Our Approach
Our Partnership Model
Polinvest works with institutional partners in three primary capacities: as a co-originator bringing deal flow that complements your existing portfolio; as a co-arranger sharing the work of structuring and syndicating a transaction; and as a sub-participant taking a portion of a facility you have arranged. The right model depends on your institution's appetite, capacity, and strategic objectives. Many of our institutional relationships involve all three modes over the course of a year, as we work together across a diversified pipeline of transactions in sectors and geographies of mutual interest.
Our Commitment
Alignment of Interests
We structure our institutional partnerships to ensure genuine alignment. In transactions where we introduce deal flow, we retain a meaningful economic interest. In transactions where we co-arrange, we share both the fee income and the credit exposure proportionally. We do not act as a pure broker, we are a committed participant in every transaction we arrange. This alignment means that our institutional partners can be confident that our due diligence standards reflect our own risk appetite, not just a service obligation. Our reputation for disciplined origination and honest credit assessment is the foundation of our institutional relationships.
Partnership Benefits
What Institutions Gain
Expanded Deal Flow
Access to a curated pipeline of mid-market and large-cap transactions across emerging markets that have been through our initial credit and suitability screening. We share transaction information under NDA and engage only with institutions that have demonstrated relevant appetite.
Shared Due Diligence
We prepare comprehensive due diligence packages for all transactions we arrange, covering financial analysis, legal review, market assessment, and ESG evaluation. Institutional co-lenders and co-investors can leverage our work to reduce their own internal due diligence cost and timeline.
Ongoing Relationship Management
We maintain active relationships with our institutional partners beyond individual transactions. We share market intelligence, sector research, and portfolio monitoring reports on a regular basis, ensuring that our partners are informed about developments in the markets and sectors where we are jointly deployed.
FAQ
Common Questions
What is the minimum participation size for institutional co-lenders?
Minimum participation sizes vary by transaction but are typically USD 2 million for smaller facilities and USD 5 million or above for larger syndicated or project finance facilities. We design syndicates to include a manageable number of lenders at meaningful ticket sizes.
How does Polinvest handle covenant waivers and amendments during the facility term?
As facility agent, Polinvest manages all post-closing administration including covenant monitoring, waiver requests, and amendment processes. We keep all lenders informed of any borrower requests and coordinate the lender consent process in accordance with the facility agreement.
Can institutions participate as both lenders and equity co-investors in the same transaction?
Yes, subject to regulatory requirements in the institution's home jurisdiction. Some transactions, particularly blended finance structures, benefit from a participant who provides both a senior debt tranche and a subordinated equity or mezzanine component, improving the overall capital structure for the borrower.
Institutional Partnerships
Building Lasting Institutional Relationships
The institutions we work with most successfully are those that approach the relationship as a long-term partnership rather than a transaction-by-transaction engagement. These partners know our origination standards, trust our due diligence, and are able to allocate to new opportunities quickly because they have built familiarity with our processes and our team. In return, we give these partners early access to our deal pipeline, priority in allocation decisions, and direct access to our deal teams for any transaction-specific questions.
We understand that institutional co-lenders and co-investors have their own governance and credit approval processes that must be respected. We structure our transaction timelines to provide adequate time for institutional review, and we prepare our information packages to the standard required by institutional compliance and credit committees. When we know a transaction will require DFI participation, we engage with the relevant institution early and incorporate their specific requirements, environmental standards, procurement policies, procurement restrictions, into the transaction structure from the outset rather than retrofitting them later.
Development finance institution partnerships are particularly important to our infrastructure and project finance practice. DFI participation provides credit enhancement, political risk protection, and access to concessional funding tranches that can make otherwise-marginal transactions commercially viable. We maintain active relationships with the major DFIs operating in our target markets, understand their current investment priorities and appetite, and proactively match our transaction pipeline to their mandates. This ability to facilitate DFI co-investment is a significant advantage in transactions where purely commercial financing would be insufficient.
Institutional Co-Lending
The Economics of Syndicate Participation
The economics of syndicated lending are attractive for institutions with the capacity to participate. As a lender in a Polinvest-arranged syndicate, you earn the agreed margin on your participation from the date of drawdown, share in any arrangement or agency fees on a pro-rata basis, and benefit from the security package negotiated for the full syndicate. Our role as agent means you do not need to devote significant internal resource to monitoring the facility after close, we handle the day-to-day administration and keep you informed of developments.
Secondary market liquidity, the ability to sell your participation in a syndicated facility to another lender, is a consideration for some institutional participants. While our facilities are primarily structured as hold-to-maturity investments, participation can typically be transferred to another approved institution subject to borrower consent and legal documentation. We can assist in facilitating secondary transfers where institutions need to reduce their exposure ahead of maturity.
For development finance institutions with specific impact mandates, our transaction pipeline offers access to investments that deliver measurable development outcomes alongside financial returns. Infrastructure that creates employment, agribusiness financing that improves food security, healthcare facilities that expand access to medical services, these are the types of transactions that make up a significant portion of our pipeline. We prepare impact metrics and development additionality assessments for transactions where DFI participation is anticipated, providing the documentation that impact-focused investors require for their own reporting.
Polinvest Capital
Submit Your Project Today
New, existing, and stalled projects are all considered. Our team reviews every submission and responds within five business days.
All projects considered
New, existing, or stalled, we evaluate every submission on merit.
5-day response commitment
Our origination desk responds to every submission within five business days.
$500M– $3.5B available
Active capital across syndicated, project finance, equity, and infrastructure facilities.