A group of private and institutional investors including Dutch pension fund ABP and US-based asset manager TIAA-CREF has made the largest collective equity capital commitment to microfinance, as interest in the emerging asset class continues to grow.

Catalyst Microfinance Investors, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in microfinance institutions, has achieved its final private closing with total capital commitments of $125m (€84m). It intends to use most of the funds to establish and grow its investment vehicle, ASA International, in many of the largest microfinance markets in Africa and Asia.