LuxFLAG | Press release April 2012 (EU Version) 1

PRESS RELEASE – April 2012

Two new Microfinance Investment Vehicles obtain the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label LuxFLAG is pleased to announce that two new Microfinance Investment Vehicles have been granted the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label. These are the Access Africa Fund LLC - the first US domiciled MIV to receive the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label and Fonds Européen de Financement Solidaire (FEFISOL), S.A. SICAV-SIF. “LuxFLAG is honoured to welcome Access Africa Fund LLC as a first non-Luxembourg domiciled MIV that receives the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label”, said Daniel Dax, General Manager of LuxFLAG.

Access Africa Fund, a Delaware company, was formed by CARE USA. It is managed by MicroVest Capital Management and invests in microfinance projects in sub-Saharan Africa. FEFISOL, a Luxembourg company, is managed by Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement (SIDI), a French NGO. FEFISOL focuses on providing local currency funding to microfinance organisations in rural areas mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The LuxFLAG Microfinance Label assists capital raising by Microfinance Funds by reassuring investors that the Microfinance Investment Vehicles really invests the majority of its assets in the microfinance sector in a responsible manner. 24 MIVs have been granted the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label as of April 2012, representing approximately USD 3.48 billion in Assets Under Management. MIVs labelled as of April 2012: Name of the MIV Legal

structure Domicile Labelled since AuM

(million USD)

Access Africa Fund (new label) LLC USA May 2012 6.71 (Dec 11)

Advans SA SICAR LU Oct 2010 31.5 (Mar 11)

Azure Global Microfinance Fund SICAV- SIF SIF LU Dec 2011 3.10 (Oct 11)

Dexia Micro-Credit Fund- Blue Orchard Debt sub-fund UCI Part II LU Feb 2007 394.3 (Dec 11)

Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance UCI Part II LU Oct 2008 107.2 (Jun 11)

Dual Return Fund - Vision Microfinance Local Currency UCI Part II LU Oct 2011 37.3 (Mar 12)

Etimos Fund – Global Microfinance Debt SIF LU Oct 2011 4.8 (Sept 11)

Finethic Microfinance SCA SICAR LU Oct 2010 67.9 (Aug11)

Fonds Européen de Financement Solidaire (FEFISOL), S.A. SICAV-SIF (new label)

SIF LU May 2012 8.09 (Dec 11)

KCD Mikrofinanzfonds (FIS)-I SIF LU Oct 2010 47.9 (Sept 11)

KCD Mikrofinanzfonds (FIS)-II SIF LU Oct 2010 23.9 (Sept 11)

Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund UCI Part II LU May 2011 12.6 (Dec 11)

Microfinance Enhancement Facility SA, SICAV-SIF SIF LU Oct 2011 194.0 (Sep 11)

Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa SA, SICAV-SIF

SIF LU May 2011 60.7 (Dec 11)

responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund UCI Part II LU Feb 2007 541.9 (Jan 12)

responsAbility SICAV (Lux) Financial Inclusion Fund UCI Part II LU Dec 2011 42.0 (Sep 11)

responsAbility SICAV (Lux) – Mikrofinanz-Fonds UCI Part II LU May 2008 166.2 (Jan 12)

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responsAbility SICAV (Lux) – Microfinance Leaders UCI Part II LU May 2008 147.1 (Jan 12)

Rural Impulse Fund S.A.SICAV-FIS SIF LU May 2008 40.1 (Dec 11)

Rural Impulse Fund II S.A. SICAV-SIF SIF LU May 2011 53.5 (Dec 11)

Selectum SICAV SIF - BL Microfinance SIF LU May 2011 31.9 (Dec 11)

The European Fund for Southeast Europe SA, SICAV-SIF SIF LU Feb 2007 1038 (Dec 11)

Triodos SICAV II – Triodos Microfinance Fund UCI Part II LU Oct 2010 120.6 (Dec 11)

Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund UCI Part II LU Oct 2010 34.7 (Mar 12)

Note: The LuxFLAG Microfinance Label is valid for a period of one year and is subject to renewal on expiry.

Details of the twenty four labelled MIVs are available on LuxFLAG’s website: www.luxflag.org. The website also contains details of the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label Eligibility Criteria and an Application form that can be downloaded by entities wishing to apply for the LuxFLAG Microfinance Label. For further details contact: Daniel Dax or Sachin Vankalas daniel.dax@luxflag.org / Sachin.vankalas@luxflag.org Tel: +352 22 30 26 – 1 ***** Editorial notes

The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency is an independent not-for-profit organisation whose Charter Members represent the private sector, the NGO sector and the State of Luxembourg. The Charter Members are the:

- State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg represented by

Ministry of Finance Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure

- European Investment Bank - Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL) - Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) - Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) - Financial Technology Transfer Agency (ATTF) - Luxembourg Stock Exchange - Luxembourg For Finance (LFF)

Funds granted a LuxFLAG Microfinance Label as of April 2012 The Access Africa Fund, LLC is a for-profit Delaware limited liability company, formed in June, 2010. The Fund was formed by CARE USA, a U.S. nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and is governed by the provisions of a Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement. The Fund commenced its operations in July 2010. It is managed by MicroVest Capital Management, LLC.

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The investment objective of the Fund is to provide social impact and capital appreciation by lending local currency to and making strategic equity investments in microfinance institutions located throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund believes that it can improve the lives of the entrepreneurial poor through investments in MFIs, and achieve a positive return on investment to demonstrate to impact investors that the microfinance sector in sub- Saharan Africa can be an attractive social investment. The Advans SA SICAR is a Venture Capital Investment Company headquartered in Luxembourg launched in December 2005. With a share capital of EUR 40.1 million, Advans’ mission is to build a network of microfinance institutions in developing and emerging countries to cater to the financial needs of micro, small, and medium sized enterprises, which have limited or no access to formal banking services. The Azure Global Microfinance Fund was launched by Azure Partners in October 2011. It’s the first microfinance fund of funds managed by professionals of the industry. The Fund aims to provide a diversified and safe investment in microfinance by offering exposure to the 15 to 20 best funds, to keep investors abreast of new developments and products in the asset class as well as to achieve a credible financial return combined with a vast social impact. By investing in Debt and Private Equity microfinance funds, Azure Global Microfinance Fund offers a meaningful investment product to private and institutional investors. The Dexia Micro-Credit Fund is the oldest microfinance fund in Luxembourg, with a track record going back to 1998. It is promoted by Dexia Banque International in Luxembourg (BIL) with RBC-Dexia as custodian of the fund and Dexia Asset Management as manager of the fund for liquidities. The microfinance portfolio manager is Blue Orchard, a Geneva based investment manager specialising in microfinance. The Dual Return Fund– Vision Microfinance is a Luxembourg part II SICAV launched on 25th April 2006, promoted by the German Bank im Bistum Essen eG (Bank in the diocese of Essen), managed by the Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH, based in Vienna, and advised by Geneva based Symbiotics S.A. UBS Funds Services Luxembourg S.A. acts as fund administrator and UBS (Luxembourg) S.A. as custodian to the fund. Dual Return Fund– Vision Microfinance promotes a sustainable delivery of financial services to the working poor. The Vision Microfinance helps people in developing countries to escape from poverty. So far over 200 m USD have been distributed in the form of 206 loans to 88 different MFIs in 28 countries. The Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency was launched by Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH in September, 2010. The Fund promotes a sustainable delivery of financial services to the entrepreneurially active, but unbanked population in many developing countries. Vision Microfinance Local Currency Fund is the first Luxembourg-registered microfinance investment fund investing globally solely in the local currencies of emerging and frontier market countries. The Fund’s activity of lending in local currencies contributes to the process of sustaining private money inflows to the microfinance industry, positively impacting the lives of many low income people in developing countries. The Fund enables investors to have an involvement into a diversified portfolio of microfinance debt instruments denominated exclusively in the local currencies of the developing countries of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Financing in local currencies enables the Fund to enter new markets extending financial services through MFIs to reach a greater number of micro-entrepreneurs. It also helps MFIs and their clients to escape unwanted exposure to exchange rate risk.

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The European Fund for Southeast Europe, known as EFSE, was launched on 15th December 2005 and represents the first public-private partnership of its kind. Led by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), EFSE is among the three largest microfinance investment vehicles in the world. The fund manager is Oppenheim Asset Management Services in Luxembourg and fund advisor is Finance in Motion, based in Frankfurt am Main. Citibank Luxembourg acts as fund administrator and custodian. The Etimos Fund Global Microfinance Debt is an open-ended SIF-SICAV launched the 17th of January 2011. The overall objective of the fund is to offer to socially responsible investors financially and socially sound investments to contribute to the sustainable development of emerging market economies by facilitating investments in micro and small enterprises and producers. The Fund seeks to achieve this purpose investing in microfinance institutions providing financial services to low-income people and boosting micro, small and medium enterprises, and in producers’ cooperatives fair trade oriented and/or organic oriented. The fund is open to well-informed investors and it is denominated in Euro. The fund invests in a broadly diversified basis in short to medium term senior debt instruments in USD and Euro, investments in USD are fully hedged. The Fund was promoted and is managed by Consorzio Etimos S.c., an Italian based investment manager specialized in microfinance and producers’ organizations with over 20 years of successful experience and good track record. Banque Degroof Luxembourg S.A. is the Custodian and Administrative agent. The Fonds Européen de Financement Solidaire (FEFISOL) fund has been incorporated in July 2011. Founders of the project are three European social investors viz. ALTERFIN- Belgium, ETIMOS- Italy, and SIDI –France, with more than 25 years of experience in the field of microfinance in forty developing countries. Sal Oppenheim Bank is the custodian bank of FEFISOL. The fund is entirely dedicated to Africa and at least 75% of its investments are to be made in Sub-Saharan Africa (up to 25% of the portfolio may be invested in North Africa). FEFISOL’s strategy is to support organisations with high added value in rural areas. The Finethic Microfinance S.C.A. SICAR’s purpose is to invest directly or indirectly in a risk capital investment company within the meaning of the Article 1 of the SICAR Luxembourg law of 15th June 2004, in the field of Microfinance. More precisely, the Company’s investment objective is to finance, directly or by investing in investment vehicles active in the field of Microfinance, unlisted Microfinance Institutions located worldwide, in particular in emerging countries and developing countries. The KCD-Microfinance Fund I "Global" and II "Latin America" is a special fund with an umbrella-structure managed by the German BANK IM BISTUM ESSEN eG. The Cooperative Bank invests worldwide directly and indirectly in microfinance institutions and has build up its own management-know-how in this field. The Sub-Fund I denominates in Euro, the Sub-Fund II in U.S. Dollars. The funds are for institutional investors, who want a long-term commitment. The funds invest in loans, subordinated loans and equity investments in U.S. Dollars, Euros and in some cases in local currency. The Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (LMDF) is an open ended SICAV (part II) was launched in 2009. The objective of the Fund is to support smaller microfinance institutions (tier 2 and tier 3 MFIs) in Africa, Latin America and Asia through a range of adapted financial instruments including debt, equity and guarantees. LMDF is open to public, institutional and retail investors in Luxembourg and has a total subscribed and committed capital of € 18 million. The Fund aims at balancing financial and social objectives by targeting a financial return in line with inflation. LMDF is advised by ADA which is an international development NGO active in microfinance. Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat (Luxembourg) is the custodian of the fund.

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The Microfinance Enhancement Facility initiated by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, co-managed by Blue Orchard Finance S.A., Cyrano Management S.A. and responsibility Social Investments AG, the Microfinance Enhancement Facility SA, SICAV-SIF (MEF) was setup in 2009 as a USD 500 million facility to support microfinance institutions (MFIs) facing difficulties in financing as a result of the global financial crisis and to ensure that low-income borrowers in developing countries continue to have access to finance. Moreover, the MEF is flexible to meet the needs of MFIs as they change with the evolving financial situation and financial sector, without crowding out the private sector initiatives. In particular, the facility was set up to help stabilize funding for systemically important MFIs and their clients. The MEF opens the possibility to provide financing to more than 100 microfinance institutions in up to 40 countries and to support lending to as many as 60 million low-income borrowers in many of the world’s poorest countries.

The Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) was launched in May 2010. REGMIFA is a Luxemburg-based investment fund which seeks to foster economic development and prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa essentially through the provision of local currency medium to long-term debt financing to financial institutions serving micro, small and medium sized enterprises. Complementary to the fund’s investment activities, a dedicated Technical Assistance Facility focuses on technical support to client institutions. Initiated by the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, REGMIFA is a Public-Private Partnership that combines funds from public and private investors, including the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) (also acting as structuring agent), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC), the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), the Spanish Development Bank (ICO), the International Finance Company (IFC), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Investment and Promotions Company for Economic Cooperation (PROPARCO), the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and recently the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO). The Fund is managed by Symbiotics Asset Management SA, a specialized asset management company based in Geneva.

The responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund is managed by Credit Suisse Microfinance Fund Management Company, Luxembourg, and the investment advisor is responsAbility Social Investments AG, one of the world's leading asset managers for social investments in developing countries and emerging markets. The fund is administrated by Credit Suisse Asset Management Fund Service (Luxembourg) S.A. Credit Suisse (Luxembourg) S.A. is the custodian of the fund. The fund invests mainly in debt and to a limited extent in equity and started its operations on 25th November 2003. The responsAbility SICAV (Lux) is an umbrella structure and consists of the three sub-funds responsAbility SICAV (Lux) Mikrofinanz-Fonds, responsAbility SICAV (Lux) Microfinance Leaders and responsAbility SICAV (Lux) Financial Inclusion Fund. It is a self-managed investment company administrated by Credit Suisse Asset Management Fund Service (Luxembourg) S.A. The investment advisor is responsAbility Social Investments AG, one of the world's leading asset managers for social investments in developing countries and emerging markets. Credit Suisse (Luxembourg) S.A. is the custodian of the fund. The Rural Impulse Fund SA, SICAV-SIF is a microfinance investment fund that contributes to the alleviation of poverty in rural areas in developing countries. The Fund leads the way in closing the gap in the supply of rural microfinance by extending commercial funding to those MFIs, which are

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successful in providing financial services to rural poor, while being financially sustainable. The investors include both development finance institutions (the European Investment Bank, FMO from the Netherlands, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and BIO from Belgium) as well as a group of private investors. RIF has been developed and promoted by Incofin, which also acts as fund advisor to the Fund. The Rural Impulse Fund II SA SICAV-SIF is a closed end fund, launched in May 2010 as a follow up fund of Rural Impulse Fund. The objective of the Fund is to invest into sustainable, commercially viable MFIs providing financial services to the rural poor. By doing so, the Fund wants to strengthen the financial structure and capacity of rural MFIs and improve their outreach and impact. The investors include both development finance institutions (the European Investment Bank, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ( KfW), FMO, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), NMI as well as a group of private investors. RIF II has been developed and promoted by Incofin Investment Management, which also acts as a fund advisor to the Fund. The Selectum SICAV SIF – BL Microfinance was launched at the end of October 2010. The fund mainly invests in MFIs targeting MSMEs. The objective of the fund has been to allow the adoption of the industry’s double bottom line principle of stable financial return and positive social impact. Thus, the fund invests principally in short-term secured and unsecured debt instruments issued by microfinance institutions. To allow an optimization of both the portfolio’s assets quality and average liquidity, the fund has also invested in debt securities issued by governments in emerging markets. Selectum Sicav SIF – BL Microfinance is managed by Banque de Luxembourg Investments S.A. which allows it to benefit from the asset management firm’s experience in a wider set of asset classes and investment universes The Triodos SICAV II - Triodos Microfinance Fund aims to increase access to financial services for the working poor in developing countries. The Fund was launched in March 2009 and is open to institutional investors, private banking clients and high net worth individuals across Europe. Triodos Microfinance Fund is managed by Triodos Investment Management, a leading investor in the microfinance sector since making its first investments in MFIs in 1994. As an investor in microfinance, Triodos Investment Management wants to contribute to the development of a sustainable financial sector in developing countries that is based on fair pricing, transparency, poverty alleviation and care for the earth. The Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund was launched in 2008. It gives the investor the possibility to gain exposure to the Global Microfinance Sector. The fund takes a wide view on Microfinance. Its principal target is the democratization of the access to working capital for individuals and companies. All types of businesses, from micro over small and medium sized entities get a fair chance for growth. Among others, housing, energy and agribusiness are favoured investment topics. “Wallberg Global Microfinance Fund” combines return on investment with social responsibility.