Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries
| Public-Private Enterprise | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
|
Key people
|
Christophe Soil Chairman Luuk Zonneveld Chief Executive Officer |
| Products | Development finance, small and medium enterprise finance, export finance, import finance, foreign investment finance, development aid |
| Revenue |
 Aftertax:€8.5 million (2013) |
| Total assets | €632 million (2013) |
|
Number of employees
|
42 (2014) |
| Website | Homepage |
Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), is a private company, based in Brussels, Belgium.
BIO works to promote the creation of a strong private sector in emerging economies, to enable them gain access to prosperity and sustainable development. BIO invests directly in private sector projects. As of December 2013[update], the company's total asset base was valued at €631.6 million, consisting of €373.9 million in investments already funded and €173.7 in funds already committed but not yet disbursed. At that time, nearly 100 projects worldwide had received funding from BIO.
BIO was formed in 2001 to fund investment projects in developing countries with a view to help those economies attain some of the Millennium Development Goals. At the beginning, the company financed regional or local intermediary structures, such as banks and investment funds. This was done to limit BIO's risks, allowing the company to benefit from the experience of more seasoned institutions. In 2004, it broadened its mission to the direct support of local SMEs in order to compensate for the reluctance of commercial banks, which are generally hesitant to finance SME activities. In 2010, BIO’s scope of activities was widened to include the funding of private infrastructure.
The company was started as a 50-50 joint venture between the Government of Belgium and Société Belge d’Investissement International S.A., (Belgian Corporation for International Investment), also known as SBI-BMI. The initial shareholders' capital was €5 million. The Belgian Ministry for Development Cooperation provides further funding for onward lending. In 2014, the Belgian State acquired full shareholdership of BIO.
BIO is organised in three main divisions or sectors:
Facilitates the support of microfinance institutions, commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions, investment companies and investment funds. The aim is to allow local SMEs to obtain long-term finance.
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