(The MIF) July 14, 2011 – The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) will invest $5 million in the AGF Latin America Fund, a regional VC fund investing in SMEs operating in the agribusiness and food sectors in the Southern Cone, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Capitalizing on the region’s historical and continued competitiveness in these sectors, and based on long-term global demographic growth projections which will increase the requirement for greater efficiency and productivity in food production, the Fund will contribute to the trend of increased technification among companies operating across the agribusiness and food value chain, and seek to position the companies for growth in domestic, regional and international markets.

The fund will be managed by ACPE Advisors S.A. (GP), a management company formed in 2009 and lead by experienced investment professionals from the region; Mr. Sebastian Popik (Managing Partner), Mr. Jorge Ahumada (Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer), and Mr. Carlos Braun (Non-Operating Partner). These individuals bring deep financial, operational and advisory expertise in the sectors targeted which will assist the companies in capturing the significant sector growth opportunities, while having a positive development impact in contributing to company formalization and improved corporate governance, in addition to a multiplier effect through linkages to local SME suppliers and the generation of direct and indirect employment in rural areas. The regional scope of the Fund will promote VC activity in countries which have lesser developed VC ecosystems, including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The fund plans to raise USD $60 million, and has received support prior to its first formal close from five family offices and private individuals, and the CAF.

The fund will invest in up to 8 SMEs operating in the agribusiness and food sectors, with a diversification along the agricultural value chain. Among the sectors targeted are: i) input provision, including agrichemicals, seeds, plant treatment, irrigation and logistics; ii) animal nutrition; iii) animal proteins, focusing on niche areas such as aquaculture; iv) high value-added fruit and vegetable production; and v) local consumer packaged foods.

“The MIF regards this Fund, which will invest in the agribusiness and food sectors, as very relevant in a time in which food security is a global concern, and all eyes are on Latin America as one of the regions that has the potential to provide to the rest of the world in the coming decades. The Fund will follow a strategy of regional integration, building a regional footprint through its investments. Additionally, the Fund is expected to have an important developmental impact, linked to the benefits the rural producers and small farmer suppliers will receive from the companies invested by the Fund, in addition to employment in rural areas“, said MIF project team leader Susana García-Robles.

About The Multilateral Investment Fund
The Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, plays a leading role in the development of conducive ecosystems to finance entrepreneurship, and is an active investor in seed and venture capital funds in Latin America and the Caribbean; effectively creating a model of a Fund of Funds with development goals. The MIF focus is providing Access – Access to Basic Services, Access to Finance, Access to Markets and Capabilities- driven by the conviction that leveling the Access playing field is necessary in order to create more opportunities, spurring productive, equitable economic growth and providing a sustainable means of exiting poverty. In its 17 years of experience, the MIF has been an active investor supporting sixty-two seed and venture funds representing a portfolio of over 326 invested companies, creating regional capacity through a network of partnerships and alliances with the public and private sector, including VC associations and fund managers.