The Spark+ Africa Fund, created to catalyze investment in clean and modern cooking has managed to attract a number of private investors since its launch in March 2022. The companies that Spark+ invests in are not only able to grow their production capacity and technology, but their outreach as well proving that clean cooking is a sector that is developing rapidly and is in need of the continued support of public capital at a much larger scale.

Introduction :The Middle East (ME) and North Africa are among the regions with the lowest microfinance presence worldwide. Additionally, women and those living in rural communities are disproportionately affected by financial exclusion.

The EMF Microfinance Fund has achieved a significant milestone of USD 500m in Assets under Management (AuM) for the first time in its history, thanks to the support of our Partners and Investors and the hard work of the Enabling Qapital team! With this achievement, we can now impact the lives of more than 11 million micro-borrowers and help them achieve financial inclusion through microfinance, and for that, we thank you!

Gender equity and financial inclusion are closely related concepts that are critical for promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty. 

The most recent episode of the Enabling Qapital Moving Money to Meaning Podcast centers around EQ as a diverse and progressive company. In this episode, our marketing associate, Sharon Kimondo gets the opportunity to have an in-person sit-down chat with one of our founders and Managing Partners, Chuck Olson, who shares with us his first-hand experience in running a company as diverse and inclusive as EQ. Follow the link below to listen in on their very interesting and insightful conversation.

In Spring 2023 the Senior Management Team (SMT) traveled to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where they had the opportunity to meet the regional team responsible for the EECCA region (Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia).

Gopal is an Indian businessman who specializes in the art of weaving, a skill that he learned from his late father. His life changed when his friend referred him to one of the MFI’s in our EMF Microfinance fund in India. Watch the video below to get a first-hand account of his experience since borrowing the loan, as well as his plans for the future.

Why Enabling Qapital?

I have a passion for impact investment, and EQ’s mission and vision align with my aspirations.

Why Enabling Qapital?

Great team, great opportunity, and a great product- impact investing, a very meaningful task

Why Enabling Qapital?​

For the opportunity to work in a diverse team and gain international experience​

Imagine a world in which women had the same access to financial services as men. Financial services are a critical part of economic development and can have a huge impact on the lives of women and their families. Yet far too many women around the world are shut out of the financial system.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Spark+ team on their third investee! Bidhaa Sasa, which means ‘Products Now’ in Swahili, is a lean start-up based in Bungoma County in Kenya that focuses on goods and services that improve the quality of life for rural families.

Moving Money to Meaning is #Teamwork!

Our Regional Managers recently concluded their official trip to Zurich. This fruitful endeavor provided the senior management team an opportunity to sit down with the different team leaders from the various regions to reflect on the past year and develop the goals and strategies for the future.

We are excited to announce that Xavier Pierluca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Enabling Qapital, together with Sistema.bio / Sistema Biobolsa Alexander Eaton, will be joining the CCAC Household Energy Hub’s ‘Insights Meeting’ tomorrow from 14:00 CET to 15:00 CET, to discuss the different ways we can scale up finance to transform clean cooking.

We are excited to announce that Xavier Pierluca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Enabling Qapital, together with Sistema.bio / Sistema Biobolsa Alexander Eaton, will be joining the CCAC Household Energy Hub’s ‘Insights Meeting’ tomorrow from 14:00 CET to 15:00 CET, to discuss the different ways we can scale up finance to transform clean cooking.

Enabling Qapital AG is proud of the dedicated team in the Emerging Markets for going the extra mile for the EMF Microfinance Fund to find the best-positioned Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) with the most meaningful impact.

An article was published in the Handelszeitung Business Newspaper this Sunday morning, on the lessons that microfinance can teach us in dealing with crises.

Thank you Women In Sustainable Finance International for the great opportunity to be the host for the kick-off 2023 and talk about the often overlooked #SDG1 – #NoPoverty. We are happy to see such big interest sparking engaged conversations.

EQ finally has a fully-fledged branch in Nairobi, Kenya which will serve as a Hub for the whole of Africa. The opening of this new branch reflects the growing importance of Africa for Enabling Qapital. Not just for the EMF Microfinance Fund and Spark+ Africa Fund but also for future funds to be added to the EQ shelf.

Ali & Ali, Barristers and Corporate Consultants is a leading corporate and commercial law firm based in Lahore, Pakistan. The Firm, led by Managing Partner Syed Reza Ali advises microfinance banks and institutions, offshore investment funds, telecommunication companies, startups and fintech companies on corporate and commercial matters, banking law, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, competition law, and intellectual property law.

According to the UN, the global poverty rate increased from 8.3% in 2019 to 9.2% in 2020 due to the pandemic. Moreover, the current inflationary effects of the war may lead to an additional 75 to 95 million people in extreme poverty in 2022. While SDG 1 on eradicating extreme poverty is a crucial goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it may sometimes be less addressed than other objectives.

As we count down to the end of 2022, a quote by Akilnathan Logeswaran comes to mind, “On New Year’s Eve, the whole world celebrates the fact that a date changes. Let us celebrate the dates on which we change the world.”

Enabling Qapital is looking back on a successful 3rd year of existence. The year 2022 was marked by various accomplishments.

An article was published last Sunday in the “NZZ am Sonntag, a well-renowned Swiss newspaper: “Der Kapitalismus ist gut” which loosely translates to “When Capitalism is good. The author, Mark van Huisseling narrates how he spent his days on the road with Managing Partner Roger R. Müller, traveling through India.

Enabling Qapital operates as a management board with each, and every Senior Management Team Member provided with the same level of authority, responsibility, and accountability vis-a-vis its peers, employees, and the board of the company.

Yesterday, at exactly 2pm CET, the entire EQ team logged into zoom for the company call. The call was led by Roger Muller, who introduced his fellow managing partners: Remo Oswald, Christoph Dreher, Xavier Pierluca and Chuck Olson as they all made their presentations. The senior management team thanked the team for all their hard work in the past and presented their future goals and plans for the company. 

Why Enabling Qapital AG?

I believe in the power of investments to positively impact the society and EQ offers this platform.

The Middle East (ME) and North Africa are among the regions with the lowest microfinance presence worldwide. Additionally, women and those living in rural communities are disproportionately affected by financial exclusion. In order to curb this, EQ invests in MFIs that strategically lend to women, boasting a percentage of above 85% female borrowers. Additionally, these are institutions that not only offer mostly group lending but also where 40% of the total active borrowers are rural based.

Recently, an article was published in the Special Report Managing Climate Change section of the Financial Times and focuses on businesses that are developing alternatives to unsustainable, dirty and polluting cooking fuels. The article mentioned how the African Development Bank (AfDB) is supporting investment funds that invest in projects to replace firewood, charcoal and kerosene with clean biomass fuels, biogas, ethanol, electric stoves, and liquified petroleum gas (LPG), and our very own Spark+ Africa Fund was one of them.

This is an exciting time for all our investors and partners, as we will be hosting a breakfast event on 15th November, 2022 from 08:30 AM, at Mühlebachstrasse 164, in Zurich.