Credo Bank received GEL 35,000,000 loan from the ACTIAM Financial Inclusion and DWM Income Funds. The transaction was led by the U.S. based Developing World Markets (DWM) as an immediate response to COVID-19 impact. The three-year local currency facility will significantly support micro and small businesses in Georgia to uninterruptedly receive finance and successfully navigate challenges inflicted by the pandemic.
Zaal Pirtskhelava, General Director of Credo Bank: “I am pleased to welcome our new impact investment partners – ACTIAM Financial Inclusion and DWM Income Funds and thank Developing World Markets for efficient execution of the transaction. This local currency-denominated loan is of utmost importance to back our customers during the crisis. Particularly, it will help micro and small entrepreneurs to avoid currency induced credit risk and sustain operations.”
Theo Brouwers, Head of ACTIAM Impact Investing: “We are very pleased that the ACTIAM Financial Inclusion Fund is able to support Credo Bank with a local currency-denominated loan and hence help micro and small entrepreneurs in the country. ACTIAM Funds was supporting Credo Bank in the past and continue doing so with this new local currency loan.”
Naimjon Masaidov, Head of DWM Debt Investments in Eastern Europe, Central Asia & the Caucasus: “DWM is proud to partner with ACTIAM to provide local-currency financing to Credo Bank in support of the microfinance sector during the Covid-19 crisis. DWM is a long-standing investor in microfinance which went through many turbulent periods and is confident in both the short-term recovery and long-term viability of the sector.”
Credo Bank is the leading bank in the Georgian microfinance market in terms of countrywide presence and the number of clients. It operates 75 service centers and supports more than 330,000 customers across Georgia. The bank’s mission is to provide sustainable financial services to micro, small and medium businesses, with a preference for rural activities and those businesses that create income and employment opportunities. Credo Bank is owned by a consortium of social impact investors – Access Microfinance Holding AG, ResponsAbility Investment Management AG, and Triodos Investment Management BV.
The ACTIAM Financial Inclusion Fund is managed by ACTIAM, a Dutch-based asset manager. The Fund provides finance to micro, small, and enterprises in developing and emerging economies by providing senior and sub-debt to Financial Institutions. ACTIAM has launched the first institutional microfinance fund in 2007 and to date, ACTIAM screened approximately € 3.0 billion private debt investments with screening over 220 Financial Institutions from more than 40 countries.
Developing World Markets is an impact asset manager with over two decades of experience in emerging and frontier markets. Through DWM Asset Management, LLC, the firm’s SEC-registered investment advisor, DWM has originated and managed over $2 billion of private debt and private equity in impact-oriented enterprises, including over 600 loans and 25 private equity stakes in more than 40 emerging and frontier countries. The firm operates from its headquarter in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, and is supported by offices and team members in Delhi, Lima, Managua, Nairobi, Quito, San Jose (Costa Rica), and Singapore as well as in Japan, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
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