Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to support 3IM with partners from Refugee Investment Network, 17 Asset Management, and cross-sector leaders
April 29, 2019 – The Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) will accompany a group of cross-sector partners including the Refugee Investment Network and 17 Asset Management today to announce the Initiative for Inclusive Investment in Mexico (3IM). 3IM is a new cross-sector, cross-border partnership that will attract long-term strategic growth capital for investments in Mexico through the inclusion of displaced people in economic development projects.
3IM will foster new venture creation and the expansion of employment, workforce development, and skills matching to create thousands of jobs and enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mexico while also reducing unemployment and displacement. This initiative’s efforts will help improve regional stability by supporting businesses and advancing economic development in Mexico, with a particular focus on areas with high displaced populations such as southern Mexico and the northern border states.
The announcement comes at a time when displacement of people has become an increasingly pressing challenge in the region. 3IM was created in recognition that forcibly displaced people are hard-working, entrepreneurial, employable, and creditworthy. In the US, for example, refugees have the highest rate of entrepreneurship (13%) and immigrant-owned businesses employ over 8 million Americans. Indeed, 44% of Fortune 500 companies as of 2018 were founded by immigrants or their children.
To help catalyze action across private and public investors to advance Mexico’s development, 3IM’s first step will be to conduct a market assessment and design a roadmap to identify refugee investment opportunities in southern and northern Mexico. This assessment will use the Refugee Investment Network’s “Refugee & Migration Lens,” which classifies six types of investments that benefit displaced people: refugee-owned businesses; refugee-led businesses; projects supporting refugees; projects supporting host communities through infrastructure, employment, and goods and services; lending instruments; and funds.
A cross-sector and cross-border advisory board will build on this foundational research and guide the development of 3IM. Additionally as part of 3IM, 17 Asset Management (17AM) will design a new blended finance investment fund specifically focused on investment opportunities for inclusive growth in Mexico. 17AM is currently in the process of designing the world’s first private equity fund fully focused on affecting the lives of displaced people and their host communities. 17AM will specifically target Mexico as it transitions from a country of origination of migrants to a hosting/destination country for migrants.