CFSI believes harnessing entrepreneurial energy and originality is essential to delivering effective financial services to underbanked consumers. It therefore supports promising new companies, products and solutions through direct investment via its Catalyst Fund, grants, and by working to attract and organize funding from other sources.
Since its inception in 2004, CFSI has provided almost one and a half million dollars in grants and investments, in addition to its work developing broader investment syndicates. All of its funding projects share the common goal of having potentially broad industry acceptance and measurable impact.
Grant project successes include CFSI's integral role in the establishment of the Credit Builders Alliance, which enables microlenders to report payment data to Experian, an exciting step forward in the credit building process. CFSI's first investment, in CircleLending, has come to fruition with Virgin USA's acquisition of a majority stake in the company, concrete evidence of the industry's growing acceptance of serving emerging markets in new ways, as well as of CFSI's role in identifying promising companies and effectively helping them grow. Since CFSI's investment in TIO Networks, it has expanded its network of financial services kiosks to over 2000, and extended its service options beyond bill payment to include prepaid card issuance, card reloading and credit building features.
Under the auspices of its CFSI Catalyst Fund, L.P., the Center continues to seek investment opportunities with the potential to both become highly profitable and to demonstrate transformational impact for underbanked consumers. CFSI is actively looking for early growth stage business-to-business or business-to-consumer companies that:
- address underbanked consumer needs;
- offer pioneering products or services;
- demonstrate positive consumer impact and value; and
- can credibly project aggressive rate of return in large addressable markets.
Attractive investment candidates have a strong management team, completed product, signed reference client, and are generating revenue.
Companies meeting these criteria - or investors interested in such companies - should contact CFSI's Associate Director, Arjan Schütte, who oversees the Center's investment activities.
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