The European Commission (EC) has provided €40m in guarantees to FMO Ventures Program, which will aim to invest a total of €200m in both fund and direct investments in Africa, the European Neighbourhood and Asia (excluding China).

FMO itself will provide €140m. 

This is FMO’s second guarantee program within the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD).

The direct investments will focus on start and scale-ups in AgriTech, Energy Access, and FinTech.

The fund investments will have a more generalist approach, thereby also targeting tech-enabled solutions in, amongst others, education, healthcare, transportation and logistics.

The Program will also have a dedicated technical assistance program, for which the EC is providing €6.5m, that will seek to support investees of the FMO Ventures Program and will promote the development of local Venture Capital ecosystems in emerging markets in general.

The FMO Ventures Program is enabled by a blended finance solution supported by both the EC and the Dutch Government.

The EC’s guarantee, which comes from the EFSD will support the program’s exposure to Africa and the European Neighbourhood.

The Dutch government supports the Program via investments from the Access to Energy Fund (€12m), Building Prospects (€24m) and MASSIF (€24m).

Fatoumata Bouaré, Chief Risk and Finance Officer of FMO said: “We are very grateful for the support of the EU and Dutch government for the FMO Ventures Program. This blended finance solution allows FMO to invest in early-stage opportunities that have high development potential and lower investment risk. By executing transactions at an earlier stage than FMO’s more traditional business, this program can enhance our commitment to innovation, supporting local businesses, and accelerating technology transfers in emerging markets.”