India's Yes Bank to set up PE fund with IFC

A memorandum of understanding, signed by the two parties today, will be the foundation of discussions for setting up the fund, which will focus on small and growth enterprises (SGEs) across sectors in the north-eastern India.

In a joint statement, IFC and Yes Bank said the fund was intended to help foster India's economic and social development. The fund corpus will focus on investments in tourism and hospitality, food and agribusiness, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and affordable housing.

"This initiative will leverage the expertise and resources of IFC and YES BANK to develop long-term solutions that can be replicated in other low-income and fragile regions," said Jin-Yong Cai, executive vice president and CEO at IFC.

Last year, IFC provided a $75 million loan to help Yes Bank expand its network to reach underserved people, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and agricultural borrowers in India. The organization has been collaborating with institutions across sectors to foster economic and social development in the region.

"We believe that there are substantial untapped opportunities existing in the North Eastern states of India that need to be honed by the private sector in order to create local livelihood opportunities resulting in greater financial inclusion in the region," added Rana Kapoor, manaing director and CEO at Yes Bank.

IFC and Yes Bank will also explore joint programs for technical assistance and advisory services to support private sector development.

Last month IFC added to its track record for supporting small businesses in India's poorer states by committing around $25 million to Lighthouse Funds for its latest India-focused vehicle. The GP is targeting a corpus of $125 million for India 2020 Fund II, which will invest in SMEs.

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• South Asia
• IFC
• India
• SME
• Financial Services