On February 6, 2024, Pro FEPP GmbH – a non-profit subsidiary of Jugend Eine Welt – was able to place its new 5% “Help for Self-Help” bond on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Access to capital is still a problem in many countries in the Global South. However, without affordable capital, no economy can be built and developed that enables prosperity for everyone
Reinhard Heiserer, managing director of the Austrian development organization Jugend Eine Welt
Vienna (OTS) – On February 6, 2024, Pro FEPP GmbH – a non-profit subsidiary of Jugend Eine Welt – was able to place its new 5% “Help for Self-Help” bond on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The inclusion in the Vienna MTF (ESG segment) – the platform for sustainable investments of the Vienna Stock Exchange – marks an additional step towards transparency and underlines that a subscription to the bond represents a responsible and socially sustainable investment.
5% interest, 5 year term
The bond can be subscribed to through Pro FEPP GmbH since December 12, 2023 (ISIN: AT0000A36X85). The total volume is 10 million euros, with a denomination of 100,000 euros. The interest rate is 5 percent pa and the term is five years. The funds collected will be sent directly to our trusted partner The Ecuadorian People’s Development Fund (FEPP), passed on. The FEPP operates as one of the most important development organizations in Ecuador, especially for rural areas. It offers training, vocational training, environmental programs and provides access to capital for small and family businesses, artisans, farmers and cooperatives through microcredit and cooperative loans.
Sustainability quality confirmed by experts
In order to make the use of funds from the bond understandable for investors, the social bond issue by Pro FEPP GmbH was subjected to an external sustainability audit in the form of a “Second Party Opinion” (SPO) and assessed from a sustainability perspective in the form of a rating. Around Easter, an Austrian delegation visits the FEPP organization again to find out about the organization and the use of funds.
“It is important for investors to know where their money is “working” and that the sustainability quality is also confirmed by independent experts.”explained Reinhard Friesenbichler, Managing Director of rfu research GmbHwhich was commissioned for the external sustainability audit.
Great interest in ethically sustainable investments
Interest in ethically sustainable investments has increased steadily in recent years and Jugend Eine Welt, with its subsidiary – Don Bosco Financing GmbH – has taken on a pioneering role in the area of project financing in development cooperation at an early stage. Since 2009, three educational bonds have already been implemented with the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) in Ecuador as a good supplement to traditional project funding through donations.
“Access to capital is still a problem in many countries in the Global South. “Without affordable capital, no economy can be built and developed that enables prosperity for everyone.”
so Youth One World Managing Director Reinhard Heiserer.
The ESG segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange is growing continuously, with social funds and bonds still making up the much smaller share at less than 10%. We are therefore very pleased that Don Bosco Financing GmbH and Pro FEPP GmbH are helping to increase this share.
Further information about the “Help for Self-Help” bond and contact persons for those interested can be found at www.fairegeldanlage.at.
Questions & Contact:
Mag. Thomas Zach, MA
Youth One World | Press and public relations
Tel. +4366488632574 | thomas.zach@jugendeinewelt.at