Investment Management
We invest in high-impact SMEs that are too large for microfinance but not yet ready for commercial bank loans.
Our flexible mezzanine financing fills the missing middle, providing patient capital that aligns with each enterprise's growth cycle. We pair every investment with technical assistance to strengthen operations and governance.
We design financing that fits the business, not the other way around. Loans from $100,000 to $3 million, with terms up to six years and structures tied to cash flow.
Through investment management, GBF:
• Provides mezzanine debt with grace periods and repayment tied to revenue
• Offers local currency options to shield SMEs from foreign exchange risk
• Recycles repayments into new investments, compounding impact over time
• Monitors performance and provides ongoing technical support throughout the investment period
Our Track Record
Since 2008, we have deployed capital through multiple funds and programs, building a portfolio that demonstrates both financial discipline and measurable impact.
KEY STATS
$80M+
Portfolio managed
21
Portfolio company exits
80+
Investments since 2008
3x
Capital mobilisation rate upon GBF exit
80%
Portfolio companies showed operational improvement
GBI-I Fund (2010–2022)
Grassroots Business Investors Fund I L.P (GBI-I) was set up in 2011 as GBF’s first for-profit financing vehicle. The aim was to have the blended structure to enable GBF’s mandate: reaching impactful but challenging SMEs with mezzanine-type financing managed by GBF, which would in turn also support investees with technical assistance for early-year funds.
GBF raised $41M in three classes of investment in GBI-I and $8M in grant funding for technical assistance.
FUND-LEVEL RESULTS
$41M
Invested in 33 companies
6.3M
11,130
Women impacted
Direct jobs created
3.47M
Low-income earners supported
3X
Post-investment capital mobilisation rate
Grassroots Business Partners Portfolio (2008-2011)
Prior to our formation in 2008, we operated as the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Grassroots Business Initiative. Grassroots Business Partners Portfolio (GBP) spun out of IFC to begin making financial investments in for-profit companies, using 100% grant funding and delivering business advisory services.
FUND-LEVEL RESULTS
$7.7M
Invested
58%
Portfolio in Africa
$5.8M
in Technical Assistance
47%
Portfolio in agribusiness
17.1M
Beneficiaries impacted
15
Successful exits
35+
High-Impact Companies
Blooming Roots Fund
Fund for the Reactivation and Reconstruction of Providencia and Santa Catalina (FRP)
Blooming Roots: Fund for the Reactivation and Reconstruction of Providencia and Santa Catalina (FRP) launched in March 2022. This first-of-its-kind fund provides support for the reconstruction of businesses in Colombia’s Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands affected by Hurricane Iota, a devastating Category 4 tropical cyclone, which tore through the islands in November 2020.
The Fund is sponsored by Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia (Bancoldex) and the United Nations Development Programme, as anchor investors, and managed by AMPLO Inversión de Impacto (AMPLO) with GBF.