The proposed project is the creation of an investment company named Solidus (the company) which will make quasi-equity type investments in microfinance institutions in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC). The IFC investment will be an equity investment of up to $3 million. Other co-investors are expected to be financial institutions like IDB, Norfund, Finnfund, KfW and Desjardins. The management company will be Cyrano Management, a fund management company experienced in debt investments in microfinance institutions (MFIs) in LAC and other regions. Cyrano Management will also be a shareholder of the company with a small equity stake. The purpose of the project is to fill in a gap for quasi-equity type funding which is expected not only to grow the capital base of the MFIs but also to diversify and improve their overall capital structure. Through this investment IFC would encourage financing to commercial MFIs, thus supporting the development and growth of microfinance sector in LAC.