SIFEM - Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets
Home›News›Article

SIFEM INVESTS USD 10 MILLION IN FINTECH IN AFRICA AND ASIA

The COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing economic uncertainty have negatively affected investments in the fintech sector and access to funding has become more difficult for early to mid-stage fintech companies in frontier and emerging markets. In this context, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) has invested USD 10 million in the Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund (LMFCF), which will provide debt facilities to early and mid-stage fintech companies across Africa and Asia.

Photo credit: Amartha


These fintech companies will supply credit, working capital, remittances, and payment solutions to MSMEs as well as to unbanked and underbanked consumers. SIFEM’s investment in LMFCF therefore aims at filling a market gap left by traditional debt providers and is expected to contribute to financial inclusion by promoting access to finance for MSMEs and households. LMFCF has a target of USD 100 million. In addition to SIFEM, other private and public investors include the development finance institutions FMO (Netherlands), BIO (Belgium), and DFC (USA).

The SIFEM Deputy Chairman, Susanne Grossmann, said that: “SIFEM’s investment in this fintech credit fund can play a positive role in attracting capital to the fintech environment in emerging markets. I also believe that SIFEM and its partners can make a meaningful contribution to scaling local solutions and providing better access to finance for communities in Africa and Asia."


Contact: Simon Denoth, SIFEM Head of Public Affairs, sdenoth@obviam.ch, +41 31 310 09 38


SIFEM Portfolio

Lendable Inc.

Back