Caspian Advisors is proud to announce that its portfolio companies are among the first to update their annual ratings by GIIRS (Global Impact Investment Rating System). GIIRS is a ratings platform for impact investing that provides comparable social and environmental performance data on high impact investment funds and companies seeking investment capital. Caspian and its portfolio companies recognize that social businesses must demonstrate their impact in a way that moves beyond anecdotes and inspires investor confidence. Caspian is one of the first GIIRS Pioneer Fund Managers and two of its funds – the India Financial Inclusion Fund (IFIF) and Bellwether Microfinance Fund (Bellwether) – are participating in the annual ratings updates, reflecting Caspian’s commitment to establishing comprehensive, comparable benchmarks of companies’ and funds’ social impact in the same way financial performance is benchmarked.

GIIRS ratings are rigorous and transparent ratings of company and fund impact reviewed by an independent third party. GIIRS scores companies on a scale of one to five stars in 4 impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, and Environment. These impact areas capture both (a) companies’ impact business models designed to solve social and/or environmental problems and (b) the companies’ impact through operational activity (sometimes referred to as ESG practices). The Fund Rating comprises a portfolio score based on the company ratings plus a fund manager assessment score.

The Caspian portfolio includes nine active investments in microfinance institutions Equitas Holdings Private Ltd, Ujjivan Financial Services Private Ltd, Sonata Finance Private Ltd, Arohan Financial Services Private Ltd and Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Ltd; housing finance companies Micro Housing Finance Corporation Private Ltd and Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd; and financial inclusion enablers like technology company A Little World Private Ltd and affordable housing developer Value and Budget Housing Corporation Private Ltd.

The average score for the Caspian companies is 123 or 4 stars – in the top 2 quintiles of GIIRS rated companies – with five companies scoring in the top quintile (5 stars). The score of 123 compares to an average score of 100 (4 stars) for all GIIRS rated companies operating in emerging markets (n=293).

The assessments highlighted the following best practices among portfolio companies:

• Serving Those In Need: The GIIRS updates confirmed that portfolio companies are on track towards one of Caspian’s key social objectives of working with those clients least likely to have access and providing them with products/ services in a viable manner.
• All Caspian companies provide a socially beneficial product or service through improved and increased access to financial services.
• 8 Caspian companies work with traditionally underserved customers and on average, 93% of these companies’ clients are classified as low income, poor, or previously excluded (vs. 76% for other GIIRS emerging markets companies);
• 3 out of 7 have over 50% of company's branches and/or microfranchises located in areas with no other MFIs/bank branches.
  • Institutional orientation / mindset to have a positive effect on clients’ lives: All companies have a commitment to measuring social impact, and they track key performance indicators (KPIs) and/or outcomes over time.
  • Best-in-Class Governance: All 9 companies in the Caspian portfolios scored in the top quintile in Governance, signifying each company’s commitment to mission, high stakeholder engagement, strong governance structure and controls, and overall transparency.
  • Commitment to Employees: 7 out of 9 companies scored 5 stars in the Worker impact area, earning points for providing supplemental health insurance to employees, offering skill-based training to non-managerial workers to advance their core job responsibilities, and employing managers from chronically underemployed populations.
  • Job creation: Across the portfolio of companies, 20% new full-time and part-time jobs were created in the last year, now employing a total of 11,078 workers.

Caspian’s portfolio companies have been key partners throughout the GIIRS process, underscoring their dedication to transparency in social performance reporting. Caspian portfolio company Janalakshmi Financial Services says it is “privileged to have IFIF and its partner Caspian Advisors as one of its early investors. These institutions supported the recent infusion of over Rs. 3.25 billion of capital in Janalakshmi, which was the largest transaction in the Indian microfinance industry since the 2010 Andhra crisis. Investments by IFIF and Caspian Advisors are critical in supporting growth, innovation, and furthering financial inclusion, and GIIRS has been an important partner in this effort, enabling us to communicate our non-financial success internally, to our stakeholders, and to potential investors.”

About Caspian Advisors: Caspian Advisors is an investment advisory firm that invests capital in socially responsible, multiple bottom line businesses delivering financial and social value. Caspian’s assets under management total over USD 100 million, spread across two funds: the first-generation Bellwether Microfinance Fund, a pioneering Indian on-shore equity and debt fund launched in 2005 that invests in start-up and mid-sized Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), and the second-generation India Financial Inclusion Fund, a USD 90 million fund that was set up in August 2008 as an off-shore India-focused equity fund, investing in high-growth, small to medium MFIs, affordable housing providers and enablers of financial inclusion. Caspian works with its partner Grassroots Capital Management PBC (a certified B Corp based in the US) to further the objectives of financial inclusion, capital appreciation, and social performance initiatives. Caspian and Grassroots were among the initial 40 signatories of the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF) and were recently selected for ImpactAssets 50 (IA50) showcase of impact investment fund managers for the third consecutive year. For more information, please contact info@caspian.in or +91 40 66297100 / 66465884, or visit the website www.caspian.in.

About Janalakshmi Financial Services: Janalakshmi Financial Services (Janalakshmi) is a for-profit MFI with assets of more than USD 200 million (INR 12 billion) as on date, with the entire promoter stake held in a not-for-profit, Jana Urban Foundation. This is the only MFI in India structured in such a manner, with the deliberate intent of keeping the social spirit intact. Janalakshmi’s market-based approach to financial inclusion is defined by three distinct characteristics: first, an exclusive focus on servicing the needs of the poor; second, a strong customer-value driven approach in designing financial products and services; third, the centrality of technology and processes as the foundation of a scalable enterprise. For more information on Janalakshmi, please visit www.janalakshmi.com.

Caspian Advisors Private Limited

Caspian Advisors Private Limited

Caspian Advisors is an investment advisory firm that invests capital in socially responsible, multiple bottom line businesses delivering financial and social value. Caspian's assets under management total over USD 100 million, spread across two funds: the first-generation Bellwether Microfinance Fund, a pioneering Indian on-shore equity and debt fund launched in 2005 that invests in start-up and mid-sized Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs), and the second-generation India Financial Inclusion Fund, a USD 90 million fund that was set up in August 2008 as an off-shore India-focused equity fund, investing in high-growth, small to medium MFIs, affordable housing providers and enablers of financial inclusion. Caspian works with its partner Grassroots Capital Management PBC (a certified B Corp based in the US) to further the objectives of financial inclusion, capital appreciation, and social performance initiatives. Caspian and Grassroots were among the initial 40 signatories of the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF) and were recently selected for ImpactAssets 50 (IA50) showcase of impact investment fund managers for the third consecutive year.

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