IGNIA Fund I Invests MXN$63 Million in MeXvi, Mexican Provider of Self-Construction Solutions

Friday, February 5, 2010

MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ — IGNIA Fund I, LP, the first impact investing fund in Latin America, announced today that it has invested MXN$63 million in Mexicana de Servicios para la Vivienda S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“MeXvi”), a leading provider of integral solutions for self-construction of low-income homes in rural and semi-urban settings.

“MeXvi provides the end user with accessible construction materials, design and technical assistance, so that the client can participate in the building of his or her own home to high quality standards under an affordable, versatile, fast and safe construction system,” said Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui, co-founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA.

Since its inception in 2006, MeXvi has pioneered the assisted self-construction of homes in rural and semi-urban areas in over 13 states of Mexico. MeXvi is the leading housing disaster relief agent in Mexico and has constructed approximately 4,900 homes houses via its assisted self-construction program and has collaborated in the reconstruction of many devastated communities, improving the lives of approximately 25,000 individuals. MeXvi’s construction system has been certified by entities such as the ONNCCE (Organismo Nacional de Normalizacion y Certificacion de la Construccion y Edificacion, S.C.) and the Catholic University of Guayaquil, Ecuador. MeXvi has also received CONAVI’s (Comision Nacional de Vivienda) National Housing Award on three different occasions.

Through its investment in MeXvi, IGNIA is partnering with Grupo Empresarial Kaluz, S.A. de C.V. (“Kaluz”), a privately held and highly respected Mexican conglomerate with its main interests in the mining, petrochemical, construction materials and financial industries.

“We are excited about IGNIA’s capital investment in MeXvi. IGNIA partners’ track record in microfinance and in developing successful business models to serve the BoP together with Kaluz’s proven history of creating value will serve as catalysts for growth. We aim to jointly develop new sales channels for MeXvi’s quality products by partnering with institutions that will provide our end customers with access to credit,” said Francisco del Valle Perochena, MeXvi’s Chairman of the Board.

“Families at the base of pyramid typically improve their housing through self-construction, incurring long lead times and high costs to end up with low quality homes. MeXvi provides an opportunity to dramatically alter the quality of life of these families through access to homes that improve safety, stability and health,” added Michael Chu, co-founder and Managing Director of IGNIA. “We are enthusiastic about the potential for MeXvi to generate high financial returns that will make possible extraordinary social impact.”

IGNIA Fund I, LP is an impact investing venture capital fund that focuses on high growth businesses in Mexico and throughout Latin America. By providing effective responses to the enormously underserved needs of the low-income population, IGNIA empowers entrepreneurship and generates social impact at the Base of the Pyramid while creating attractive financial returns for its investors. IGNIA invests approximately US$2 – $10 million per company over the life of an investment.

Source: PR Newswire (link opens in a new window)

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