Gojo & Company, Inc, a Tokyo-headquartered company that extends financial inclusion to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, announced that it has successfully closed first of its ongoing Series D financing rounds with $22 million in growth capital secured by March 2020. The final close is expected to be announced by July 2020.
The company will utilise the fund infusion for further growth of its existing group companies in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India apart from future expansion to new markets in Asia and Africa.
Seven Bank, Credit Saison, SBI Group and several individual investors including existing shareholders joined this financing round.
The company said that it has been continuously injecting fresh equity into its partners. Additionally, Gojo also provides inter-company loans backed by Japanese lenders. In the last quarter, Gojo has invested over USD 15 million in its partners.
Gojo has invested $5 million in Satya MicroCapital, a microfinance institution in India. The company said, “With imminent approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shore up its ownership in Satya, Gojo has invested USD 5 million with a commitment to invest an additional USD 10 million on the closure of all approval formalities.”
Gojo announces investment of $3.7 million in Aviom India Housing Finance. Gojo said in its press release, “Earlier in February 2020, Aviom received approval from RBI to allow Gojo to increase its ownership in the Company. As a result of this, Gojo invested an additional USD 3.7 million in Aviom in March 2020. The funds will enable Aviom to create an impact at the grass-root level and generate multiple growth opportunities for everyone, especially with a strong focus on women, thereby promoting gender equality.”
“Gojo also strengthened its Cambodia operations through an inter-company loan of USD 5 million to Maxima Microfinance. Maxima will use the funds for micro and individual loans mostly to women borrowers and also for the expansion of its small ticket digital loans through the agent banking model,” Gojo said on investment in Cambodia-based Maxima Microfinance.
Gojo commented on investment in Ananya Finance, “To consolidate its ownership and support the Company’s ongoing expansion plans, Gojo further invested USD 1.55 million in Ananya. Ananya is a wholesale lender to small and mid-sized microfinance institutions in India apart from lending to agri-companies and impact enterprises.”
Gojo & Company, Inc. is an enabler of financial inclusion for unserved and underserved communities, investing in and partnering with financial service providers around the world. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and has subsidiary companies in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, and India.
The company has a mission to extend financial access to all people in developing countries, and aims to reach over 100 million people in 50 or more countries by the end of 2030.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.