Shareholders > Philosophy

Investment Philosophy

Regionally Focused Investments

MicroCred will follow a regionally-focused strategy, and plans to invest:

  1. In Africa and MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) for the major part of its portfolio;
  2. In Latin America;
  3. In Asia.

These investments will mostly consist of creations of Greenfield microfinance companies. However, depending on countries and contexts, MicroCred may consider investing in Microfinance institutions, former NGOs that have been transformed, or already existing companies.

Microfinance institutions that will belong to the MicroCred Group will be either commercial companies or banks ruled by local microfinance regulation and law.


Common Tools & Methodologies within MicroCred group

MicroCred companies will all share the same business orientations as well as common practices. A common set of tools, methodologies and procedures will be implemented throughout the group among which:

  1. Management, Administration, Financing and Reporting Procedures & Guidelines;
  2. Human Resources Training & Incentives Guidelines;
  3. Internal Control and Governance Rules;
  4. Products (Saving, Credit, others);
  5. Information Systems;
  6. Image, Marketing & Communication Guidelines.

Target Investment Profiles

MicroCred will invest in two types of Microfinance Institutions:

  1. Greenfield
  2. Existing Institutions

In both case, selected investments have strong growth and development potential. Systematically, MicroCred will ensure that the targeted institutions agree with MicroCred’s project at every stage.

For the investment in existing institutions, it will be crucial for MicroCred to ensure that existing MFIs agree to belong to an international group of microfinance sharing common values, an Ethical Charter, procedures and governance rules, and common objectives for growth and development.

The investment may imply major changes for the existing institutions, such as changes in; branding, product offering, management and information system, management staff, etc.

To make these operations a success, MicroCred will rely upon the expertise of both PlaNet Finance and its own staff. These experts will be sent to the field to help with the setting up or the development of MFIs of the MicroCred portfolio.

MicroCred will also rely on the expertise of the Microfinance Institutions it will invest in. MicroCred will consider those existing MFIs as partners of the development of the whole group. Indeed, these target investments will be measured not only in terms of their potential to become leaders in microfinance in their own country but also in terms of what they could bring to the whole group of MicroCred and particularly in terms of:

  • Management & Human Resources quality
  • Product Development & innovation expertise
  • Regional / International network

A Core group of investors

MicroCred intends to invest jointly with a group of investors among which:

  1. International Financing Institutions such as, International Finance Corporation (IFC), InterAmerican Investment Corporation (IIC), Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), etc.
  2. Private Financial Institutions (Société Générale, Axa Bank Belgium, etc.) ;
  3. Private local investors.