ERSTE RESPONSIBLE
MICROFINANCE
Investing with a social impact
Social Impact
ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE is a fund of funds that aims to provide funding for start-ups and microenterprises in emerging economies, thereby creating economic livelihoods. For this purpose, the fund invests in microfinance funds or microfinance bonds and, to a lesser extent, shares in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microenterprises. Please note that investments in investment funds entail both opportunities and risks.
The structure and distribution of the microloans for which ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE had indirectly provided funding as at the reference date are illustrated by the figures below.*
Fund of Funds with a Focus on Microfinance Funds
Use of the Funds from Microfinancing:
> 87,700 micro-borrowers
were supported in 2023/24. As the funds are used to support entire families and to create more than one job when granted to companies, the number of livelihoods secured is far greater.
2,695 euros (median of MFIs)
are paid out in loans. The average loan amount is 4,079 euros.
340 microfinance institutions
ensure that the fund’s resources are available to the widest possible variety of borrowers spread across 93 countries around the world.
Structure of the Microloans granted:
61 % of loans are granted to women
Empirical microfinance data shows that loans granted to women have a greater positive social impact.
58% of loans granted in rural areas
By focusing on rural areas, funds are purposefully directed towards the development of economically disadvantaged regions. The fund promotes 66 organisations (AVCAs) supporting farmers by providing pre-harvest financing.
What is being funded?
84% funding of livelihoods
The fund primarily invests in microloans to create economic livelihoods and jobs, which has the most positive social impact. In addition to financing micro-entrepreneurs, this also includes providing funding for education and the construction of necessary housing.
16 % consumer loans
These often serve to cover immediate needs without creating sustainable livelihoods. The fund endeavours to keep the share of consumer loans low and to minimise the potential negative effects of the microloans while maximising their positive impact.
Data as of 31/05/2023
* These figures provide a snapshot of a specific point in time and may change over time. The data is calculated on the basis of the proportion of shares in microfinance funds held by ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE. Where applicable, the figures are prorated to reflect ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE’s share.
Sustainable Development Goals
All funds invested indirectly by the fund in microfinance instruments contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Individual loans may contribute to one or more of these goals. This therefore does not apply to those fund units of the umbrella fund or the sub-funds in which it invests that are held in cash, derivatives used to hedge currency risks, or other instruments not directly used for the granting of microloans. These are necessary for the functioning of the funds. As at 31 May 2024, this amounted to 0.2 per cent of the fund’s assets at the umbrella fund level.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations are at the centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to which all UN Member States subscribed in 2015. The 17 SDGs cover social, economic and environmental issues, focusing on the fight against poverty, education and health as well as clean water, forward-looking infrastructure, responsible consumption and joint efforts to combat climate change.
The following chart shows the investments of the fund in alignment with the SDGs. For example, health investments were allocated to SDG 3 “Good health and well-being”. Due to the special nature of microfinance instruments, it is not yet possible to give detailed percentages for the extent to which the total fund assets contribute to the individual SDGs (source: Erste Asset Management supports the UN SDGs).
Sources: Erste Asset Management, responsibility, Triodos, Symbiotics, BlueOrchard, C-Quadrat, Bank im Bistum Essen, Oxfam, Invest in Vision, data as of 29 May 2026 or latest data available from third-party funds. Where data was only partly available, the information shown was compiled based on the share of investments for which relevant data could be obtained or calculated. Some of the calculations are based on assumptions by the management company or the fund’s microfinance partners,
Disclaimer and legal notes
Disclaimer
This document is an advertisement. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS or to the Information for Investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG of the alternative investment fund and the Key Information Document before making any final investment decisions. All data is sourced from Erste Asset Management GmbH, unless indicated otherwise. Our languages of communication are German and English.
The prospectus for UCITS (including any amendments) is published in accordance with the provisions of the InvFG 2011 in the currently amended version. Information for Investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG is prepared for the alternative investment funds (AIF) administered by Erste Asset Management GmbH pursuant to the provisions of the AIFMG in connection with the InvFG 2011.
The fund prospectus, Information for Investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG, and the Key Information Document can be viewed in their latest versions at the website www.erste-am.com within the section mandatory publications or obtained in their latest versions free of charge from the domicile of the management company and the domicile of the custodian bank. The exact date of the most recent publication of the fund prospectus, the languages in which the fund prospectus or the Information for Investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG and the Key Information Document are available, and any additional locations where the documents can be obtained can be viewed on the website www.erste-am.com. A summary of investor rights is available in German and English on the website www.erste-am.com/investor-rights as well as at the domicile of the management company.
The management company can decide to revoke the arrangements it has made for the distribution of unit certificates abroad, taking into account the regulatory requirements.
Detailed information on the risks potentially associated with the investment can be found in the fund prospectus or Information for investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG of the respective fund. If the fund currency is a currency other than the investor's home currency, changes in the corresponding exchange rate may have a positive or negative impact on the value of his investment and the amount of the costs incurred in the fund - converted into his home currency.
Our analyses and conclusions are general in nature and do not take into account the individual needs of our investors in terms of earnings, taxation, and risk appetite. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of the future performance of a fund.
The issue and redemption of unit certificates and the execution of payments to unit holders has been transferred to the Fund's custodian bank/depositary, Erste Group Bank AG, Am Belvedere 1, 1100 Vienna, Austria. Redemption requests can be submitted by investors to their custodian bank, which will forward them to the Custodian Bank/Depositary of the Fund for execution via the usual banking channels. All payments to investors are also processed via the usual banking clearing channel with the investor's custodian bank. In Germany, the issue and return prices of shares are published in electronic form on the web site www.erste-am.com (and also at www.fundinfo.com). Any other information for Shareholders is published in the Bundesanzeiger, Cologne.