Dutch development bank FMO is considering a proposal to invest $10 million in Nepal-focused Dolma Fund Management’s second private equity fund, according to a disclosure.
The new fund, Dolma Impact Fund II, will provide growth capital to small and medium enterprises in healthcare, renewable energy, technology, and other sectors to help create a positive social and environmental impact in the country.
DealStreetAsia had earlier reported that Dolma Fund Management was seeking to raise as much as $75 million for its second fund, a successor to Dolma Impact Fund I that closed at $36.6 million in 2018.
Dolma’s debut fund invested in as many as nine companies with operations in Nepal across renewables, tech/AI and healthcare sectors. FMO is an existing backer of Dolma and has previously injected $5 million in the fund manager.
“FMO’s investment in Fund II will be from two government funds, MASSIF and Building Prospects. [The] objective of the investment is to continue supporting the first-time fund manager, Dolma, and assist the team in deploying capital towards impactful transactions that result in both economic and social impact,” the international lender said in a disclosure.
In May, FMO proposed to offer a 0.4 million euro grant ($438,075) to One to Watch (OTW), an impact investment management company based in the Netherlands with subsidiaries in Nepal and Myanmar.
In Nepal, the bank had earlier proposed to extend $35 million debt financing for the development of Upper Trisuli 1, a 216 MW greenfield hydropower project developed by IFC-backed Nepal Water and Energy Development company.
