British International Investment

Stichting Medical Credit Fund

East AfricaWest AfricaConsumer - Health

In 2009, the foundation launched the Medical Credit Fund (MCF) to finance small and medium-sized healthcare facilities in Africa, improving access to quality services for low-income patients.

MCF provides flexible local currency debt finance to healthcare providers through risk-sharing partnerships with local financial institutions.

Borrowers include hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, pharmacies and training institutes. Alongside debt capital, MCF provides healthcare providers with technical assistance to help improve their quality and increase their capacity.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

In 2017, CDC made a $10 million long-term loan to MCF through the Impact Fund. Other investors include the IFC, OPIC, Calvert Impact Capital, Dutch DFI FMO, US development agency USAID, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Pfizer Foundation.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

The private sector in Africa delivers half of the continent’s healthcare services but is chronically underfunded. Small and medium sized healthcare providers, in particular, find it difficult to access capital to expand clinic capacity or for other upgrades.

Over the years, MCF has built a well-performing SME loan book in partnership with financial institution partners in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria.

To date, MCF has disbursed over 1,900 loans together with 18 financial partners, to over 800 different healthcare clinics and pharmacies, which service more than 1.3 million patients per month.

Of these, over 56 per cent are low-income patients and 75 per cent comprise women and children. MCF has also overseen the delivery of training to nearly 2,000 staff within their partner financial institutions, and provided expertise to improve the business management and quality of services delivered by healthcare providers.

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.

    :
    D2186
    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.

    :
    East Africa, West Africa
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania
    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.

    :
    Consumer - Health

    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.

    Investment type :
    Debt
    Start date :
    May 2017
    Amount :
    $10m
    Currency of investment :
    USD
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Netherlands

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