The Manager is owned by Ashmore Group plc, Inverlink SA, and Messrs. Pedro Nel Ospina and Mr. Francisco Lozano. Ashmore is a UK-based global private equity group with US$31 billion in assets under management, listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: ASHM). Ashmore is known for distressed investing in emerging markets but is also active in infrastructure investing in Latin America through Ashmore Energy International. Inverlink is one of Colombia’s leading investment banks. Messrs. Ospina and Lozano held several senior positions in the Colombian government as well as the private sector, including (for Mr. Ospina) being CEO of Corporación Financiera Colombiana before launching the Fund. The Bogota-based fund management team is led by Camilo Villaveces, previously at Inverlink, and Messrs. Ospina and Lozano, along with staff from Ashmore and Inverlink who will be seconded to the team. The Fund’s investment and divestment decisions will be made by an Investment Committee, which consists of senior executives from Ashmore and Inverlink. In addition, Macquarie Group, a global investment bank and a leader in infrastructure investing, has been hired as technical advisor.

The Fund’s target size is $500 million. IFC is considering an investment of up to the lesser of $20 million or 20% of the equity of the Fund.

20.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	20.0

* These investment figures are indicative

The Fund plans to invest in 10 to 15 infrastructure projects in Colombia, in sectors such as transportation, power, oil and gas, water, telecommunications, waste management, and logistics.

The project is expected to provide scarce equity capital to infrastructure projects in Colombia, which in turn will provide better and more affordable access to transportation, energy, and utility services. Standard fund and infrastructure indicators will be used to measure the development impact of the project. The Fund will also help develop new vehicles to channel local pension fund liquidity into infrastructure projects. Until recently, pension funds were not permitted to make such investments.

IFC's expected role and additionality include: (i) advice on fund structuring and terms, (ii) knowledge of specific industry and project structuring, (iii) environmental and social performance standards, and (iv) participation in the fund governance. IFC's investment is also part of IFC's counter cyclical investment role as a means of responding to the global financial crisis. As a result, IFC’s investment will facilitate attracting international investors to the Fund.

The project involves an IFC investment in a Private Equity Fund that will make infrastructure investments in Colombia targeting Transportation, Power, Oil & Gas, Water, Telecom, Waste Management, and Logistics subprojects. It has been classified as a Category FI project. The proposed portfolio involves investments in sectors with potentially high environmental and social impacts. The main risk of this project is that these impacts are not adequately identified and managed. During appraisal, IFC will confirm the fund’s expected portfolio and sectors of investment and determine the Applicable Performance Requirements, which are likely to include the IFC FI Exclusion List, the social and environmental laws and regulations of Colombia and the IFC Performance Standards.

IFC will also review the capacity of the Fund to manage social and environmental risks and to establish a Social & Environmental Management System (“SEMS”). The fund manager will be required to: develop or upgrade a SEMS, prior to disbursement to the satisfaction of IFC and commit to implement the SEMS to ensure that its investments/activities are in compliance with the Applicable Performance Requirements. It will also be required to submit a periodic report to IFC.

For all subprojects, the Fund will need to satisfy IFC that the subprojects are in compliance with the Performance Standards or have a satisfactory action plan to bring the subprojects into compliance within a reasonable time frame prior to investing. Additionally, given the potential high risk present in the sectors of investment, IFC will review the implementation and performance of the Fund’s SEMS for the first few projects, prior to the Fund’s investment, to ensure that the SEMS is adequate to identify and manage the subproject’s environmental and social impacts.