Independent review of eco.business Fund

We executed an independent strategic mid-term review of the biodiversity-focused eco.business Fund

Established in 2014, the eco.Business Fund in Latin America and the Caribbean (EBF LAC) is an impact investment fund promoting sustainable business practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable growth in Latin America. This is achieved through the provision of long-term financing and technical assistance to investees. Steward Redqueen was engaged to review the progress of the EBF LAC, including its institutional capacities, processes and procedures, and to measure the success of the activities implemented so far.

We conducted extensive semi-structured interviews with staff, investee companies, financial intermediaries and industry peers. Part of these interviews were executed during visits to various partner financial institutions and their clients in Ecuador and Costa Rica. This was complemented by a quantitative portfolio analysis to make sense of how the programme is performing against its strategic development targets, both financial and impact-focused. Based on our findings, we developed recommendations to help sharpen the fund’s future focus.

The resulting evaluation was discussed in various sessions with the Fund Manager, the Board as well as a group of investors. It helped inform discussions on the future direction of the fund and provided insights for the more recently created EBF subfund in Sub-Saharan Africa.