40253 - Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund, L.P.

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

40253

Company Name

ANTHEM ASIA MYANMAR SME VENTURE FUND, LP

Date SPI Disclosed

Feb 23, 2018

Country

Myanmar

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Projected Board Date

Apr 19, 2018

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Active

Last Updated Date

Jul 1, 2021

Department

Equity Portfolio Management

Industry

Funds

Previous Events

Approved : Jul 17, 2017
Signed : Aug 30, 2018
Invested : Nov 1, 2018

Sector

Small Business Fund

Additional Project Attributes

Blended Finance

Project Description

Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund, L.P. (“Anthem Asia” or “the Fund”) is a 10-year closed-end generalist private equity fund targeting to invest in small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) in Myanmar. The Fund is seeking to raise between US$40-50 million in total capital commitments. The project will be supported by the Blended Finance Facility of the IDA18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window (“PSW”), created by the World Bank Group to catalyze private sector investment in IDA countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected states. The Blended Finance Facility (“BFF”) will help the SME-Ventures funds attract more private sector investors and reach more SMEs.

Associated Advisory Engagement

The Fund is likely to be supported by IFC's advisory programs targeted at meeting specific technical needs or improving the skillsets of both Anthem Asia and their investees.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	250.0

Development Impact

Expected development impact includes (i) national and regional expansion of local businesses, job creation and economic growth through providing SMEs access to risk capital, (ii) operational, financial, environment and social improvement of local businesses through knowledge transfer by the Fund and (iii) private sector development through acceleration of growth of various target investment sectors.

IFC's support as an investor in the Fund is expected to promote the adoption of ESG best practices. IFC is expected to have a seat on the Fund's Advisory Committee, and will be able to provide guidance on fund management and governance best practices. Through co-investments, IFC can further provide funding to the Fund's portfolio or pipeline companies when these companies require additional capital.

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

The proposed project is an IFC equity investment in a generalist private equity fund in Myanmar and has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with the IFC Sustainability Policy. Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund, L.P. (the Fund) will primarily focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Myanmar in technology, consumer goods and services, business services, agribusiness, travel, healthcare and education sectors. The Fund’s prospective investments comprise mostly IT and internet service, catering, education, food production and transportation equipment production and service activities. The underlying E&S risks of the Fund are therefore considered limited and are few in number, site specific, largely reversible and can be readily addressed through mitigation measures. The project will be required to comply with IFC Exclusion List extended by additional “no-go activities”, the host country E&S laws and applicable Performance Standards (the project E&S requirements).

In accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy, IFC will periodically disclose the names, locations and sectors of sub-projects that have been supported by IFC investments through private equity funds, subject to regulatory constraints and market sensitivities. The sub-project(s) listed below reflect(s) the status of the portfolio as of January 1, 2021.

Investee	Country of Investment	Sector
Rangoon Tea House	Myanmar	Other Food
Shan Orchard	Myanmar	Fruits and Vegetables
Thalun	Myanmar	Elementary and Secondary Schools

The main E&S risks of the Project derive from business activities of the investee companies of the Fund and the Fund’s capacity and systems in place to assess and manage such risks. The Fund manager has developed an environmental and social management system (ESMS) and will be required to revise and implement the revised ESMS to ensure it is commensurate with the level of E&S risks associated with investees’ operations and is aligned with the project’s E&S requirements. The Fund will also establish and maintain a functioning communication mechanism for external stakeholders.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Anthem Asia Management Limited
Ms. Josephine Price
Managing Director
+95 9255 7377 04
josephine.price@anthemasia.com
Floor 3, 608 Merchant Street (Corner Merchant & 31st), Pabedan Township, Yangon, Myanmar
http://anthemasia.com/

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IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

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Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

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Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

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Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Task Title & Description	Anticipated Completion Date
Nominate officers	06/30/2018
Staff Training	06/30/2018
Revise E&S management system	06/30/2018
Establish an external communication mechanism	06/30/2018

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