The Meloy Fund I, LP, the world’s first impact investment fund dedicated to supporting sustainable coastal fisheries in Indonesia and the Philippines, today announced a $5 million investment from FMO, the Dutch development bank. This brings the fund to a final close at over $22 million. FMO joins a diverse group of family offices, investment managers, and foundations already invested.

Working with partners ranging from finance institutions to civil society organizations and investors, FMO invests in over 80 countries, supporting jobs, income generation and a more livable planet. A supporter of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, FMO’s role extends beyond financing, helping businesses to operate and grow transparently in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. FMO’s approach demonstrates that strong financial returns and positive impact in developing countries and emerging markets can go hand-in-hand. The investment in the Meloy Fund is made through the MASSIF fund, which is managed by FMO on behalf of the Dutch government.

“FMO is proud to join the Meloy Fund and contribute to the creation of economic opportunities for small-scale fisheries in Indonesia and The Philippines” said Maurice Scheepens, Investment Officer of the Agri, Food & Water department at FMO. “The partnership with Rare, which provides amongst others technical expertise and networks, ensures that inclusive development is linked with the conservation of critical marine habitat.”

“With support from FMO, the Meloy Fund is in a strong position to demonstrate how private capital can support sustainable coastal ecosystems and communities in the Coral Triangle,” said Dale Galvin, Managing Director of Rare’s Sustainable Markets group and Managing Partner of the Fund. “We’re thrilled to partner FMO, which brings a keen eye to impact investing opportunities, and a breadth and depth of institutional experience that will help us deliver significant triple-bottom-line results to our investors.”

Together with global conservation organization Rare, The Meloy Fund seeks to invest in fishing and seafood-related enterprises in Indonesia and the Philippines that will lead to better management and protection of historically undervalued community-based coastal fisheries, as well as opportunities to boost the livelihoods of local, small-scale fishers.

Together, Rare estimates these two nations represent 4.3 million fishers, 2.7 million tons of fish, 21 million hectares of critical marine habitat and $4 billion in latent value to be unlocked if sustainability can be achieved.

Note: This release does not constitute an offer of an investment security by The Meloy Fund I, GP, LLC or related entities.

ABOUT THE MELOY FUND

The Meloy Fund is an impact investment fund that will incentivize the development and adoption of sustainable fisheries by making debt and equity investments in fishing-related enterprises that support the recovery of coastal fisheries in Indonesia and the Philippines. The General Partner of the Fund is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rare. To learn more about the Meloy Fund, please visit http://www.meloyfund.com.

ABOUT RARE

A 4-star Charity Navigator-ranked NGO, Rare is a global leader in the use of behavior change to achieve conservation and development goals. Rare has trained more than 400 community leaders and government employees in 56 countries in campaign planning and social marketing, equipping them to deliver community-based solutions based on natural and social science, while leveraging policy and market forces to accelerate positive environmental change. Rare then works to scale that impact to help deliver the same kind of change elsewhere. To learn more about Rare, please visit http://www.rare.org and follow us on Twitter: @rare_org.

ABOUT MASSIF

The MASSIF fund is managed by FMO on behalf of the Dutch government. MASSIF supports financial inclusion through its work with financial institutions, supporting them on their journey to empower women, young people and rural entrepreneurs in low income countries and fragile and conflict-affected states. MASSIF furthermore aims to stimulate financial innovation with a view to broadening access to finance.

ABOUT FMO

FMO is the Dutch development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a more than 45-year proven track-record of empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With a committed portfolio of EUR 9.2 billion spanning over 82 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector developments banks globally. http://www.fmo.nl