GSI and MAPFRE's impact fund closes five new investments

Global Social Impact Investments SGIIC, the impact investing fund manager of the Santa Comba family holding, has closed new investments for its GSIF International fund. This is an open private debt fund that invests in companies with high social impact that work on improving the lives of sub-Saharan Africa’s most vulnerable populations. The fund has already committed 27 million euros, mainly from institutional investors and family offices, and expects to exceed 50 million euros in managed assets. Its main investors are Santa Comba and MAPFRE.

GSIF International, the investment vehicle which is advised by MAPFRE AM, seeks to contribute to the economic and social inclusion of the billion most impoverished people in the world, while also generating a 5%-8% net profit for its investors. They do this by investing in border regions and emerging areas, focusing mainly on sub-Saharan Africa.

In the last 12 months the fund has made five investments valued at 3.5 million euros in high social impact companies. The two most recent ones, Burn (Kenya) and Babban Gona (Nigeria), are the result of a collaboration from the beginning between the companies and the team that carries out impact measurements for the management firm.

“GSIF International’s investments have the obligation of showing our investors and the market that it is possible to generate attractive financial returns while at the same time contributing directly and in a measurable way to job creation and as result to the social and economic inclusion of the world’s most disadvantaged groups. The investments we made in this last fiscal year are a step in the right direction,” stated Pedro Goizueta, supervisor of the management firm’s investments and operations.

“We’re very pleased with the collaboration we’ve established with GSI through this impact fund, which is very much in line with our philosophy and our commitment to socially responsible investments, especially those that prioritize the S in social. We care about social profitability, not financial profitability,” asserted Eduardo Ripollés, the institutional business development manager at MAPFRE AM.