MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab, Oikocredit Invest $5.7m in Equity in Sempli of Colombia to Expand Fintech Services for SMEs

The multilateral Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Netherlands-based cooperative investor Oikocredit recently closed an investment of USD 5.7 million in Colombian financial technology (fintech) company Sempli to increase its services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The amount invested by each organization and the sizes of the stakes they will take remain confidential.

Established in 2017, Sempli combines in-house with on-site due diligence to lend SMEs amounts ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 100,000. As of September 2018, Sempli has disbursed a total of USD 10 million in loans and has a portfolio of USD 7 million. The organization is preparing for a Series A funding round in 2019.

The investment from IDB comes from its Financial Innovation Lab, which seeks to “create investment vehicles and financial structures that maximize private sector leverage and optimize the use of donor’s funds, such as the Clean Technology Fund, Global Environmental Facility, [and] Green Climate Fund.”

Headquartered in the US city of Washington, the IDB Group serves Latin America and the Caribbean through four members: IDB, IDB Invest, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). IDB is a development finance institution that was founded in 1959 and has 48 member countries, including 26 countries located in Latin America and the Caribbean. It works with governments, companies and NGOs to finance sectors such as financial services, health, education, renewable energy, transportation and telecommunications. During 2017, IDB disbursed loans totaling USD 10 billion and had USD 89 billion in loans outstanding.

Founded in 1975, Oikocredit is a cooperative that invests in microfinance, fair trade, agriculture and renewable energy. As of 2018, Oikocredit has EUR 980 million (USD 1.1 billion) in outstanding capital invested in 700 firms, including 500 involved in financial inclusion.

By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Oikocredit press release
http://oikocreditusa.org/k/n1309/news/view/282023/3123/oikocredit-invests-in-fintech-sempli-to-support-sustainable-growth-of-smes-in-colombia.html

IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab
https://www.iadb.org/en/financial-innovation-lab/financial-innovation-lab

IDB homepage
https://www.iadb.org/

Oikocredit homepage
http://oikocredit.coop

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