Venture capital firm Quona Capital, which focuses on financial inclusion via technology in emerging markets, recently closed its second fund, the Accion Quona Inclusion Fund, at a volume of USD 203 million. Accion, a US-based nonprofit, is the anchor investor in the fund, which had an initial target of USD 150 million. Quona Capital was launched within Accion before spinning off as an independent firm in 2015. Quona Capital also manages the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, which remains “on Accion’s balance sheet.” This fund, which is closed to new investment, had raised USD 141 million as of 2017.
With offices in the US city of Washington and the Indian city of Bangalore, Quona Capital has invested in 29 companies seeking to “improve the quality, access, and affordability of financial services for underserved consumers and businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia.” The Accion Quona Inclusion Fund has invested in firms including Kenya’s e-commerce platform Sokowatch, Pakistan’s payment platform Finja, India’s digital lending platform ZestMoney, Thailand’s insurance technology (insurtech) company Sunday, Brazilian ride-hailing startup Kovi and digital tax-assistance platform Contabilizei.
Accion is a nonprofit organization that has 110 partner microfinance institutions providing capital and advisory services to enterprises in 50 countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Accion comprises five entities: Accion Frontier Investments (AFI), Accion Global Advisory Solutions, Accion Global Investments, Accion Venture Lab (AVL) and the Center for Financial Inclusion. Accion has offices in China, India and the United States.
By Ng Chee Meng, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Accion press release on Accion Quona Inclusion Fund
https://www.accion.org/quona-capital-closes-second-fund-with-203-million-aimed-at-financial-inclusion-in-emerging-markets
MicroCapital article on Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-quona-capital-management-raises-141m-accion-frontier-inclusion-fund/
Quona Capital homepage
https://quona.com
Accion homepage
https://www.accion.org
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