Latin America edition - De Partnership Verkiezing

InFMO – August 2014 – Nº 89
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Life on the Altiplano, Bolivia – Page 6
FMOxChange: Connecting Clients – Page 8
Suriname from East to West – Page 18
Latin Sounds – Page 20
contents – 3
Danielle Wempe
Summer
Party 2014
Editorial staff
SNS Fund
Travel story
Suriname
from East
to West
Felicie Ameschot
Danielle Wempe
Presan Pahladsingh
Guus Werners
page 4 + 5
page 18 + 19
page 31
Travel story
Life on the
Altiplano,
Bolivia
Sounds of
Latin
America
Agribusiness on
the ground
Angie Salom
page 20 + 21
Think Chocolate
Editor-in-chief
Angie Salom
Akiva Bonnick
Brendon Schur
Ellen Wolchek
Erica van Eeghen
Jeannette Kirkham
Juri van Dolderen
Felicie Ameschot
Mayke Geradts
Mark McLean
Photography
FMO Photo Club
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Sum y
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Editorial Office Address
FMO
Attn: Staff InFMO
Anna van Saksenlaan 71
Postbus 93060
2509 ab Den Haag
e-mail: [email protected]
Design
Atelier van Wageningen, Amsterdam
Print
Veenman+, Rotterdam
August 2014, Number 89
page 2
Bert Bichly Brinkenberg
Frederik Jan
van den Bosch
page 6 + 7
FMOx
Change:
Connecting
Clients
Andrew Shaw
page 8 + 9
Partnership
Verkiezing
2014
&
Interview
with Chantal
Inen
Erica van Eeghen
page 10 + 11
Travel story
FOM Brazil
Trip
Mayke Geradts
page 12 + 13
A journalist,
a motorcycle,
a book
Danielle Wempe
page 22
Column
Argentina
in the desert
2.0
Jorrit Dingemans
page 23
Home
Cuisine
with...
Karin’s
Surinamese
delicacies
Erica van Eeghen
Mayke Geradts
page 24 + 25 + 26 + 27
New Talent
page 28 + 29
2014 InFMO Sports
Great Photo Edfi Cup
Eowyn Teekens
Contest
page 14 + 15 + 16 + 17
page 30
InFMO
Photo
Contest
with new
standards!
Danielle Wempe
Angie Salom
page 32
SNS Fund
interview – 5
by felicie ameschot &
danielle wempe
The name “SNS Fund” is buzzing around.
Time for the InFMO editorial staff to meet Petra Visser and Nic Wessemius to learn more.
Official publications refer to the “SNS-FMO SME Finance Fund”, which is abbreviated
in the day-to-day FMO speak as the “SNS Fund”, and at SNS as the “FMO Fund”.
Petra, we are talking about funds, but what kind of
instrument is a fund, actually? The easiest way to
characterise a fund is a pool of money originating from
a number of investors, which is to be invested by a fund
manager in designated assets.
For us, FMO Investment Management (“FIM”), this
SNS Fund is a great opportunity to contribute to FMO’s
ambitious catalysing and impact targets as formulated
in our Strategy 2013 – 2016. Catalysing means: attracting
funds from commercial parties, such as pension funds, and
investing this capital in FMO generated projects.
We have to catalyse if we want to scale up our impact to
meet our ‘double the impact’ target.
The funding available from the SNS Fund will be
invested with the same standards as we attach to our own
investments.
FIM’s starting point is that it will develop funds in line
with FMO’s strategy. As commercial parties are more
and more interested in sustainable investment, the FMO
agenda really fits with their desires. The appetite for the
FMO portfolio is growing and there is more and more
willingness to participate in FMO’s risks. Over the years
and even in the 2008 credit crisis FMO has proven that
its way of banking is sustainable. Our track record is
sound and therefore attracts third parties as institutional
investors who do not have the same investment capacity
and experience as FMO has.
The SNS Fund is a debt fund oriented to indirectly invest
in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a life of
ten years, ultimately to manage forty investments or
loans. SNS Impact Investing, now called ACTIAM, acts
as the fund manager responsible for administration and
reporting and FIM as investment advisor responsible for
deal sourcing and monitoring. Currently 3 Dutch pension
funds, such as the railway pension funds and public
transport have invested in the fund since November last
year. Petra is happy to announce that two new investors;
a Dutch investor and an Italian party will enter. The
Italian party, generated through FMO’s network, is the
first foreign investor, even for ACTIAM. So, when you
are commuting by train or bus, you may realise that your
train conductor’s or bus driver’s pension money is invested
through the SNS Fund in emerging markets.
Next to the SNS Fund, FIM is developing an African
private equity fund-of-funds of which Marieke will be the
fund manager. A third debt fund together with ING is at an
initial stage.
Did SNS find FMO?
Nic, who acts as Senior Business Development Officer,
came into contact with SNS some three years ago, merely
because FMO and SNS have the same impact agenda. At
that time, FMO was not prepared to take up the role as
fund manager itself, neither in its strategic thinking, nor
in its operational abilities. Driven by FMO’s impact and
catalysing agenda, a partnership was born and those first
contacts resulted in the establishment of the SNS Fund.
What does the work of a Fund Manager entail in practice?
Remember that FIM and therefore the SNS Fund will
always be an integral part of FMO’s organisation. FMO’s
portfolio is the investment base. In practice it means that
Petra scrutinizes the LAC, ECA, Asia and Africa Financial
Institutions pipelines for SME lines that meet the SNS
Fund criteria. As these projects are reviewed and approved
through FMO’s systems first, the SNS Fund Investment
Committee (“IC”) will primarily assess these projects on
whether they meet the Fund’s mandate and if the Fund
will get a balanced portfolio composition. This IC will
have the final word, as SNS is licensed to operate as a fund
manager and FMO not (yet). In principle, the client will
not notice how its loan is funded: part from FMO’s balance
sheet and part out of the SNS Fund. Petra told us that right
now it is possible to offer bigger tickets to our clients. This
perfectly fits our client’s demands. Currently some 70% of
FMO’s clients in which the Fund participated had indeed a
need for a bigger loan. A client praised this possibility as “a
present”!
The SNS Fund is already known for its efficient way of
working (no double work!). This gives Petra and Nic great
comfort on their choice for the structure of the Fund and
future funds.
Nic mentioned that FMO is setting up its own fund
management systems and is applying for a fund manager’s
license. Some investors already supported that idea. Again
comfort that FIM is on the right track. A lesson learned is
that a fund should contain only one asset class. Institutional
investors are labelling their investments to equity or debt,
obviously for their own risk assessment. Mixed products
are difficult to assess and therefore will not “sell”. Petra,
Audacious goals are trendy. What about FIMs audacious
goal?
Nic mentions that FIMs audacious goal for 2016 is to (i)
have EUR 500 million under management, (ii) have a
fund manager’s license and (iii) have a fund management
system to operate independently, so not relying on partners
to be able to offer funds. This actually does not exclude the
Impact reporting is a big issue nowadays. What is the
partner approach going forward as partners also offer a
Fund’s approach?
valuable network of potential investors.
FIM will approach this reporting in two ways: through
Currently FIM is in a learning process and the SNS Fund
FMO’s impact indicators, which it is currently under
helps to “do the trick”. It is anticipated that the number
development and by telling stories. SNS was the main
of employees assigned to FIM will grow, but that of
driver behind adding cases to the impact reporting of the
Fund. Their statement is that if you have a good and honest course depends on the development of the funds under
story to tell, it proves your impact in a lively and accessible management.
way. Petra, together with the Evaluation Unit, adopted that
Petra finished her story by stating: “I would never have
point of view and is currently preparing stories of SMEs
applied for this fund manager’s position if the SNS Fund
to be told. She admits that in general FMO is not used to
was not fully aligned with FMO’s mission and its Vision
telling its stories, as we too easily assume that the outside
2050!”.
world has the same knowledge of FMO’s markets and
clients. FMO is not looking with “other glasses” at itself.
FD* Pension/Pro IPE* Pension Funds Awards;
Winners 2014
This issue of the InFMO is dedicated to the LAC region.
What about the Fund’s portfolio in that region?
The Spoorwegenpensioenfonds, the Pensionfonds
Petra enthusiastically mentions that at the moment LAC is
voor Openbaar Vervoer and the pension insurer
the biggest portfolio of the Fund; some 53% of outstanding
Zwitserleven together have been awarded for best long
projects is originated from that region. This big number
term investment, due to their investment in the SNSis due to the very fruitful cooperation with the LAC
FMO SME Fund, which provides financing to middle
Investment Officers and – to not say the least – the LAC
and small enterprises in emerging markets. This award
portfolio, together with ECA, contains the most SME lines,
which indicates the sophistication level of those economies. for the best long term investment recognises investment
strategies with a long term focus, generating financial as
The CD SME programme, initiated by LAC, contributed as
well as social returns.
well. ECA is now contributing some 30%, although it will
contest LAC’s position if the current pipeline materializes.
* FD (Financiele Dagblad) is the Dutch financial magazine; IPE
For the smaller number of SME lines in Africa and Asia it
is the magazine of IP Nederland for the Dutch pension – and
is anticipated that those regions will step up at a later stage.
together with many more FMO-ers, is currently very busy
setting-up the proper fund administration system, which
is required for acting as a fund manager. If you peek
around the FIM corner, you will see the system developers
struggling to get it all up and running!
What about reputational risk?
Historically FMO was not very known by Dutch
investment society. That is changing now. Obviously,
that brings more media attention for instance for hydroprojects. As such projects are labelled as responsible
investments you have to be able to address criticism. Petra
is convinced that due to our processes, our track record
and our integral ESG approach, we have a good story to
tell. The new complaints mechanism is a valuable tool to
counter-balance allegations.
investment community
“You guys are an army”
– Investor
“I have never seen project preparations as thorough as here at
FMO”
– System vendor
“We do this because of the FMO track record, nothing else”
– Partner
6 – travel story
by bert richly brinkenberg &
frederik jan van den Bosch
Life on the
Altiplano,
Bolivia
Two direct MASSIF investments
in a country of 10.5 million: one in
a rurally-focused MFI, a second
in a fund financing medium-sized
enterprises active primarily in large
urban centres. Is this opportunism or
investments that speak of a broader
strategy for supporting financial
inclusion through different value
chains?
Frederik Jan and I recently had the
chance to visit a local office of the
first client: an MFI with operations in
Patacamaya, Bolivia, a town one and
a half hours away from La Paz in the
Bolivian Altiplano. While FI-LAC’s
2013 debt/equity/CD investment in
Sembrar Sartawi is valuable in its
own right, the extent to which it
interlocks, complements, and supports
MASSIF’s investment in MASSIF’s
second investment in the country,
the Impulsor Fund, became apparent
when we met with Impulsor’s fund
management team and investee dairy
firm Delizia. The flat expanses of empty, arid
land that stretch beyond the eye in
Patacamaya belie the 4000 meters of
altitude of the Bolivian Altiplano, one
of the world’s highest plateaus. Small
patches of wheat and other grains
are interspersed with narrow parcels
of quinoa. The bulk of land around
us, however, remains untended, dry,
and cracked under the sun. Not much
seems to be happening here.
The Altiplano is characterized by
micro-parceling, the tendency for
land to be held in small, uncontiguous
pieces of land because of the
passing-down of claims over many
generations. This makes it difficult
to farm or herd on a larger scale, and
is probably one of the reasons why
much of the land remains unused and
populations continue to migrate to La
Paz and other population centres at
alarming rates.
Sembrar Sartawi’s mission has been
to provide micro-entrepreneurs at
the bottom of the bankable pyramid
in rural Bolivia with what it believes
to be the three essential ingredients
for improved livelihoods: access to
finance, technical assistance, and
access to markets.
As with any MFI operating in sparsely
populated rural areas, Sembrar
Sartawi’s clients served out of the
Patacamaya branch live within a 1.5
hour drive from the town. One of the
end-clients that Frederik and I met
was Luz Aida, an elderly woman
nearing 60 who tends to a dozen
cows together with her husband.
They have benefitted not only from
financing services, which have allowed
them to expand their number of cows
from only a handful some years ago,
but also from access to veterinarian
services and artificial insemination,
which improve the genetic makeup
and milk yields of their cows. Luz
Aida has seen milk yields rise from
a daily average of 7-8 liters per cow
to over 15 liters. These services have
been so well received by Sembrar
clients that non-clients are increasingly
interested in acquiring them as well
– a good sign that these expensive but
valuable services may one day be better
incorporated and priced into Sembrar’s
overall product offering. Sembrar relies
on CD money from financiers like
FMO to finance these services; a true
test of the sustainability and scalability
of the model will be when end-clients,
off-takers, and other stakeholders
fully value the service offering by
shouldering the attached costs.
Small cow-herders such as Luz Aida
bring their milk to a central collection
point – producer “modules” comprising
anywhere from a few to a dozen milk
producers – where La Paz-based dairy
firm Delizia collects their products
on a daily basis to take to its factory
near the capital. Delizia and Sembrar
Sartawi cooperate to clear payments
for the milk, which are in part used
to pay off interest on loans that the
farmers have taken out, a remarkably
efficient process for the producers, offtaker, and MFI alike.
While Luz Aida could still identify
each of her cows by name, it is her
ambition to continue growing her
herd. Her age notwithstanding, Luz
Aida continues to have big plans for
the future. She will turn to artificial
insemination for another few of her
cows, for which she pays a nominal
fee covering the materials costs of the
procedure – still only a fraction of the
overall costs that Sembrar incurs. She
further confessed, tongue-in-cheek,
that she will take out another credit
with Sembrar this year to buy a new
bull with which to keep her cows
happy!
While the bulk of MASSIF financing
in Bolivia (through Sembrar and
various LAC funds investing in the
country) goes towards supporting
microfinance institutions that go on to
provide financial and other services
to micro-entrepreneurs like Luz
Aida and Delizia, SMEs and small
corporates like it also benefit from
MASSIF financing. The second client
in this story is the US$35 million
Impulsor Fund, which invests in
promising SMEs looking to expand
and gain access to new sources of
funding in credit markets. Delizia
will attempt to issue its first bond this
year with CD support coming from
Impulsor and MASSIF. Managed by
the Fortaleza Group and investing
since 2011, Impulsor has the aim of
bridging the flush Bolivian capital
market with the capital-starved SME
segment needing alternative sources
of funding to traditional bank credit
with high collateral requirements.
While an important part of the fund’s
technical assistance efforts will go to
preparing and supporting investees
to issue public debt, Impulsor will
also support corporate governance
and IT infrastructure assessments
and improvements. Next to Delizia,
Impulsor holds 2-5 year sub-debt
investments in 8 SMEs active in
food manufacturing, textiles, and
packaging. With an aim of reaching 24
SMEs, the fund managers expect the
fund to be fully invested by 2015.
Delizia currently works with over
3,000 smallholder milk producers,
like Luz Aida in Patacamaya and
other towns in the Altiplano. The
company used to produce its ice
creams and dairy products with
milk powder, but began with fresh
milk from 1,600 producers in 2008.
Controlling the quality and proper
hygiene of milk brought into the
factory from the hundreds of pick-up
points continues to be one of the
main challenges of the firm. While
Delizia has agreements with at least
two other banks to coordinate the
financing and off-taking of milk from
smallholder producers, Sembrar
Sartawi is the only with an integrated
technical assistance offering that can
be leveraged to improve practices
amongst farmers. The Sembrar
representative that came with us to the
factory explained that she hopes that
off-taker Delizia will recognize the
value of the technical assistance that
Sembrar provides and hopefully help
in its funding moving forwards.
MASSIF seeks to support financial
inclusion and deepening that is
tailored to the needs of individuals
at the bottom of the pyramid and of
SMEs. While our footprint in Bolivia
isn’t too large, MASSIF has managed
to provide interlocking facilities that
complement and support each other
in an effective way. Is this model of
integrated financing and agri value
chains something that could be
replicated elsewhere?
8 fmoxchange
fmoxchange: connecting clients – 9
by andrew shaw
FMOxChange:
Connecting
Clients
Last year, with some fanfare, I was
a somewhat bemused winner of an
FMO innovation award to promote
ways of connecting our clients with
one another to help them answer
questions that are bothering them or
challenges that they face. The idea
was based on the simple premise that
although FMO doesn’t have all the
answers, it probably knows someone
that does. My initial pitch was to build
a platform for clients along the lines
of a dating website: bringing together
two entities in search of each other,
looking for the commonalities and
differences that excite, interest and
challenge.
IFMR Capital, formed in 2008, is a
non-banking finance company based
in Chennai, India. It aims to provide
efficient and reliable access to capital
markets for institutions that provide
debt to the financially excluded.
FMO has been a key partner to
IFMR since their inception, and
we presently finance 10% of their
balance sheet. FMO was involved in
setting up Locfund back in 2007 as
an innovative instrument to provide
smaller MFIs with local currency
funding. More recently they have
started to support MFIs to access
the growing securities markets, and
this is exactly where the opportunity
for cross fertilisation is: IFMR has
The thinking and evaluation of
already built a good track record in
options for a platform is still ongoing
this field. We put the idea to both
(suggestions and ideas welcome!), but
parties, and the idea was received
in order to get a demonstration effect
with a lot of interest. During the
and learn something about how people course of several fact-finding and
and organisations network and learn,
getting to know you phone calls,
the innovation team and I agreed that the terms of reference for the visits
we would first do it the old school way. were developed. Before you know
Matchmaking. Sort of like the friend
it, Fernando Sanchez and Enrique
you trust that sets you up on a date
Herrera from Locfund were boarding
that, hopefully, you enjoy.
a plane in El Alto Bolivia, getting
ready for their gruelling flight to
After multiple Knowledge Coffees
India. A couple of months later,
and chats with colleagues, some
a larger than originally planned
excellent ideas have emerged. The
Indian contingent was on its way
client reaction has been extremely
to Bolivia. The outcomes have been
positive. Let’s take the example of two fascinating and quickly move beyond
FI clients, one in India and one in
just the narrow capital markets
Bolivia: IFMR Capital and Locfund.
aspect that we originally envisioned.
Just one example: Locfund has a
well-developed approach to providing
clients with Technical Assistance that
IFMR may replicate.
This approach fits with our new
strategy to more effectively create
development impact by leveraging
our network. The FMOxChange
programme is one way that we
can play a facilitation role. It does
take some time and effort to set up
an exchange in terms of hosting
and facilitating conference calls,
supporting the drafting of sound terms
of reference and making sure that the
client reports back on the exchange.
But it is worth it: the clients learn a
great deal from peers, the fact that the
exchanging parties are from different
markets means that they aren’t too
afraid to share, FMO can have greater
impact and stimulate innovation in its
markets. Finally the clients value the
opportunity that FMO presents, and
enjoy the creative pressure cooker that
they are in.
So my request to you is: please
keep your ears and eyes open for
opportunities to connect our clients.
Consider whether an FMOxChange
could help solve a dilemma, stimulate
a debate that needs to happen or spark
an innovative way of approaching an
opportunity. The CD team is happy
to help and brainstorm and play the
matchmaker role.
10 – partnership verkiezing
by erica van eeghen
11
Partnership
Verkiezing 2014
The Partnership Verkiezing is an initiative for young professionals who compete in developing the best
business case to set out in a developing country. They have to convince their own organization to invest in the
proposed project as well as create partnerships with other relevant organizations which could help them further
to strengthen their business case. Thus, intrapreneur- and partnership are key aspects. The best team wins the
election and receives an amount to start the project and media coverage to promote the winning case.
Events
The Partnership Verkiezing consists of
different stages starting with the KickOff Event which is meant to introduce
young professionals to this initiative,
inspire them and make them start
thinking about the many possibilities
they have. This year there was a great
speaker’s line-up of Minister Ploumen
(Foreign Trade and Development
Cooperation), Paul Polman (Unilever)
and our own Linda Broekhuizen.
After this event, once some seeds
have been planted in the minds of the
young professionals, teams can sign
up for the election. By means of four
sessions of the ‘Partnership Academie’
they are supported to think about
the value proposition of their case,
how to sell their case internally, the
financial model, and what impact the
case intends to create. During these
sessions teams have to pitch their
projects and both relevant experts and
other participating teams can give
their input and support. Culminating
in November when the finals will
take place which promises to be
another inspiring day with interesting
speakers. This is the day when
the teams have the final chance to
promote and sell their cases and when
by means of a jury and public votes the
winner of 2014 is chosen.
FMO and the Partnership
Verkiezing
FMO sponsors the Partnership
Verkiezing since 2013, but delivers
- next to a financial contribution also expertise as many of our FMO
colleagues are involved as coaches,
experts, jury members. And last but
not least, we have a FMO team with
some bright young professionals who
are engaged in the competition.
On Wednesday September 24, FMO
and ICCO will organize the last
session of the ‘Partnership Academie’
which will focus on the environmental
and social risks and impacts of the
business cases. We can always use an
extra hand, in particular those of the
experts. In case you are interested to
join, please contact Erica van Eeghen
([email protected]) or Lisette van
der Boog ([email protected]) We
can promise you, it is a lot of fun!
Last year’s winners
To give you an idea of the type of
teams and companies that joins
the competition, here is a list of the
winners of 2013:
Albert Heijn/ICCO
Best New Partnership Award
for Corporates
The business case of Albert Heijn
is focused on South African
farmers who are assisted in joining
the distribution chain. Through
this Albert Heijn is able to offer
avocados at a much better price and
quality, while it helps the farmers to
commercialize.
Mido Dairy/Van den Heuvel
Best New Partnership Award
for MKB
They take up the challenge to start
the largest pasteurized milk factory in
Afghanistan. The factory is actually
already producing.
Interface/ZSL
Best Existing Partnership Award
They developed an idea to use old
fishing nets as a component for carpet
tiles. This project aims, on the one
hand, to reduce the growing number
of scrapped fishing nets which have
become an environmental problem in
a number of poor villages along the
coast and on the other, to increase the
salary of the people who can sell the
component in the market.
Universal Access to Female Condoms
Public-Private Partnership Award
This project aims to increase the
availability and reduce the price of good
quality women condoms in Nigeria,
Cameroon and Mozambique.
FMO colleagues involved in 2014
Jury member: Ruurd Brouwer
Speaker Kick-off Event:
Linda Broekhuizen.
Media: Rene Sevaux &
Paul Hartogsveld
Experts
Oana Raluca Craciun, Bert Richly
Brinkenberg, Hatem Mahbouli,
Mariya Soshinskaya
FMO team
Mirte Smits, Gerbrich Salverda,
Arslan Yousaf, Aarti Baldewsing,
Rik Recourt
Organization
Lisette van der Boog,
Erica van Eeghen
Interview with
Chantal Inen
Chantal is the founder of The Punchy
Pack (2011), which is the big creator
of the Partnership Verkiezing. If you
ever met Chantal, you know she is a
woman full of energy who just can
never sit still. If she is not busy with
The Punchy Pack she can be found
at Selma Susanna, where she follows
part-time education in theatre. In
2013 she has been elected for the top
‘Duurzame Jong 100’ in the Dutch
newspaper NRC Next and she won a
golden ticket for the Jong Bilderberg
conference.
InFMO was very honoured that we
could disturb Chantal in between all
her activities to answer all our pending
questions…
How did the idea arise to start the
Partnership Verkiezing?
“While writing my thesis I was
introduced to various companies
which were active in setting up
partnerships to generate social,
environmental and financial impact.
I started organizing brainstorm
sessions and talked to about 40
talented young professionals in my
network. It became evident to me that
a lot of young professionals search
for their jobs through which they
can contribute to the society. That is
where I started thinking about on how
we can use the DNA of companies
to set up both social and commercial
projects, while involving young
professionals? My answer was the
Partnership Verkiezing!”
What do you want to achieve with the
Partnership Verkiezing?
“I want companies to invest in
developing countries and use the
new talented generation on this
road. I see problems in the world as
an opportunity. Companies, NGOs
and government need to collaborate.
It cannot be done by one person or
party. Professionals agree with me
and can start to work from within
the organizations. Moreover, with
the Partnership Verkiezing I want to
shed a more positive light on the often
negative news linked to developing
countries. I want to give heroes a stage.
We need heroes and I’m certain we
have them all around us.”
to do in the Netherlands. I want to go
abroad in the future so I could take
The Punchy Pack and Partnership
Verkiezing international. An idea is
to let local entrepreneurs work with
companies to develop local businesses.
In Brasil for example.”
Other dream project?
“I am working on a plan to engage
talented Young Professionals and
Young Entrepreneurs more in strategy
of companies. They have a lot to offer. I
have another passion which is theatre.
Setting up a project abroad where I
could combine my performer skills
and social entrepreneurship would be
great! If you have connections with
Joop van de Ende, please introduce me
;).
Who is your biggest example?
I enjoy reading autobiographies. One of
What will make you feel satisfied
my favorite is about Andre Aggassi, I
when looking back on the Partnership remember him saying something like
Verkiezing?
‘when you’re in the game, don’t think
“I will be satisfied if at least half of
about the end goal, to win. Just hit the
the projects that participate will be
ball right each time, one ball at a time”.
further developed. Like the winners
Obama’s book was also inspiring, I
of 2013, for example Ahold. Those
have a very multi-cultural background
companies have brought their case to a like him and it helped me to see how I
next level.”
can use this. Finally, I like Willemijn
Verloop (founder of Warchild and
Do you have the ambition to develop
Social Entreprise NL). How she uses
your own idea for an investment in a
her creativity, commitment and female
developing country?
power to generate positive change with
“Yes, for sure and I will. There is lots
clear results.
12 – fom brazil trip
travel story – 13
by mayke geradts
photo’s by charlotte van andel
FOM
Brazil trip
Brazil: the country of some of our
esteemed colleagues, but also of
samba, the 2014 World Cup, rodízio
at churrascarias (traditional steak
houses) and picanha (little known,
but very tender piece of beef from
the rump cap), caipirinhas, the
Copacabana and soon perhaps also
home to some new FOM clients…
While Brazil is excluded from
investments through FMO-A, it is
a prominent country on the FOM
list. For that reason, at the end of
May as the World Cup was about to
turn Brazil upside down, Bert van
Oudvorst, Charlotte van Andel and
Mayke Geradts from the FOM team
went to Brazil for DD visits to the
Dutch companies Habe-cRc and
Moxba-Metrex.
The first Due Diligence visit was
to Habe-cRc, a Dutch company
specialized in renting and washing
of (foldable) plastic crates for the
perishable goods industry. Habe-cRc
sees it as its mission to introduce
these crates to the Brazilian market,
where such a system of plastic rental
crates is not yet in use. The deal team
travelled to Curitiba, the prosperous
and well-developed capital of the
state Paraná, approximately 400
km from São Paolo. Paraná is one of
the most thriving regions in Brazil,
with its economy growing five times
faster than that of Brazil as a whole.
Paraná is home to many agricultural
companies and happens to have a very
proactive government that actively
stimulates entrepreneurship and aims
to attract private investors, especially
those focussing on sustainability.
Paraná’s ambition is to be a showcase
for the rest of Brazil, as it already
is in the areas of economic and
infrastructural development. Raising
the standard of its perishable goods
sector (and thereby hygienic and
environmental standards) is one of the
main goals Paraná’s government has
yet to fulfil.
Although Brazil’s welcome to the deal
team could’ve been warmer (it rained
the whole week), this was more than
compensated for by the hospitality
of the Brazilians and the interesting
meetings the client had planned.
The first meeting was with a leading
government official, who explained
the approach towards reaching the
above-mentioned policy goals to us
and how Habe-cRc could contribute
to achieving these. This official
happened to be the former director
of the CEASA, the largest fruit and
vegetable auction site of the state, the
place where the introduction of the
solid, foldable and hygienic crates
Habe-cRc can provide will probably
make the biggest difference. One
can imagine that when trading large
quantities of fruit and vegetables in
crates of different types and dubious
quality, with none ever being cleaned,
things can get pretty messy…Not
to mention the hassle it is for the
carrinhos, the freelancers pulling
the heavy carts with crates on the
ill-paved roads from sellers to buyers.
It was therefore no surprise that the
ministry of health and the overarching
organization of supermarkets
seemed to be very supportive of
Habe-cRc concept. The ministry was
positive because clean crates will
significantly contribute to a higher
hygiene standard. The supermarket
organization was enthusiastic because
solid crates will reduce the amount of
products spoiled during transportation
by 40%, increase the load per truck by
20-25% due to more efficient stacking
due to standardized crate sizes and
lead to an 86% increase in the number
of empty crates per truck because
of their foldable nature…Talk about
impact!
After a few interesting days packed
with meetings with stakeholders
and site visits in Curitiba, Bert,
Charlotte and Mayke continued their
trip in Brazil by flying to São Paolo.
Here, rainfall was even worse than
in Curitiba, but as became apparent
soon, the people in Brazil were very
happy with the rain. No wonder, as
80% of Brazil’s power is generated by
hydro dams and little water means
little energy and hence higher energy
prices. In case you want to read
more about this issue, the Economist
published an interesting article about
this in their February edition.
Not only the Brazilians privately,
but also Brazilian firms suffered
from the high energy prices. This
was luckily not the case for FOM
prospect Moxba-Metrex since it fixed
its energy prices when prices were
still relatively low. Moxba-Metrex
recycles noble and base metals coming
from spent catalysts (little grains used
for extracting certain metals from
crude oil) into special alloys with a
high degree of purity. Moxba-Metrex’
alloys serve as a base metal for
making e.g. parts of airplanes, but also
smartphone screens of high quality.
Having merged with and eventually
taken over a Brazilian entity, MoxbaMetrex is now actively upgrading
the existing facilities in addition to
expanding the former line of business
with the aid of its extensive know-how
on metal recycling. After the planned
investments, Moxba-Metrex will not
only make top quality alloys but it will
also be unique in Brazil with its spent
catalyst recycling activities. At the
moment, companies such as Petrobras
still dispose of their spent catalysts,
putting an unnecessary burden on
the environment in the sense of waste
production and additional mining of
limited resources.
Considering the nature and reputation
of the metal industry and the
upgrading and expansion of existing
facilities, one might understand that
this case has a significant E&S angle
to it, providing the ideal playground
for Charlotte. As soon became clear
to the deal team, this company has
managed to become green within a
dirty industry and is simultaneously
ambitious in raising the standard for
its employees as well. Remarkable is
that Moxba-Metrex has no waste at all
at the end of its process; all metals are
recycled. Even the metal-containing
dust is taken out of the air and used
in the recycling process, making the
process even more sustainable from a
social, environmental and economic
perspective. Next to realizing the
impact this potential FOM client can
generate, it was also a pleasure for
the deal team to dive into the metalrecycling processes and definitely
spectacular to see how the sorted and
melted metal flowed out of the ovens
and cooled down to solid plates with a
rainbow-like shine to them.
Compared to the total flow of FDI into
Brazil, FOM financing might be seen
as ‘a drop on a hot plate’ as the Dutch
would say (literally in the case of the
second company visited). However,
the deal team concluded with
satisfaction that additionality-wise
and certainly also from an E&S point
of view, there is still a valuable role
for FMO, or rather FOM, to play in
Brazil. After a week full of interesting
site visits, meetings with stakeholders
at all levels and good concluding
meetings, the deal team stepped
outside in São Paolo and was finally
welcomed by some much appreciated
rays of sun. Although, can one really
be bothered by some raindrops
when stimulating impactful Dutch
entrepreneurship in a country rich
with potential and as hospitable
as Brazil? And let’s not forget, the
occasional nourishing drops are
imperative to growth, whether it be in
nature or in finance…
2014
Great Photo
Contest
Left page: Jordan - 2014 - Jeannette Kirkham - Arabic man on a donkey.
Photo above: Freek vd Bosch - Agriculture - As the sun peeked over the mountains, we approached Moray, an archaeological site in Peru near Cuzco. The site contains unusual Inca ruins,
consisting of several enormous terraced circular depressions. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth, design, and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a
temperature difference of as much as 15 °C between the top and the bottom. It is possible that this large temperature difference was used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic
conditions on crops. Since the 1400s, some restoration has been done, but this site is still remarkably unscathed. You would think the Incas had been inspired by ancient Romans or Greeks.
This site was certainly just as breathtaking as a Greek theater. We were early and alone. The ticket booth had to be opened for me. At least they have one and take care of the site. I tried to
imagine what was grown there and the farmers back in the 1400s. Check out the little steps along all sides. And yet, I could not get away from that Amphitheater feel. What wonderful plays
you could perform here!
Under: Coal Mine in Mongolia - 2012 - Floor van Oppen.
2014
Great Photo
Contest
Above left: Jordan - 2014 - Jeannette Kirkham - Dromedary in Petra - Dromedary in Petra looking straight into the camera, chewing his jaw (off).
Above left: Peru - 2014 - Angie Salamon - Empty cocoa pod shells. Both photo’s are special because you forget chocolate is a fruit, and there are few things nicer than visiting a plantation on a
Above right: Jordan - 2014 - Jeannette Kirkham - Girl with the stones - Jordan girl playing with the beautiful natural stones from the desert of Petra. She was giving me her stones and
sunny day and hear small farmers talk about their crop and livelihoods.
wanted them back over and over again, which is a universal habit for small children. I think she is adorable, with her big brown eyes.
Above right: Turkey, at the geothermal site - 2014 - Floor van Oppen - Floor van Oppen at the geothermal site lake.
Under left: Jordan - 2014 - Jeannette Kirkham - Petra - Sneak peak of the world wonder Petra through the Gulch. Petra is magical and beautiful. It is a 45 minute walk to the first and biggest
Under left: Jordan - 2014 - Jeannette Kirkham - Wadi Rum - The Wadi Rum desert of Jordan, beautiful reddish sand and limestone rocks.
temple of Petra and the first thing you see is a glimpse through the gulch.
Under right: Peru - 2014 - Angie Salamon - View from below on a cocoa tree.
Under right: Bolivia - 2014 - Frederik Jan van den Bosch - Salt - Maras – salt of the earth - Early morning, I had to leave for the airport of Cuzco. Along the way is one of the local world
wonders: the salt mines of Maras. In the quaint town of Maras my driver had to ask the way. A little boy and his mother (with classic outfit and hat) pointed us halfway back, but we made it
as first visitors right after sunrise to these ancient salt mines. Since pre-Inca times, before 1400, salt has been obtained here by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream that
emerges at a spring. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. Almost
all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth. As water evaporates from the sun-warmed ponds, the water becomes supersaturated and
salt precipitates as various size crystals onto the inner surfaces of a pond's earthen walls and on the pond's earthen floor. The color of the salt varies from white to a light reddish or brownish
tan, depending on the skill of an individual worker. My driver was worried about my flight. I loved the serenity of the early morning with only trickling water interfering with perfect
quietness. Only on Bonaire had I ever seen natural salt harvesting, never thought to find it also at 3000 meters high in the Peruvian mountains.
Many thanks again for your
contribution for this issue.
Here a selection of our
favourite pictures.
18 – travel story
by presan pahladsingh &
guus werners
Suriname from
East to West
“Discovered around 1500 by the Spanish conquistador Alonso de
Ojeda, Suriname was governed by the United Kingdom (Lord Francis
Willoughby), the State of Zealand, in exchange for New Amsterdam
= New York (Abraham Crijnssen 1667), the Society of Suriname
including the Dutch West-India Company and the Republic of Seven
United Netherlands. From 1815 until 1975 Suriname was part of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands. While 5 times the size of its former
colonizer, Suriname has a small population of about 500,000. Over
80% of the country is covered with unspoiled tropical rainforest. The
diversity of the country is reflected in FMOs staff with Surinamese
background, with Hindi, Creole, Javanese and Chinese roots.”
Experiencing the East-West
Connection
The population is concentrated in
the coastal area, from Albina in the
East to Nickerie in the West. The
biggest part lives in a radius of 35 km
around the capital city Paramaribo.
The highway route from Albina to
Nickerie is known as the “East-West
Connection”. This summer, I’ve made
this trip to visit a family wedding in
Nickerie. During the journey I was
reminded of the history and diversity
of Suriname.
communities living up- and downstream the Marowijne River – and to
French Guyana across the river,
a province of France.
After passing the bridge over the
Suriname River, built by Dutch
construction company Ballast
Nedam, I’ve reached the capital.
Paramaribo is a vibrant city where
the melting pot of ethnic groups
reaches its true expression. Not
one ethnic group is dominant.
Indigenous tribes were the first
inhabitants. English and Dutch
Starting point; Albina
colonizers and Jewish refugees
The village, named after the
brought slaves from Africa, to work
founder’s fiancée, used to be a beach
on the plantations. Descendants
resort but was destroyed during a
of slaves are the Creoles, who
civil war in the 1980s. It is known for now mainly live in the capital
its beaches and proximity to breeding Paramaribo and the Maroons grounds of endangered sea turtles,
descendants of slaves who ran
including the giant leatherback
away for their freedom and formed
(photo’s 1&2). Albina is also the
communities with clear African
gateway by boat to indigenous
influence in the inaccessible interior
(photo 3). After the abolition of
slavery in 1863, the Dutch colony
needed workers for the plantations.
As a classic early example of
globalization, Dutch farmers,
contract workers from Portugal
and China and later thousands of
workers from India and the Dutch
East Indies (now Indonesia) were
brought to Suriname to work on
the plantations. They all came
with their own culture, language
religion, food, dance and music
(photo 4). Paramaribo is probably
the only place in the world where
a synagogue and mosque stand
side by side (photo 5). The inner
city of Paramaribo is famous for
the gradual fusion of European
architecture with indigenous
materials and crafts which led to
the creation of a new architectural
idiom. The old city became a
UNESCO World Heritage site in
2006.
Next stop; Coronie (photo 6)
Driving through Coronie I really
got the feeling that I am almost
home. Coronie is unique as the
East-West highway runs right
through the main street where
you can see beautiful colonial
houses and churches (photo 7). It
was the English and Scots who
first started planting cotton and
brought development to this region.
For centuries, Suriname was a
plantation economy, with more
than 600 sugar cane, coffee, cocoa,
tobacco and cotton plantations. Due
to diseases, exhaustion of the soil,
competition in the world market
and abolition of slavery in 1863,
plantations went into decline and
today there is little more to be found
– overgrown by nature.
To me and most other Surinamese
people, Coronie is a synonymous
with coconut oil and incredibly
sweet honey.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
What would be a better place to end
the holiday than Nickerie? (photo 8)
The city is surrounded by two
major rivers, the Corantijn (west
side) and the Nickerie River (north
side). In the past, the district center
of Nickerie, New Rotterdam, was
located further downstream.
However, this place flooded several
times and it was decided to move
the location of the District center to
what is nowadays known as New
Nickerie. Nickerie is the agricultural
District of Suriname, especially rice
(photo 9). Purpose of my trip was the
wedding of my cousin. We spent a
full week celebrating the wedding in
an authentic Hindu way (photo 10).
For me Nickerie is like coming back
home. As it was the first time with
my wife and two children, this was
extra special.
I hope I can go back to this
fascinating country soon!
Although FMO has never
invested in Suriname, it doesn’t
mean FMO’ers are not involved…
Guus Werners is treasurer of the
Bethesda Foundation, one of the
oldest Dutch charities, focusing on
Suriname. He took this position
6 years ago, from Roy Somaroo,
former FMO staff member. The
Foundation was established in
1902 to support Leprosy patients
and the fight against Leprosy in
the colony Suriname. Due to the
effective fight against Leprosy in
Suriname, Bethesda has widened
its mandate to disabled people.
Going to Suriname on a holiday
is not only nice to see family and
friends and enjoy nature, but also
to visit projects sponsored by the
Foundation.
20 – sounds of latin america
by angie salom
travel the continent through it’s music – 21
Sounds of
Latin America
Latin music needs no introduction, so let your colleagues guide you
through a small sample of all the continent has to offer!
Decio Tractenberg
I was born in Argentina and grew up
in Brazil.
• Minas com Bahia.
Lyric/Music: Chico Amaral and
performed by Daniela Mercury
Just a great song with a great Bahian
beat!
• Balança Pema.
Lyric/Music: Jorge Benjor;
Performed by Marisa Monte
Fast samba; typical from Rio; can you
stand still listening to this?
• Desde que o Samba e’ Samba.
Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.
Beautiful soft samba from two
Brazilian Icons.
Diana Wesselius
Half Brazilian (Brazilian mother /
Dutch father)
Difficult actually to pick a few special
songs, as Brasil has too many!
• Tribalistas. Title song of the
wonderful CD Tribalistas, a one time
collaboration between three famous
Brasilian musicians, Carlinhos
Brown, Marisa Monte and Arnaldo
Antunes.
Apart from the great music which
brings back memories of lazy
afternoons in Brazil with caipirinhas
& churrasco, this album is unique
due to the one time collaboration
between the three artists. The album
became very popular, despite the
group not marketing it on radio or tv.
Worthwhile listening!
• Sampa by Caetano Veloso (one of
Brazil’s most famous musicians).
Very sensitive and beautiful poetic
lyrics. Picked Sampa, which is a
nickname for São Paulo, as the song is
a homage to the city that my mother
comes from, a city that I also love.
• Avisa lá by Olodum
Olodum, a drumband from
Salvador, is world famous due to
songs recorded with Paul Simon
and Michael Jackson. Historically
Olodum rehearsed in the old city
centre of Salvador on Tuesday
evenings, and still today, on Tuesday
evenings the air in the centre of
Salvador gets filled with drumbeats,
and the streets fill with people
dancing and enjoying a beer.
Alejandra Carou
Born and raised in Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
• De Musica Ligera and Persiana
Americana by Soda Stereo
This was the first rock band I’ve ever
listened to and sparked an undying
appetite for rock music.
• Por una cabeza by Carlos Gardel/
Alfredo Lepera
Beautiful tango of despair and
melancholy capable of moving you
to tears. Amazing lyrics too. Not
convinced? See the dance scene from
Scent of a Woman.
Maria Nino
Colombian
• Fruta Fresca by Carlos Vives
Great mix of Latin pop and Colombian
vallenato music!
• Como Abeja al Panal by Juan Luis
Guerra
• First Bachata Rosa song (an album
considered a masterpiece in
merengue music!)
Diana Arteaga
I was born in Colombia
• La Piragua by Jose Barros
Nothing lifts the spirit more than a
Cumbia and a bottle of aguardiente.
This one particularly, takes me back to
good old times in Colombia.
• La Rebelion by Joe Arroyo
Like Joe says it in the song: this song
tells a little piece of the history of
slavery in Colombia. What is amazing
about it? Despite the fact that it is a
sad story, it will make you dance like
nothing else.
• Prende la Vela by Toto la Momposina
This was the first Mapalé I learned to
dance. By the way, it is an incredible
work out!
Gabi Penner
I was raised in Asuncion, Paraguay
• La Catedral by Agustin Barrios and
interpreted by Berta Rojas.
The classic guitar is a big part of
Paraguayan folkloric music, and this is
considered a masterpiece, difficult to
execute and beautiful to listen.
• Gracias A La Vida by Violeta Parra
and interpreted by Mercedes Sosa.
Latin American folk music with a
social message. Great Chilean song
performed by a great Argentinian
singer.
• Boa Sorte by Vanessa da Mata & Ben
Harper
The genre is called Musica Popular
Brasileira (MPB); it combines
Brazilian music with jazz, rock, etc.
Think of warm nights, nice drinks and
good company.
Marleen Jansen
Lived in Mexico from 1993-1997
• Hasta que te conoci and many others
by Juan Gabriel
This singer is truly incomparable, an
icon! Full of drama and passion. A
bit “cursi” from time to time but that
makes it even better.
Bert Richly Brinkenberg
Born and raised in San José, Costa
Rica.
• Burbujas de Amor by Juan Luis
Guerra
The most emblematic love ballad from
my childhood days, before I knew how
to take a step on the dance floor or
Arjan Geurtsen
comprehend the urgency of the lyrics
behind the song.
Lived in Nicaragua for 4 months
• Ciega, Sordomuda by Shakira
• Yo no se mañana by Luis Enrique
There is music at ear-damaging
This song comes from the last album
volume levels everywhere in Nicabefore Shakira went all EnglishEsther Adema
singing and commercial on us. It was
ragua and that they take their music
Born in Peru
also one of the first CD’s I owned.
seriously! The song brings back good
• Alma, Corazon y vida by Los Panchos. memories my time there and of a great • Mayonesa by Chocolate
It’s a traditional Peruvian waltz which place where people dance salsa and
My last semester of high school,
I learn to appreciate after living sevmerengue: Fandango. It’s a must-visit dwindling school work, and a car-full
eral years abroad. Probably everybody for every foreigner!
of people, important amongst which
in Peru knows this song!
as lead singer Veronica Velasco, in my
Angie Salom
red pick-up truck “la Montana rusa”
Born and raised in Colombia
on the way to our favourite bar.
Unforgetable!
• Te mando flores by Fonseca.
A love song you can dance to, this is
what Latin music is all about!
Ericka Duijnhouwer- Mac Lean
• Sueños by Juanes.
Born in Lima
Although not one of Juanes’ better
• La Flor de la Canela by Chabuca
known songs (that would probably be
Granda
La Camisa Negra), this song’s lyrics
One of the best Peruvian singers and
are very special as they speak about all talks about my beloved Lima
of his (and Colombian’s) dreams for his • Concierto para una sola voz by Tania
country.
Libertad
Beautiful lyrics from Saint Preux song
by an extraordinary Peruvian voice.
• Toro Mata by Eva Ayllon
Toro Mata is an Afro-Peruvian classic
and has a great rhythm to dance
Travel the
continent
through
its music
22 –
by danielle wempe
column – 23
by jorrit dingemanse
A journalist,
a motorcycle,
a book
A Dutch journalist and his classic
’75 Moto Guzzi V7. A perfect match
for a journey through North and
South America. Paul van Hooff
shipped his Moto Guzzi (“Guus”)
from Amsterdam to Anchorage,
Alaska. First he drove all the way up
to the most northern town in Alaska,
Dead Horse. In three years’ time he
cruised to the most southern part of
Argentina, Ushuaia. For Van Hooff
travelling means: meeting people. As
a journalist his curiosity helped him
to find the beauty in the stories and to
make it into a road novel. And what a
novel it is! He drives through deserts,
jungles, crosses the Andes. He looks
for gold, meets the FARC, he follows
the footsteps of Che Guevara.
He instinctively knew what to look
for and where to find. Guus was his
constant companion and never gave
up on him.
Growing up with a story-telling dad,
reading the cartoons of Tintin (Hergé)
and Uncle Oswald (Roald Dahl), I was
not surprised to hear and read about
all my brothers’ adventures. I believe
the world still needs storytellers, even
if the story sometimes has rough
edges or in other cases is too good
to be true. To be honest, I cannot be
objective as a sister (and yes we have
a different dad) but really the story
is wonderful. We need something
to think about, to dream about. And
why not about the Americas on a
motorbike!
Man in het Zadel by Paul van Hooff.
Hardcover, 352 pages.
Publisher: Uitgeverij Brandt
ISBN: 9789492037060
Language: Dutch
Will be published in October 2014
Argentina
in the desert 2.0
Deadhorse
Anchorage
Beaver Creek
Whitehorse
Seattle
Los Angeles
La Paz
Mazatlán
Puerto Escondido
Tapachula
Antigua
Tegucigalpa
Granada
San Jose
Panama City
Cartagena
El Carmen de Bolivar
Quito
Tumbes
Ica
Cuzco
La Paz
Uyuni
Sucre
Villazon
Tucuman
San Louis
Mendoza
San Martin de Los Andes
Bariloche
Sarmiento
Comodoro Rivadavia
Rio Callegos
Ushuaia
Dubai was chosen as a meeting venue
given that it is located sort of in the
middle between Australia and Europe.
The Australian sponsor of the Kenyan
project thought it was a good idea
to get the bankers into one room to
accelerate the discussions on a loan
amendment. Dubai is pretty safe but
very hot. It is quite remarkable that
this spot in the desert has become a
major business hub: it is so hot you
have to spend fortunes on electricity
to keep everything at an acceptable
temperature (especially if you decide
to build the world’s largest indoor ski
slope in your town). Apart from the
ski slope, there is an indoor aquarium
(with sharks), a daily open air water
fountain show and the world’s tallest
building which each all consume the
daily equivalent in energy of a midsize
African country. To that extent, Dubai
can be considered a slap in the face
of the sustainability movement. It
also underpins the relativeness of
discussions within FMO on whether a
hotel transaction can be accounted for
25% or 50% of our green target. What
would really make an impact is if
FMO would buy the ski slope and then
subsequently turn it off.
Anyway, at the end of a day-long
session in a meeting room, the
Australians invited us for dinner in an
Argentine restaurant. Dinner started
at 19:00 which is relevant since due to
the Ramadan regulations, which was
on going, alcohol could only be served
at 20:00. I have spent quite some time
in Argentine restaurants, but never
with only a glass of water in front
of me for the first hour. The second
peculiarity was the fact that the waiter
was Indian. Having an Indian waiter
explain which parts of a cow is the
best to eat, is a strange experience.
The fact that they had made him
wear a gaucho uniform didn’t help.
The last puzzling part of this whole
experience was that my “ojo de bife”
was actually quite good. It made me
think of Puerto Madero and the times
Argentina was still open for business.
It is good to know one can now travel
to Dubai to get a taste of Argentinian
food, but it is just not the same thing.
A real Argentinian restaurant needs
to be a bit worn down, noisy and food
needs to be served by an elderly man
who has survived all Argentina’s
financial crises (while his pension
has not) and is willing to tell you all
about it. After you have washed away
your delicious rib eye with a heavy but
gorgeous Malbec, you need to leave the
restaurant through fumes of cigarette
smoke, of smokers at the entrance,
adding to an experience that is superb
with a touch of imperfection.
When leaving the restaurant in
Dubai you could pick up the sweet
smell of water pipe tobacco which at
the same time turned out to be the
only slightly authentic aspect of this
Gulf state.
What is important to remember
from this story is that whether or not
Argentina will stumble into the next
crisis, it will survive. A small seed
containing some of the country’s
DNA has travelled all the way to
Dubai and has been planted in the
desert. If the economy is sent into
despair by the hedge funds (or the
vultures as they are referred to by the
Argentinians), you can send in the
gauchos from Dubai to reopen the
restaurants and keep the Argentine
cuisine going. In that case you might
as well want to consider converting
Buenos Aires into the next business
hub. It is in fact also located
conveniently in between Europe and
Australia and the electricity bill will
be substantially cheaper due to the
favourable climate. Furthermore you
don’t need an indoor ski slope if you
can go to Bariloche.
Last but not least an Argentinian
will not make you wait an hour to
serve you a Malbec. I think it is time
we should re-open Argentina for new
business!!
24 – infmo home cuisine
with karin koole
by erica van eeghen
and mayke geradts
Karin’s
Surinamese
delicacies
Your two reporters had the privilege
to get introduced to some Surinamese delicacies which Karin Koole
(KYC administrator at A&DS)
enthusiastically offered to prepare
for us. Due to busy schedules and
holidays, this time no ‘home cuisine’
but ‘home made’ at FMO’s colourful
High Five bar. The name High
Five is also very appropriate when
talking about the quality of food that
was put on the table in front of us.
Karin and her mother, who helped
with the cooking the evening before,
had prepared some tasty delicacies:
Maizena Cookies, Bojo and Yellow
Cake. These dishes may sound very
familiar to the increasing number of
Surinamese FMO colleagues.
Karin, Suriname and FMO
Although already in the Netherlands
for many years, Karin has certainly
not lost touch with her Surinamese
roots, as proven by the animated
stories Karin shared with us. Karin
came to the Netherlands to study
translation when she was nineteen
years old, not knowing that she would
still be here after so many years.
After living here for over 20 years,
Karin’s accent does not reveal that
she is from Suriname. Her time in the
Netherlands is also characterized by
her work at FMO, a time in which she
also got married and became mother
to two children. When she joined
FMO in 1996 some colleagues made a
bet that she would not stay at FMO for
more than a year, but here she still is,
more than 18 years later and still an
asset to FMO.
With the experience gained in this
period, starting as Secretary of
Bijzondere Financieringen (i.e. SO)
and Kleinbedrijf (i.e. Massif) until her
current position, Karin can reveal
that the most striking changes she
has observed in these years relate to
FMO’s increased professionalism and
the large number of processes that
have been added. Nevertheless, the joy
with which she works here has never
changed.
Karin, it all looks (and smells)
delicious, what did you bake for us?
The cookies you see here are ‘Maizena
Cookies’, made from maizena, butter
and sugar. Most Dutch people find
them a bit peculiar but they are very
popular in Suriname. The sticky
pie is called ‘Bojo’ and it’s a typical
Creole delicacy usually baked for
birthdays. It’s made of cassava, coco,
sultanas, sugar and butter. The third
delicacy I baked for you is probably
the most widely embraced and typical
Surinamese delicacy, it’s a ‘Yellow
Cake’, an egg-based and light cake.
The biggest success factor of a yellow
cake is that all ingredients have to be
at room temperature. If you then use
equal portions of egg, sugar, butter and
self-raising flour, it can’t go wrong.
When serving Yellow Cake to your
guests you always have to offer a piece
from the middle which is the softest
part, otherwise it’s considered rude.
How diverse is Surinamese food?
The Surinamese cuisine is very
diverse and this reflects the fact
that Suriname is a true melting pot
of cultures. As you might know,
Suriname has a turbulent past and
through the centuries, the country
was enriched with more ethnicities
migrating to the country. There are
Surinamese people of Creole descent,
like me, but also with Jewish, Indian
or Javanese roots for example. The
different groups found inspiration in
each others’ cuisine but the different
styles are still evident. Creole food
is usually quite spicy but since my
children are not used to that, I do
not cook very spicy food. My Dutch
husband is however a true fan of
Surinamese food and also loves the
spicy dishes. He is actually in love
with Suriname as a whole.
Talking about family and food, you
told us that you and your mother
made these delicacies for us. Was
she also the one that taught you
how to cook? How did your cooking
habits develop during the years in the
Netherlands?
My mother was indeed the one that
taught me how to cook. Both of my
parents used to work, so I was the one
who had to prepare warm meals on
week days. I learned cooking when
I was nine years old, but most of the
things I learned were quite basic such
as vegetables or rice. The Surinamese
kitchen is also characterized by
some excellent stews like ‘Pom’. My
mother used to make these dishes
during weekends and holidays. Pom is
composed of three main ingredients:
chicken, lemon juice and pomtajer (a
kind of root). My daughter especially
is very fond of it, she loves visiting
her grandmother for typical dishes
like this. Personally, I do not cook
Surinamese food every day. We do
however eat a dish that is Surinamese
or that is inspired by the Surinamese
kitchen at least once a week. Next to
this, I also cook Dutch food and all
kinds of other dishes one finds here.
A major difference between
Surinamese and Dutch eating habits,
also related to hospitality, is that there
is always plenty of food in Suriname.
All guests can easily stay over for
dinner whereas in the Netherlands,
the host politely says ‘we are going
to eat’, meaning that the guest is
requested to go home. Empty pots
and pans at the end of a meal are not
appreciated in Suriname while in the
Netherlands it usually means that
one correctly estimated the amount
of required food and that no food
has been wasted. I must say that I’ve
become more Dutch in this sense.”
In the meantime, the reporters
couldn’t resist leaving the wonderful
food untouched and tasted all three
delicacies. Mmmmm...
All right, time for the last question.
Would you ever like to go back to
Suriname permanently?
The whole family loves to go back to
Suriname for holidays, but I think my
husband and son would really move
if the opportunity presented itself.
We have a lot of family living there
who we regularly visit. Everything is
so easy over there that it almost feels
like you have always been living there.
I, however, have the feeling that my
time in the Netherlands is not yet over.
Perhaps somewhere in the future.
After this tasty introduction to the
Surinamese kitchen, the reporters
definitely envision a Surinamese
lunch at FMO. So, all Surinamese
FMO colleagues: gather yourselves
and take over the kitchen! F
26 – infmo home cuisine
with karin koole
infmo home cuisine – 27
with karin koole
Yellow
Cake
Ingredients
• 8 eggs
• 9 spoons of flour
(not self-raising)
• 8 spoons of white
caster sugar
• 8 spoons of melted
butter (cooled
down)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
essence
• 1/2 teaspoon
almond essence
• Lemon peel
• 2 caps of rum
• Aniseed
decoration
“muisjes”
• Mix and spatula
• 1 large baking
tray or circle of
24 cm
• Baking paper
Preparation
•H
ave all ingredients at room
temperature. Heat the oven to 200
degrees C (hot air). Sieve the flour
and put it aside. Break the eggs and
mix these at full power with the
almond and vanilla essence. As soon
as the eggs are becoming foamy, add
the sugar bit by bit. Set the mixer to
medium power and add the lemon
peel. Mix this for 15 minutes until
you have a foamy substance.
•G
rease the baking tray and put the
baking paper on top of this (make
sure you entirely cover the borders).
•N
ow take the mixed substance (must
be dripping off the spatula, otherwise
mix longer) and add the sieved flour
spoon by spoon. Be careful when
doing this and take care that it
remains a light (“luchtig”) substance.
Mix this substance at low power,
add the melted butter and then mix
it again for 1 minute at low power.
Now put the entire substance in the
baking tray. Please note that the cake
is very sensitive and that you should
therefore be very careful when filling
the baking tray, you should do it with
love!
•P
ut the cake in the middle of the
oven. First bake the cake at 200
degrees C for the first 10 minutes,
then for another 30 minutes at
170/175 degrees. Do not open the oven
when baking the cake, otherwise
the cake will sag. When the cake
is done, sprinkle the rum on top of
the cake and then add the aniseed
decorations. Let the cake cool off in
the baking tray and voila…you have
your Surinamse yellow cake ready to
eat. Enjoy!
Maizena
(cornflour)
cookies
Ingredients
• 400 gram corn
flour
• 200 gram butter
• 200 gram sugar
• 2 eggs
• Sugar sprinkles?
• 2 sachets of
vanilla sugar or
vanilla extract
Preparation
• Butter a baking tray or rack with
baking paper
• Pre-heat your oven to +/- 180 degrees
(Celsius)
• Whisk the eggs until they are all well
mixed.
• Then add butter (cut into pieces),
sugar and vanilla sugar.
• Add the sifted corn flour and mix
until you get a smooth, light dough
• Then make small balls from the
dough, flatten them and place them
on the buttered baking tray or on
a rack with baking paper. It is
important that the dough balls are
placed far apart because they can get
a lot bigger during baking.
• Sprinkle the sugar sprinkles on the
cookies. It is better to flatten the
cookies a bit with a fork, so the sugar
sprinkles do not fall off.
• Put the cookies in the oven for 15-20
minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies
- sure that they do not get brown.
Bojo
Ingredients
• 2 packs grated
cassava,
approximately
a kilo
• 200 gram of
grated coconut
• 250 gram of sugar
• 1 ½ dl milk
• 150 gram melted
margarine or
butter
• 100 gram light
coloured raisins
• 2 teaspoons of
almond extract
• 2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
or 2 sachets of
vanilla sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of
cinnamon
• Coloured
sprinkles (not
hagelslag, which
you normally put
on a sandwich,
but the little ones
you used for
baking).
Preparation
• Preheat the convection to 200
degrees (Celsius).
• Wash the raisins
• Carefully mix the raisins with the
coconut, defrosted cassava, milk,
cinnamon, sugar and extracts (or
vanilla sugar), and salt.
• Melt the butter and fold into the
batter. It should be smooth. If it is too
dry, then you should add some milk.
If it is too wet, then you should add
some coconut or cassava.
• Put the mixture into a buttered
baking pan and sprinkle with sugar.
• Place the Bojo in the oven and bake
for about 60 minutes until the crust
is golden brown and the inside of the
cake does not feel wet. You can stick
a knife or skewer into the cake, and
if it comes out with cake batter still
stuck to it then it is still too wet.
• There is a difference in cooking
time between a hot-air oven and an
electric oven, so keep an eye on the
Bojo and make sure that it does not
get dark. Reduce cooking time if
needed.
• Use the knife or skewer to test if it
is cooked. If the skewer comes out
clean and dry, you know that it is
ready. If you wish, you can sprinkle
the Bojo with coloured sprinkles.
• Cut the cake from the middle and
serve!
28 – n ew talent
new talent – 29
Robin Tewari
Annemieke Mokveld
Department Finance &
Control
Position Finance &
Control Officer
Previous profession
Sr. Financial Analyst,
Deutsche Bank
Initial education
Business Economics,
Erasmus University
Nationality Dutch
City of residence
The Hague
Passion
From a German ‘passion
to perform’ to having
impact in developing and
emerging economies. :-)
Question 1
I contacted the Dutch
comedian and tv
celebrity Jörgen
Raymann on LinkedIn
just before I joined FMO.
He wished me best of
luck with my new job.
Jörgen is a good example
of someone who connects
people and makes a
difference by doing what
he does best … making
people laugh.
Question 2
I’m proud of my roots.
My family is based in
Rajasthan (India). I like
the culture and history
and enjoy seeing the
royal palaces and artifacts. My family house
even feels like a little
palace.
Department Financial
Markets - Syndications
Position Investment
Officer
Previous profession
Capital Markets Rabobank
Initial education
Financial Economics at
the Radboud University
Nijmegen
Nationality Dutch
City of residence
Utrecht
What is your morning
ritual?
I would love to have a
morning ritual. However,
I do have the bad habit of
staying in bed as long as
possible and, as a result
of that, the only morning
ritual I have is being in a
morning rush day after
day.
What is the strangest
thing you ever done in
your life?
Walking the ‘Dodentocht’
in Belgium. A 100k
walking event which
leads you through
multiple Belgium beer
breweries while walking
100k in one go. It took me
23 hours and I will never
do it again! Passion
I love going out for
dinner with friends and
family, a nice ride on my
racing bike, an openwater swim, camping,
the beach, a nice cold
beer on a terrace, but my
real passion is of course
syndications!
Muhammad Arslan
Yousaf
Edward Nijmeijer
Department Finance
Position Senior Planning
Department A&DS
& Control Officer
Position Trainee
Previous profession N/A Previous profession
NIBC
Initial education MSc.
Initial education Master
Corporate Finance &
Business Economics
Banking
Erasmus University,
Nationality Pakistan
Rotterdam
City of residence
Nationality Dutch
Amsterdam
City of residence
Passion Travelling;
Voorburg
Trekking/Hiking
Passion Football,
How would you
travelling
contribute to “halving
What topic can you
footprint” in your
never get tired of talking
personal life?
about?
I prefer using public
transport, that minimizes My passions are sports,
especially football, and
use of fossil fuels. I try
travelling. As a very
to conserve as much as
possible when it comes to efficient person I try to
combine these passions. I
food & water usage, and
energy i.e.; switching off travelled a great deal, and
visited different sports
lights when not needed.
events, like the OlymI will always support
pic Games in London,
projects with reduced
Roland Garros and the
footprint. Australian Open. Since
What would be your
2008 I have visited with
perfect day off?
Going on a short trek on a group of friends the
European and World Cup
a mountainous landFootball tournaments, to
scape, exploring the
support the Dutch team,
nature and enjoying
so I have been to Switthe trip with a group of
zerland, South Africa,
friends.
Ukraine and recently
Brazil. I enjoy the
atmosphere the Dutch
supporters manage to
create, and it is great to
visit places where you
would normally not go
on holiday and experience the hospitality of the
local crowd during such
event.
What is something
you’re very proud of?
I worked for 17 years for
NIBC and made the positive decision to transfer to
FMO. I was happy with
Elif Karakas
Javier Zapatero
Lennard Oehlers
Tessel Kroeze
Marnix Monsfort
Henriette van den Berg
Department FI LAC
Position Trainee
Previous profession
Analyst at Unlu& Co.
(Strategic Partner of
Standard Bank Group in
Turkey), Consultant at
UNCTAD
Initial education M.Sc.
Economics and Social
Sciences, Universita’
Bocconi, B.A. Economics,
Sabanci University
Nationality Turkish
City of residence
The Hague
Passion Discover and
experience new things
be it food, dance, sport or
any sort of customs!
I get this question a lot:
how did I decide to move
to the NL, given I had
no prior relations here,
no studies, no relatives
or friends? It was a leap
of faith, really. It gives
me an incredible joy and
excitement each time I
move to another country.
I was lucky enough to get
a taste of different cultures in Brussels, Milano
and Geneva over the past
years and I am only at
the start of discovering
The Hague and Netherlands!
How does all this relate
to FMO? I have always
been interested in
development studies in
part because I see the
need in my own country,
in part because I enjoy
inter-cultural, dynamic,
intellectual work environment. My experience
at the UN further triggered my curiosity, after
which I decided to focus
my efforts on this field. It
Department
Legal Affairs
Position Counsel
Previous profession
Attorney
Initial education
Legal
Nationality Spanish
City of residence
Utrecht
Passion Knowing new
things
How would you
contribute to “halving
footprint” in your
personal life?
I am trying to think twice
on what I really need
to have, do more with
less, also using my bike
as much as possible for
short trips and recycling
as much as possible.
Why did you choose
FMO?
I chose FMO because
is a company that can
promote positive change
through financing of
projects that take into
account the bigger picture. Other aspect that
I like about FMO is its
ability to set new trends.
I just wanted to be a part
of it.
Department
Private Equity
Position Environmental
& Social Analyst
Previous profession
Consultant at
Witteveen+Bos
Initial education
MSc. in Environmental
and Infrastructure
Planning (University of
Groningen
Nationality Dutch
City of residence
The Hague Passion
Wakeboarding, Football
and Cycling. Not really
passions, but at least my
favorite sports to do.
What would be your
perfect day off?
Do something with
friends like going to
a festival, cycling or a
big BBQ in the park
(preferably with great
weather…)
What would you change
in the Netherlands if you
would get the chance?
The landscape by
building the ‘Nederlandse
Berg’ (Dutch Mountain).
An existing initiative to
build a 2-km artificial
mountain in the
Netherlands which will
be focused on renewable
energy and solutions
for waste storage, and
(more fun) allow us to
climb, cycle, and even
ski on a mountain in the
Netherlands!
Department
Legal & Compliance
Position Counsel
Previous profession
In-house legal counsel
Initial education
University
Nationality Dutch
City of residence
Utrecht
What is your morning
ritual?
Eating breakfast while
watching the morning
news on TV and checking the NS time table for
any delays
What is the strangest
thing you ever done in
your life?
Swimming with whale
sharks of the coast of
Yucatan, Mexico
Department IMR
Position Senior Credit
Officer
Nationality Netherlands
City of residence
Bergen NH
Why did you choose
FMO?
I like emerging
markets, variety, long
term transactions /
partnerships and the
mission in general. It
also came with good
recommendations.
What is your morning
ritual?
The highlight is to wake
up my wife and daughters just before I leave
home.
Department
Management Board
Position Personal
Assistant
Previous profession
Secretary
Nationality Dutch
City of residence Delft
Passion Sports
What is your morning
ritual?
Get a shower, get
dressed, do my make-up
and check e-mail/internet, I’m addicted to my
Iphone and Ipad like a lot
of people.
Can you tell more about
your secret addiction?
My addiction is sports/
working out, I really
miss it when I can’t go.
Besides going to the gym
(Xco, Bodybump, Steps)
I also play golf but still
no handicap only GVB.
Being outside makes me
feel good.
New
talent
30 – sports - edfi cup
by eowyn teekens
photo contest – 31
by danielle wempe
How Louis van Gaal
imitated the FMO
ladies soccer team
“Almost all
of us enjoyed
the games
of the Dutch
national soccer
team during
the World
Championship
in Brazil!
Nevertheless,
sometimes,
I wondered
whether I
had seen the
tactics used by
‘Van Geniaal’
before…”
After a narrow defeat in the final of
last year’s EDFI soccer tournament,
the FMO ladies team was especially
determined to bring the CUP home
this year. We arrived as the underdog
as the Germans remained the all-time
favorite. Expectations were not high…
But we came prepared. The staff of
our team was well equipped and led by
the most respected FMO soccer coach,
Richard Jonkman, who has a proven
track record. Mayke Geradts, as a new
addition to connect to the ’jonkies’
of our team, was appointed as first
assistant.
team rolled smoothly through the
tournament and Richard made sure
that everybody played. This increased
the team spirit even more. The ladies
on the bench were as motivated as the
ladies in the field, demonstrated by
the enthusiasm of Patience Mayaki
hugging/tackling every single player
when Oana Raluca-Craciun made
the winning goal in the semifinals.
Everyone played great on the field, and
Mariya Soshinskaya, famous for her
long rushes, proved herself as FMO’s
very own “Robben”!
It all started last fall, with a wellthought-through trainings camp,
organized near the Theresiastraat,
on a high quality soccer field. Weekly
sessions were held. Improvements
were made!
In the whole tournament, we had only
one hick up, when KfW proved to be
a real German team and scored the
1 to 1 in the last minute of the game,
resulting in a draw. Penalties had to be
taken. Fortunately, Richard invented
the Golden Wissel and changed
goalies during the penalty series.
As from the start of the tournament,
there was a very good atmosphere.
The FMO ladies boosted confidence
and won the first game 5 to 1! The
All in all, a lot of similarities with the
Dutch national team…. with one huge
difference. The FMO ladies brought
back the CUP!
InFMO
Photo Contest
with new standards!
FMO Staff travel all over the world
and often return with the most
colorful stories, memories and
photographs. Following previous
successful photo contests and the
enthusiastic responses we received,
InFMO has revised the standards to
enable more colleagues to
participate!
A new category has been added to
the existing one: The FMO Instagram
Photo! And it will take only 3 steps to
join the contest.
In order to participate (all FMO staff),
use the following standards:
• Participants can upload up to five
pictures for each InFMO
• Pictures should be taken in either
2012, 2013 or 2014
Please answer the below items in
your return email together with the
attached pictures:
• what makes your picture so special;
• when the picture was taken;
• where the picture was taken.
Send your pictures with the details to
the InFMO team, email address: [email protected]
If you have submitted pictures to the
FMO Instagram account, without
having your own Instagram account,
you can request M&C (Gabriela) to
submit the picture to the InFMO
photo contest on your behalf. In December 2014 all photos will be
evaluated by the Jury and the winner
will be announced during the New
Year reception January, 2015.
agribusiness on the ground
by angie salom
Think Chocolate
Chocolate is a fruit
In Central or South America, cocoa trees grow and after a few years they will yield fruit.
Cocoa pods grow on the trunk and lower branches of trees, and when ripe are yellow or red.
The beans inside are covered by a sweet-sour pulp.
This is washed off and the beans are fermented for a few days in wooden boxes, and then dried in the sun.
A fermented cocoa bean already tasted like chocolate! It will now be shipped to a processing facility,
where it will be cracked, ground, pressed, refined and eventually made into chocolate.