EFSE receives LuxFLAG Microfinance Label for the fourth consecutive time

Frankfurt am Main, 18 May 2011 – The Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG) has renewed its microfinance label for the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), one of the largest microfinance investment funds worldwide. This is the fourth consecutive year that the EFSE receives the LuxFLAG label. This confirms the EFSE’s commitment to supporting access to finance for micro and small enterprises and meeting internationally recognised responsible finance standards at the same time.

The EFSE, initiated by KfW - the German Development Bank - with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Commission in December 2005, was granted the LuxFLAG label for the first time in 2007. It was one of the first three microfinance investment funds which have received the label.

LuxFLAG was formed in Luxembourg in 2006 as an independent, non-profit association, backed by representatives from the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the State of Luxembourg, to encourage private investment in microfinance investment funds. To this end, the LuxFLAG label certifies that microfinance investment funds meet a specific set of qualifications, a quality guarantee ensuring investors that they are truly investing in microfinance. It is not a guarantee of performance nor does it constitute a recommendation to invest.

The criteria to obtain a LuxFLAG label include having at least 50 percent of the microfinance investment funds’ total assets invested in microfinance. Microfinance investment funds must also demonstrate transparency, be subject to supervision by a national regulator and have at least 25 percent of their microfinance portfolio invested in microfinance institutions rated by a microfinance rating agency recognised by LuxFLAG.
Since its inception, LuxFLAG has granted its label to 16 microfinance investment funds. These microfinance investment funds currently hold approximately EUR 1.9 billion in assets under management to which the EFSE contributes more than a third (Source: www.luxflag.com).

About the European Fund for Southeast Europe
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) aims to foster economic development and prosperity in Southeast Europe and the European Eastern Neighbourhood region, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. It channels long-term finance primarily for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) – and private households in the form of home improvement loans – through locally based partner lending institutions. As access to finance is seen as a key success factor for the development of the micro and small enterprise segments, the EFSE focuses on assisting local financial sectors in strengthening their ability to ensure adequate and sustainable financing. Supporting the EFSE’s investment activities is the EFSE Development Facility, which provides partner lending institutions with technical assistance, consulting and training services to build their operational capacities and professional management. The EFSE was formed on 15 December 2005 from four multi-donor programs managed by KfW (German Development Bank). The EFSE is the first public-private partnership of its kind and the first privately managed fund in development finance to leverage private funding for MSE finance in the target region. Capital is provided by donor agencies, international financial institutions as well as private institutional investors, including the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Commission, the Government of Albania as the first EFSE shareholder from the target region, the Austrian Development Bank (OeEB), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), KfW Entwicklungsbank - the German Development Bank -, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Netherlands Finance Company (FMO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) as well as Sal. Oppenheim and Deutsche Bank. Oppenheim Asset Management Services, Luxembourg, and Finance in Motion, Germany, are the EFSE’s fund manager and fund advisor.

Media contact EFSE
Samir Djikić
Manager Communications
Tel: +49 (0)69/977 876 50-26
E-mail: press@efse.lu