Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment initiative of US-based NGO Accion, recently sold its stake in Aye Finance, an India-based lender, to A91 Partners, an Indian venture capital fund. Accion Venture Lab bought a 15-percent stake in Aye in 2015 and provided advisory support to the organization in developing its mobile lending application. This transaction completes Accion’s divestiture from Aye, a process that began in 2018. The terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.
Based in the city of Gurgaon, Aye is a financial technology (fintech) firm that was founded in 2014. Through its mobile application, the firm provides microenterprises with access to credit to expand their operations. Using its credit appraisal technology, Aye analyses “credit habits and seasonal swings in business” and other “financial, behavioral and psychometric parameters” to structure loans for its customers. As of December 2018, Aye has disbursed 100,000 loans worth USD 190 million since its inception.
Accion Venture Lab invests amounts between USD 300,000 and USD 500,000 in early-stage startups. Accion is a nonprofit organization that has 110 partner microfinance institutions (MFIs) providing capital and advisory services to enterprises in 50 countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Accion comprises five entities: Accion Frontier Investments, Accion Global Advisory Solutions, Accion Global Investments, Accion Venture Lab and the Center for Financial Inclusion. The organization has offices in China, India and the United States.
A91 Partners is a Mumbai-based venture capital fund that launched in 2019. The fund had raised USD 351 million as of December 2019. A91 Partners seeks to invest in mid-size startups in amounts ranging from USD 10 million to USD 30 million.
By Ng Chee Meng, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Your Story article on equity exit
https://yourstory.com/2020/01/aye-finance-accion-exit-a91-partners-investor
VCCircle article on equity exit
https://www.vccircle.com/a91-partners-buys-accion-s-stake-in-sme-lender-aye-finance/
Aye Finance homepage
https://ayefin.com/
Aye Finance social impact report 2018
https://ayefin.com/Aye-Social_Performance_Management_Report_2018.pdf
A91 partners homepage
https://www.a91partners.com/
Accion webpage on Accion Venture Lab
https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab
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