The fund’s objective is to create value for investors by identifying, investing in and supporting medium-sized private companies located primarily in the St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod regions. Developmental Impact It is expected that the fund will generally provide capital to established and profitable companies in order to expand capacity and develop as a potential market leader. Aside from providing scarce equity capital, QCR will add value to the investees by helping the companies to professionalize their corporate structures, implement appropriate management and financial accounting systems, and also create strategic linkages with Western European and other Russian companies. IFC Role: IFC has three important roles to play in the fund: As an anchor investor, IFC will play a catalytic role in attracting other investors to the fund. Institutional investors are typically wary of investments outside the Moscow area, particularly for smaller and medium sized local companies. QCR believes that IFC’s participation as an anchor investor and as a member of the Advisory Board and observer on the Investment Committee would be crucial in order to encourage commercial investors to broaden their investment horizons into Russia's regions. IFC’s involvement in reviewing transaction opportunities from an early stage will be crucial in assessing the availability of loan finance for potential investees. In this capacity, IFC will play a key role in mobilizing longer-term loan finance for mid-sector Russian companies, which is scarce in Russia, particularly for companies outside the Moscow region. IFC’s work on corporate governance issues in Russia has provided the corporation with specific insights into some of the more widespread governance problems in Russia. As improving the governance standards of investee companies will be one of the Fund’s objectives, the fund manager will be able to draw on IFC’s expertise through interaction with IFC on the Advisory Board and at the Investment Committee.