Lendable Inc., a leading emerging market fintech credit provider, is targeting a ground-breaking $100 million closed-ended fund focused on emerging and frontier market fintech investments, with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, backing it as well.
The Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund (the ‘Fund’) is designed to unlock access to financial services for over 150,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s), providing investors with high impact exposure to important markets and the potential of high uncorrelated returns.
This Fund provides credit to African and Asian fintech companies, who in turn offer fair credit facilities to MSMEs. These same MSMEs are the engines of wealth creation, financial inclusion and economic growth in these regions, yet historically have had limited access to fair credit and financial services.
Backed by leading blue-chip impact and development financial institution (DFI) investors, the Fund today has soft closed a $49 million investment from DFC, DFAT, Calvert, Ceniarth, BIO, FMO and FSD Africa (FSDAi). Another $20 million is on track to close in the fourth quarter and the fund is expected to hard close above $100 million in 2022. This is a five-year blended finance closed-ended Luxembourg Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF), with FSDA and DFAT providing the first loss capital tranche.
Combining West Coast technology with Emerging Market needs, Lendable’s proprietary Risk Engine analyses live borrower data from its investee fintech CRMs, opening-up an unparalleled level of granularity across the entire loan book. It is this level of transparency, both on an individual loan and portfolio basis, that enhances loan underwriting and allows for more effective and efficient risk management. This technology has already proven its predictive power, by accurately forecasting the impact of adverse weather, election unrest, COVID-19 lockdowns and other local events.
The Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund is Lendable’s fourth fund and with the soft close takes the Firm’s overall committed capital to over $200 million. Since inception (October 2016), the Firm’s cumulative return has annualised a net return of 14.32%.
“We have had an amazing response to this Fund and have brought on board an impressive slate of leading impact investors and DFIs who back our approach,” commented Daniel Goldfarb, co-Founder of Lendable. “Through our fintech investments, we are providing essential working capital for MSMEs that enables off-grid customers to buy energy products and opens the door to innovative digital banking services to consumers. It is about making a high impact difference.”
Chris Wéhbe, CEO of Lendable added, “We are incredibly proud of our track record in delivering genuine impact and consistent high returns. With our additional fund raising we can grow our committed capital to $500 million, which will allow us to expand our reach into new markets, where we have a targeted pipeline of investment opportunities.”
Marnix Monsfort, Director Financial Institutions, FMO, added, “Emerging market fintech investment has a direct and highly important impact on regional development. Sadly, all too often, quality firms struggle to scale due to a lack of adequate, tailored capital. FMO is excited to partner with Lendable as its proposition directly addresses this issue by bringing new capital to the table combined with their strong record of delivering competitive risk-adjusted returns for investors.”
Algene Sajery, Vice President of the Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Investments, DFC, concluded, “Our investment in the Fintech Credit Fund will help catalyze the next wave of commercial investment into emerging market fintech companies. Development finance institutions like DFC can play an outsized role in attracting different types of capital with different risk appetites to the sector. By supporting transformative fintech companies, DFC and our partners can achieve greater impact while expanding access to finance for underserved communities – particularly women – in emerging economies.”
For further information contact:
Matt Ward
+44 (0) 758 526 2370
Alastair Crabbe
+44 (0) 778 526 8282
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About Lendable
Lendable is a leading debt finance provider to fintech companies across frontier and emerging markets that create access to new financial products and services for un- and under-banked populations. Lendable finances fintech companies that facilitate consumer and MSME credit, productive asset finance, payments, remittances, and digital marketplaces. From its offices in Nairobi, London, and Singapore, and using its proprietary technology and data, Lendable directly originates, structures, underwrites, and monitors all transactions. To date, Lendable has disbursed over $180m to fintechs in over nine countries.
