The Refugee Investment Facility
The Refugee Investment Facility (RIF) aims to enable displaced people to become self-reliant and to lead dignified lives.
Why invest?
Investments will enable business growth in support of more job creation and better access to relevant services or products. This will improve the financial inclusion of refugees and host communities, allowing them to sustain themselves and live dignified lives.
How does it work?
The fund can deploy a range of financing instruments depending on the needs and opportunities of each investee. It will also link investees to supportive eco-systems of relevant partners and provide assistance to support business development and refugee impact.
The Refugee Investment Facility (RIF) seeks to address the challenges of unemployment, lack of economic opportunity and limited access to services and goods that are faced by refugees and their host communities. The impact-linked loans provided through the RIF will allow enterprises to maintain or build their focus on refugee and host community populations, grow their businesses, and be financially rewarded through interest rate reductions for the direct and measurable impacts they have on the refugee and host communities they are serving.
The RIF is implemented through a partnership between iGravity and DRC Danish Refugee Council, combining impact investing expertise with refugee insights and global presence and networks. iGravity specialises in impact investment and innovative finance solutions. The RIF will offer patient investments of up to 5 years to local companies and start-ups. These are selected based on their potential to positively impact refugees and host communities.
The fund is launching in Jordan and Uganda, two countries with significant long-term refugee populations, established DRC programming, and a demonstrated need for RIF’s approach.