BIO

The mission of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) is to promote the creation of a strong private sector in developing and/or emerging countries, to enable them to gain access to sustainable development and lasting social prosperity and thus reduce poverty. BIO invests directly in private sector projects and thus makes a structural contribution to the socio-economic growth of those host countries.

BIO can invest directly in SMEs with up to € 5.000.000 per project, in €, $ or local currency.

BIO works as a catalyst by operating in areas that are generally neglected by the commercial banks as they believe the risk factor is too high. The financial returns are clearly very important, but BIO also takes into account other parameters that are equally essential, by investing in projects that contribute to sustainable development and that offer a definitive socio-economic added value.
Belgium, on behalf of the Ministry for Development Cooperation, actively helps to accomplish the Millennium Objectives, which state that extreme poverty (an income of less than 1$ a day) must be reduced by half between now and 2015, with respect to 1990. BIO sees itself as a dynamic player that works to create efficient entrepreneurship that will pave the way for social equilibrium and a truly sustainable development economy.

BIO’s strategy is two-fold: it aims at SMEs and Microfinance, via investments in intermediary financial institutions (banks, investment funds, etc.), microfinance institutions, and in small and medium sized enterprises.

BIO invests in all sectors of activity, with the exception of those named in the exclusion list of the International Finance Corporation or IFC. Its operations focus more specifically on the following sectors:
- Banks
- Leasing/factoring Companies
- Investment Funds
- Microfinance Institutions
- Agro-industry
- Breeding
- Water access
- Infrastructure

Geographical focus
BIO is operational in the 109 countries classified by the OECD as “Least Developed Countries”, “Low Income Countries” and “Lower-middle Income Countries”, also known as the DAC-list*, with a special emphasis on the partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation and on less developed countries.