MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution Banco Solidario Borrows $3m from MicroVest to Speed MSMEs’ Adjustment to COVID-19 Pandemic

Ecuador’s Banco Solidario recently agreed to borrow USD 3 million from MicroVest, a debt-focused asset manager owned by US-based DAI Global, to support the microbank’s financial education of women as well as “the expansion of the company’s SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] portfolio to revive the liquidity needs of small businesses seeking working capital in the post-COVID environment.” Established in 1995, Banco Solidario offers loans, savings, insurance and fund transfer services. Its microenterprise loans range in size up to USD 20,000 with terms of up to 4 years. As of 2022, the company’s assets amount to USD 780 million, and it has approximately 255,000 borrowers, of whom 55 percent are women.

MicroVest was founded in 2003 and specializes in channeling investments to funders of microenterprises and SMEs in low- and middle-income countries. The firm’s portfolio was valued at USD 519 million as of 2021.

By Hasnat Aslam, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

MicroVest press release
https://microvestfund.com/microvest-invests-in-banco-solidario-to-facilitate-msme-growth-in-ecuador-post-covid/

Banco Solidario homepage
https://www.banco-solidario.com/

MicroVest homepage
https://microvestfund.com/

DAI Global homepage
https://www.dai.com/

Previous MicroCapital story on Banco Solidario
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-belgian-investment-company-for-developing-countries-bio-disburses-grant-to-banco-solidario-of-ecuador-for-financial-education-complimenting-8m-loan/

Previous MicroCapital story on MicroVest
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-institution-fundacion-espoir-receives-2m-investment-from-microvest-targeting-women-led-businesses-in-ecuador/

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