Investment Funds

EMERGENCY LIQUIDITY FACILITY - ELF:

Since 2002, Omtrix has been working with the MultilateralInvestment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) to define and structure a facility thatwill help the microfinance sector deal with temporary liquidity shortages caused by exogenous events. Omtrix was entrusted with managing ELF www.emergencyliquidityfacility.com, a US$ 40million loan facility that serves as a lender of last resort to MFIs located in Latin America and the Caribbean by providingshort-term loans to MFIs whose liquidity position has been affected by unforeseen, external events such as natural disasters or economic shocks.
ELF operates by pre-qualifying MFIs, which are submitted to a thorough evaluation, and later monitoring their financial performance to assure solvency and institutional health. Working with prequalified MFIs allows ELF to act very quickly when one or more of the affiliated institutions encounter a liquidity crunch due to an exogenous event that threatens their normal operation.
Since ELF started operating in 2005, it has pre-qualified 56 MFIs in 13 countries in the region. As of June 30th, 2009, ELF has provided emergency loans totaling US$ 22.8 million to 25 MFIs (with an average loan size of US$900,000). All loans are current and/or have been paid as scheduled.
ELF also operates a technical assistance facility (the Technical Support Facility or TSF) through which it has helped 51 MFIs improve their level of risk preparation and create disaster recovery plans to address emergencies caused by exogenous events.
The last evaluation of ELF, carried out in November 2008 by an independent consultant, succinctly captured ELF’s progress: “In its first four years, the ELF -TSF has been highly-effective and has achieved or surpassed expectations. Both ELF and the TSF have been cost effective, well managed and transparent, and they have created higher awareness and positive benefits within the MFI sector in the region. ELF’s ability to respond quickly (1-2 weeks) to the emergency needs of affiliated and even previously non-affiliated MFIs following disasters has earned it considerable respect within the micro-finance sector as well as the donor-lender-investor community.”

SHORT TERM LIQUIDITY FACILITY- STLF

The Short Term Liquidity Facility, www.stlfacility.com, was initiated in 2005 as a complement to the Emergency Liquidity Facility; the STLF provides short-term loans to MFIs facing temporary liquidity gaps caused by unexpected funding shortages. This US$ 5 million Facility complements ELF by serving as a non-systemic “Lender of Last Resort.” Omtrix acts as the agent for Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund for Social Investments, which provides the resources. The STLF has provided 25 loans to 17 MFIs totaling nearly US$ 14 million and has proven its ability to quickly turn-around its loans (in less than two weeks). All loans are current and performing according to the initial terms.

ANTARES FUND

The Antares Equity Participation Fund, www.antaresfund.com, is a US$ 5 million for-profit equity investment fund sponsored by Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund LLC. This Fund aims to foster a secondary market for MFI shares by acquiring,holding, and trading equitystakes in MFIs. Omtrix developed and manages the Fund and as such, identifies investment targets, conducts due diligence and structures potential investments, as well as identifies potential buyers and conducts sales negotiations.
The Fund makes equity investments in MFIs, principally in Latin America and the Caribbean, with solid operations and market position. Antares generally acts as a passive investor, acquiring minority holdings (3% to 15%) in MFIs, mostly through secondary market purchases. The Fund hopes to benefit from the value appreciation of individual holdings over time and more generally, to unlock greater value in currently illiquid MFI shares by strengthening the secondary market.
As of June 30, 2009, Antares Equity Participation Fund had invested, through secondary market operations, in the equity (common shares) of eight regulated and privately owned microfinance institutions.  As of the same date, Antares had invested a total of US$6.3M.