navigation search belgian investment company for developing countries type public private enterprise industry financial services founded 2001 headquarters brussels belgium key people christophe soil chairman luuk zonneveld chief executive officer products development finance small and medium enterprise finance export finance import finance foreign investment finance development aid revenue aftertax 8.5 million 2013 total assets 632 million 2013 number of employees 42 2014 website homepage belgian investment company for developing countries bio is a private company based in brussels belgium . contents 1 overview 2 history 3 ownership 4 organisational structure 5 international presence 6 partnerships 7 see also 8 references 9 external links overview edit bio works to promote the creation of a strong private sector in emerging economies to enable them gain access to prosperity and sustainable development . bio invests directly in private sector projects . as of december 2013 update the company s total asset base was valued at 631.6 million consisting of 373.9 million in investments already funded and 173.7 in funds already committed but not yet disbursed . at that time nearly 100 projects worldwide had received funding from bio . 1 2 history edit bio was formed in 2001 to fund investment projects in developing countries with a view to help those economies attain some of the millennium development goals . at the beginning the company financed regional or local intermediary structures such as banks and investment funds . this was done to limit bio s risks allowing the company to benefit from the experience of more seasoned institutions . in 2004 it broadened its mission to the direct support of local smes in order to compensate for the reluctance of commercial banks which are generally hesitant to finance sme activities . in 2010 bio s scope of activities was widened to include the funding of private infrastructure . 3 ownership edit the company was started as a 50 50 joint venture between the government of belgium and soci t belge d investissement international s.a. belgian corporation for international investment also known as sbi bmi . the initial shareholders capital was 5 million . the belgian ministry for development cooperation provides further funding for onward lending . in 2014 the belgian state acquired full shareholdership of bio . organisational structure edit bio is organised in three main divisions or sectors 4 financial sector facilitates the support of microfinance institutions commercial banks non bank financial institutions investment companies and investment funds . the aim is to allow local smes to obtain long term finance . local smes invests directly in local smes and large companies with a local presence with focus on agribusiness in all matters concerning food crops intended for local consumption and export . in addition focus is also given to companies involved in breeding the processing of raw food and value addition . infrastructure invests in private or public private partnership projects focusing on energy water telecommunications and transport infrastructure where the main purpose is to support the local private sector . international presence edit the company is present in over 70 countries in africa asia and latin america . africa where most of the funding activities of bio are concentrated accounts for 34 % of the funding commitments of bio . 5 partnerships edit since 2001 bio has been a member of european development finance institutions edfi an association of 15 european bilateral development finance institutions . its mission is to foster cooperation among its members and to strengthen their relationship with the institutions of the european union principally with the european commission and the european investment bank eib . bio has a collaboration agreement with the centre for the development of companies cde . this partnership aims to seek out select and support entrepreneurs who need financing in the acp countries . in addition bio has joint funding arrangements with the international finance corporation and with the african development bank . 6 see also edit danish international development agency french development agency german investment corporation netherlands development finance company references edit 1 about bio history of bio bio s financing structure bio s international presence about bio s investment & development partners external links edit website of belgian investment company for developing countries bio website of sbi bmi retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title belgian investment company for developing countries & oldid 647147567 categories companies of belgiumeconomy of belgiumcompanies based in brusselscompanies established in 2001hidden categories articles containing potentially dated statements from december 2013all articles containing potentially dated statements navigation menu personal tools not logged 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