This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.
Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Our investment in iMerit underlines our commitment to back companies that are creating skilled jobs, particularly for women, in regions where they are most needed. Advances in AI technology are normally seen as a threat to jobs, but iMerit has demonstrated that the opposite is true.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
Impact |
---|
Promote economic inclusion by creating jobs for the bottom 60 per cent of the population (SDG 10.1 & 10.2 & SDG 8.2, 8.5). |
|
How?
How? |
---|
Our capital will create jobs through business expansion and consistent wage increases, along with supporting growth of ‘impact workforce’. |
Who?
Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
---|---|---|
Employees |
80 per cent of the workers employed by iMerit reside in some of the poorest States in India and Bhutan. In India, 70 per cent of employees work outside tier 1 or 2 cities. |
About 50 per cent of iMerit’s employees live under $5.5 per person per day while 52 per cent of the workforce identify as female. |
How much?
Scale | Depth/Duration |
---|---|
We anticipate that the company will create 9.000 new jobs over the lifetime of our investment. In terms of absolute number of jobs created per $1 million revenue, iMerit’s scale corresponds to the top quartile of all our investments made. |
An end-beneficiary impact study that we conducted with a third-party in 2021 confirmed that the impact thesis at the time of investment holds true and that iMerit is deepening its impact over time. |
Contribution/additionality
Contribution/additionality |
---|
|
Grid score
Grid Score
To help us direct our investments, we previously used a tool called the Development Impact Grid. It scored investments out of four, based on two factors: the difficulty of investing in a country and the propensity of the sector to generate employment. This tool was used for investments until the end of 2021. Since 2022 it has been replaced by the Impact Score. |
---|
3.47 |
Risk
Execution Risk
|
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
-
Key facts
- Last updated
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2024
- Project number
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D4288
- Status
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- Bhutan, India
- Sector
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Communications & IT services
- Investment type :
- Equity
- Start date :
- November 2021
- Amount :
- $12.8m
- Currency of investment :
- USD
- Domicile
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- USA
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- 2X Gender Finance
Indicates whether the investment is ‘2X qualified’ using the 2X Challenge criteria. You can find out more here. It only applies to investments made from 2018 onwards, when the 2X Challenge was first launched.
- Fully qualified
- Last updated
Related investments made by BII into this company:
Investment name | Commitment | Region | Sector | Start date | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Investment 01 | $18m | South Asia | Communications & IT services | December 2019 | Active |