TriLinc Global Impact Fund has approved an additional $15m in trade finance facilities to companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing total financing commitments as of April 30, 2016 to $153.5m.

Gloria Nelund, TriLinc CEO, said: “TriLinc’s recent investments demonstrate our commitment to strengthening financing commitments to a cohort of existing enterprises in our portfolio as well as developing relationships with new borrowers operating in impactful geographies and industries.”

On April 12 and April 13, 2016, TriLinc funded $3.63m and $1.87m respectively, as part of a $7m senior secured equipment purchase facility with a Ghanaian power producer.

With an interest rate of 11.5%, both transactions have a maturity date of March 10, 2017 and are secured by a letter of credit as well as the underlying equipment being financed by the power producer.

The borrower anticipates that TriLinc’s financing will support increased access to energy for end-users in Ghana and will contribute to reducing the demand pressures and blackout frequency that currently burdens the country’s electric grid.

Between April 12 and April 15, 2016, TriLinc funded three separate transactions totaling $3.45m as part of an existing $11m revolving senior secured trade finance facility with a South African electronics company that assembles affordable cellular phones and televisions.

With a fixed interest rate of 13%, all transactions are set to mature between July 30 and August 13, 2016 and are secured by receivables as well as specific inventory being imported into South Africa from Asia.

The borrower anticipates that TriLinc financing will support job creation and increase the volume of affordable devices in the region.

On April 13, 2016, TriLinc funded $4.1m as part of a new $5m pre-export trade finance facility to an Italian-based international development logistics provider contracted by the United Nations to consolidate and ship prefabricated housing units and materials for UN mission personnel throughout Africa.

With an interest rate of 8.5% plus six month Euribor, if positive, and maturity date of October 12, 2016, this transaction is secured by cash, inventory, and receivables.

It is anticipated that TriLinc’s financing will provide critical support in accessing markets in Africa that are new to the borrower and its international development operations.

On April 25, 2016, TriLinc funded $2m as part of a new $2m revolving receivables trade finance facility to a global metals trader based in the UK.

With an interest rate of 8.41%, the transaction is set to mature on September 27, 2016 and is secured by a bill of exchange and sales contracts.

TriLinc’s financing will facilitate the trade of South African-produced nickel cathodes, a critical input to iron and steel production, to a developed market off-taker for further value added processing.

TriLinc is a non-traded, externally managed, limited liability company that makes impact investments in SMEs in developing economies that provide the opportunity to achieve both competitive financial returns and positive measurable impact.

TriLinc invests in SMEs through experienced local market sub-advisors, and expects to create a diversified portfolio of financial assets consisting primarily of collateralized private debt instruments.

“From facilitating the trade of critical infrastructure inputs to supporting one of the world’s leading social development and governance organizations, these latest transactions represent the breadth of TriLinc’s involvement in various impact themes that support the fund’s economic development thesis,” Nelund said.