The impact investor’s second credit impact fund aims to improve access to education, financial services and affordable housing for underserved demographic groups in developing markets.
Blue Earth Capital, a Swiss-based specialist impact investor, has closed its second credit impact fund above target at $108.5m (€103m).
By beating an initial $100m target set for the BlueEarth Credit Strategies II fund, Baar-Zug-based the company said it has now exceeded $1bn in total assets under management across its investment strategies. These include private credit, private equity and funds and co-investments.
Blue Earth Capital is owned by the Blue Earth Foundation, a Swiss-based non-profit whose initiatives and business ventures aim to deliver a more equitable and sustainable future. Blue Earth Capital’s investments, which aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, have impacted the lives of more than 4.8 million people, creating 2,401 jobs and financing over 224,000 clients since its creation in 2015, according to its 2022 impact report.
“The above-target closing is a testament to the strength of BlueEarth’s impact offering, where we have demonstrated an ability to combine financial returns with strong, measurable impact,” Amy Wang, head of private credit at Blue Earth Capital, told Impact Investor.
‘Challenging market’
BlueEarth Credit Strategies II mobilises capital in industries including financial inclusion, agribusiness, affordable housing, energy access, and healthcare in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It aims to improve access to education, financial services and affordable housing for underserved demographic groups in developing markets. Since its inception in 2017, the fund has made three successful exits and realised an internal rate of return of more than 12%.
“The interest for investment alternatives that can help deliver a more equitable and sustainable future continues to grow, something I’ve experienced first-hand over the past decade working in this space,” Wang said.
Although Wang pointed out that the market over the past year had been “challenging,” Blue Earth Capital had been able to attract investors, including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, for its second dedicated credit impact fund for three reasons.
“Essential, high-impact industries are particularly investible given high resilience across volatile markets,” Wang said. “Private impact credit is an asset class that is well-suited to deliver outsized returns within volatile markets, and BlueEarth’s hands-on approach is very well positioned to support growing businesses in those essential, high-impact industries.”
Blue Earth Capital has an ‘end-to-end’ business model that scales its impact via its sole owner, the Blue Earth Foundation.
“This means that our profits, including 50% of the carried interest, are recycled and used anew by the foundation for additional impact initiatives,” Wang said. “And this is particularly attractive to major developmental finance institutions such as the U.S. Development Finance Corporation.”
