joining BlueOrchard, Normunds worked for 18 years with the World Council of Credit Unions, where he held a variety of Chief of Party and Project Management positions and performed multiple short-term consultancy assignments in Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
|
Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
|
ESG and impact management is an integral part of our investment process. Our proprietary BlueOrchard tool, called the B.Impact Framework, includes as one of its steps an analysis dedicated to assess and track the potential impact of each investment. This analysis follows the five dimensions of the Impact Management Project. It combines the investment intent with impact KPIs and information on the end beneficiaries, and further assesses the investment’s contribution while factoring in the different potential risks that the intended impact may not be achieved. As a result, we assess impact on various levels, not only focusing, for instance, on the amount of beneficiaries reached by an investee, but also analysing what type of beneficiaries are reached (e.g. female, rural) or what the local circumstance are. The B.Impact Framework is an important part of the investment process, helping to guide BlueOrchard’s investment decisions.
Our own proprietary ESG & impact management tool, the B.Impact Framework, includes next to an impact analysis as well an ESG assessment of our investees. The ESG assessment entails a sustainability risk assessment taking into consideration environmental, social or governance characteristics of the investee. Aspects such as employee diversity, responsibility towards clients, or a company’s environmental practices are an integral part of this analysis. The ESG assessment allows BlueOrchard to identify potential negative impact on the value of our investments but also guarantees that the company needs to meet certain minimum safeguards standards from a sustainability perspective.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
Seefeldstrasse 233, 8008, Zürich, Switzerland
Apply for the IA 50 2022
The application period to become an ImpactAssets 50 2022 Fund Manager will open in September 2021!
To stay informed on the application process, sign up here.