IFC has appointed White Lotus Centre Pvt. Ltd. as the fund manager for Business Oxygen, IFC's $14 million SME ventures fund in Nepal. Business Oxygen is Nepal's first private equity fund, with IFC committing $7 million. The fund will make equity investments in high-growth SMEs in Nepal and provide them advisory support to help develop their operations and contribute to Nepal's economic growth. White Lotus aims to develop a robust portfolio of investee firms through Business Oxygen.

1. In New Delhi:
Minakshi Seth
Phone: +91 11 4111 1000
E-mail:MSeth@ifc.org
IFC Appoints White Lotus as Fund Manager for ‘Business Oxygen’ to Support SME Growth
Kathmandu, Nepal, October 01, 2015 — IFC, a memberof the WorldBank Group,has appointedWhite
Lotus Centre Pvt.Ltd.as fundmanagerfor BusinessOxygen,its SMEventures fundinNepal.White
Lotus will make equityinvestmentsin Nepal’s high-growthSMEs,helpingthemachieve theirpotential
and create more jobs.
BusinessOxygen Private LimitedisNepal’sfirstprivate-equityfund. IFChascommitted$7 milliontothis
$14 millionsector-agnosticfund. The fund combines riskcapital financingwithadvisorysupport tohelp
investee small andmediumenterprisesdevelopfundamentalfinancial systems,quality-assurance
standards,andcorporate governance frameworks.
SiddhantRaj Pandey,Chairman of White Lotus, said,“Despite the challengesposedby thisyear’s
earthquake,there issignificantpotential forSMEsin Nepal. White Lotuswill develop arobustportfolio
of investee firmsthat will become astrongcontributortoNepal’scommercial growth.”
Small andmediumenterprises are avital component of Nepal’seconomy.They employ1.75million
people and accountfor 22 percentof the country’s GDP. There are an estimated111,442 operational
SMEs, out of which 63 percentwere registered overthe lastdecade. Forthese SMEs,improved accessto
finance isessentialforgrowth.Only39 percentof firms inthe micro,small,andmediumenterprise
segmenthave adequate accesstofinance, comparedto78 percent of large enterprises.Business
Oxygenisdesignedtoaddressthischallenge.
“BusinessOxygenFund’sabilitytoprovide riskcapital toSMEsin Nepal providesavital solutionforfirms
too small ortoo new for traditional commercialbankfinancing,” saidWendyJoWerner,IFC’sCountry
Manager for Bangladesh, Nepal,andBhutan.“The fundisunique because itprovidesequity andalso
advisorytocatalyze the growthof small businesses.”
Tracy Washington,SME Ventures’programmanager, said,“White Lotuswill playanimportantrole in
developingthe private equitysectorinNepal.We lookforwardto supportingthe teamasit
demonstratesthatnewfunds,eveninchallengingmarkets,canachieve promisingresults.”
BusinessOxygen ispartof IFC’sSME Venturesprogram, whichsupportsthe creationof riskcapital funds
infragile,frontier,andpost-conflictmarkets. Withfourfundscoveringsix countries,SMEVenturesis
expandingtonewmarketswhere the needforriskcapital remainshighand potential forgrowth makes
private equityaneffective marketsolution.

2. About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the
private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our
capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term
investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential
role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
For more details about IFC’s SME Ventures, visit
http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/industries/home/sm
e-ventures