Symbiotics: Private debt in emerging markets is mature, scalable, and relevant for Dutch institutional investors

June 17, 2026

Private impact debt in emerging markets is rapidly evolving from a niche strategy into a mature asset class. In this interview, Yvan Renaud, CEO of Symbiotics Group, and Hermen Molendijk, Head of Business Development for the Benelux, explain how they assess impact, risk, and scalability in this market. They address persistent perceptions surrounding emerging markets, outline the relevance for Dutch institutional investors, and describe the practical steps required to approach this asset class in a disciplined and effective manner.

By Harry Geels

Symbiotics has grown into a global investment manager in private impact debt in emerging markets. How would you describe the firm today, and what differentiates your model from others?

Yvan Renaud: 'Symbiotics was among the first investment managers to focus on impact investing in emerging and frontier markets, and today we have more than twenty years of experience in this space. Over that period, our focus has been on building a platform that gives institutional investors consistent and disciplined access to private markets in these economies. Since 2005, we have executed more than 9,100 investments, representing a total volume exceeding USD 11.6 billion, benefiting over 650 companies across 99 countries. We currently manage an aggregated portfolio of USD 2.5 billion across 19 funds and mandates. In addition, our portfolio companies have benefited from more than 170 technical assistance projects, with a cumulative value exceeding USD 20 million.¹

What is important for investors is not just scale, but the ability to deploy capital while maintaining diversification. Many market participants can offer one or the other, but very few can do both consistently across markets and cycles. Having been active in this asset class from an early stage also means we invest in local presence and infrastructure. In countries where we serve a significant institutional client base, we also maintain a local presence and the relevant licences. This is the case in the Netherlands as well, where we are licensed by the AFM as an advisor and have a dedicated team of seven colleagues.'

Hermen Molendijk: 'What truly differentiates us is our integrated value chain. We source and originate deals ourselves, manage the portfolios, and also handle workout and recovery processes in house. That gives investors a much clearer line of sight into risk management. We are also independent from large financial groups, which allows us to tailor mandates to the specific needs of pension funds, banks, and other institutional investors.

Another key differentiator is that a substantial portion of our investments is structured and denominated in local currency. Local currency strategies offer the advantage of higher yields and benefit from low correlation, both among themselves and relative to developed markets. By avoiding hedging costs, they present compelling alternatives to traditional hedged strategies, contributing to competitive returns.

Renaud: 'We have built extensive expertise in this area and understand well how to price local‑currency risk. I am confident in saying that our unhedged investment solutions have consistently outperformed the relevant benchmark, the Tameo Microfinance Index, over the past decade, despite periods of significant market stress for local currencies.'

Impact appears to be deeply embedded in Symbiotics’ investment philosophy. How do you ensure that outcomes are measurable and verifiable?

Renaud: 'Our starting point is financing the real economy in emerging markets through private capital. This approach enables us to engage directly with the companies we invest in, ensuring that proceeds are used as intended and allowing us to collect detailed impact data. It also provides the opportunity to address any concerns related to these key aspects directly with our investees. None of this would be possible without such close engagement.

Our main impact themes are financial inclusion and, increasingly climate finance. We monitor key indicators such as the number of SMEs financed, the number of loans to female entrepreneurs, and CO₂ avoided through our investments. Our KPIs are fully aligned with recognized industry standards.

I do not believe investors can achieve the same level of impact through listed equities. In private markets, impact KPIs can be explicitly incorporated into deal structures and subsequently monitored and adjusted far more effectively.

This is not risky growth; it is stable, long‑term growth grounded in fundamentals.

When challenges arise, we do not exit investments abruptly or without considering the broader context. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis, we spearheaded a sector initiative to temporarily extend loan terms to borrowers who were sound, but faced short-term liquidity constraints due to lockdowns.'

You also hear that impact is often greater in emerging markets than in Western countries.

Renaud: 'That is another important angle. Financing a renewable energy project in the Netherlands clearly has a positive impact. But in frontier and emerging markets, the impact is often inherently greater, because these markets are still building core financial and economic infrastructure.

By providing capital and establishing sustainability criteria for our partners, we create a virtuous cycle that fosters inclusion, resilience, and improved market practices. This form of impact is complementary to the KPIs we track, as mentioned earlier. It is less tangible or, say, measurable, but equally important.'

Perceptions of emerging markets are often shaped by outdated assumptions and risk stereotypes. From a macro‑economic and credit‑risk perspective, how do you assess the current EM landscape?

Renaud: 'When I entered this sector twenty‑five years ago, I personally viewed it as a high‑risk investment category. But after decades of hands‑on experience, my perspective has really changed significantly. Fundamentals play in favour of emerging and frontier markets. They benefit from much healthier demographics, increasingly well‑educated populations, clearly higher economic growth, and fast developing domestic markets.

In recent years, the macro-economic environment in developed markets has deteriorated significantly, largely due to weakening fundamentals. In contrast, emerging and frontier markets have remained quite stable, even in the volatile market landscape we have experienced lately. In my view, this divergence between developed and emerging markets is structural and will persist in the long-term.

Another important aspect that is often overlooked is that public and private debt levels are generally much lower in emerging, and especially in frontier, markets compared to developed economies. This offers greater scope for healthy leveraged growth.'

Renaud points out that this has important implications for portfolio construction. 'This is not risky growth, but stable, long‑term growth grounded in real‑economy fundamentals, particularly in private credit.'

'Diversification further strengthens this profile. All our portfolios are invested at any time in more than forty countries, which significantly reduces concentration risk. Many of these economies are also less exposed to certain global shocks than is often assumed. During recent U.S. tariff‑related trade tensions, for example, the real‑economy impact in many emerging and frontier markets was limited, as their dependence on U.S. export demand is relatively low. Even non‑performing loan ratios are materially lower than commonly assumed, while governance, regulations and policy standards have improved tremendously in past decades. Nonetheless, outdated risk perceptions persist, frequently resulting in structural under‑allocations by institutional investors.'

He adds that, from an investment perspective, corporate credit dynamics often matter more than sovereign indicators. While sovereign indicators tend to dominate headlines, borrower fundamentals, balance‑sheet quality and repayment behaviour are far more decisive for long‑term portfolio outcomes.

Emerging market private impact debt is no longer a niche — it is a strategic building block for institutional portfolios.

Why is private impact debt in emerging markets particularly relevant for Dutch institutional investors?

Hermen Molendijk: 'The Dutch institutional market is highly mature when it comes to sustainable finance and impact investing. Investors here are typically looking for what is increasingly referred to as ‘3D investing’: strategies that combine impact, disciplined risk control and long‑term returns. Emerging market private impact debt fits that profile well.

Because emerging and frontier markets are at an earlier stage of development, the impact intensity of capital is higher. Financing financial inclusion, SMEs, or renewable energy projects often supports essential economic infrastructure. At the same time, the asset class offers a competitive risk‑return profile. Our portfolios are designed to deliver stability through steady growth, with net returns typically around 300 basis points above the risk‑free rate, while maintaining non‑performing loan ratios generally below three percent.

Scalability is sometimes cited as a challenge in impact investing, but this is precisely where our platform plays a role. We are able to deploy substantial institutional capital, up to several hundred million, without compromising diversification or impact integrity.”

According to Molendijk, this combination makes emerging market private impact debt particularly suitable as a long‑term strategic allocation for Dutch pension funds and other institutional investors.

How should investors approach this asset class in practice?

Yvan Renaud: 'It requires three steps: reassessment, analysis, and access. First, it is important for investors to critically re-examine their assumptions about emerging markets and evaluate the underlying fundamentals objectively. Second, a data‑driven comparison of risk and return is essential, where private impact debt demonstrates strong competitiveness. Finally, success depends on selecting the right access point, ideally through independent managers with a local presence, the ability to construct bespoke portfolios, and a long, verifiable track record.'