Olympus Capital Asia

Strategic partnership will help accelerate growth plans in Asian markets, tapping into the region’s large unbanked sector

 (Amsterdam/Singapore, 6 January 2016) - CreditAccess Asia NV, the leading multi-country microfinance operator in Asia with operations in India and South East Asia, and Olympus Capital Asia, a leading middle market pan-Asia private equity firm, announced today that they have established a strategic partnership in which Olympus Capital Asia will invest a minimum US$30 million to fund the accelerated expansion plans of CreditAccess Asia in its retail lending operations across Asia.  As part of the agreement, Olympus Capital Asia will also have a seat on the company’s Board. The strategic partnership with CreditAccess Asia was the fourth private equity investment Olympus Capital Asia made in the past year. 

 “We are very pleased to have Olympus Capital Asia on board as a strategic shareholder of CreditAccess Asia,” said Paolo Brichetti, CEO of CreditAccess Asia. “Olympus Capital Asia supports our growth strategy to become the leading provider of financial and non-financial products for micro-enterprises in India and South East Asia. Given their deep experience in financial services and presence in our key markets of India and South East Asia, Olympus Capital Asia is an ideal partner to help accelerate our growth plans driven by tapping new geographical markets in Asia and via the expansion of our product range to meet our clients’ needs. Over time, we have built a unique relationship with our clients and we aim to be recognized as their key financial and business partner.”

Daniel Mintz, Managing Director of Olympus Capital Asia, commented: “We are very excited to be partnering with CreditAccess Asia, which is very well positioned for the growth opportunities within the unbanked sector by offering fair and stable access to credit and other financial services. We are confident in the growth prospects of the company and we look forward to working with Paolo Brichetti, the management team and the other shareholders to continue to drive CreditAccess Asia’s success in this fast-growing sector.”

Strategy of CreditAccess Asia and Growth Potential of “Unbanked” Asia

Over half of the world’s unbanked population resides in Asia (Worldbank 2015). India and South East Asia have a population of two billion people, characterized by a highly entrepreneurial spirit, a strong credit culture and, in many areas, low financial penetration of the banking system. They represent over 200 million households that are credit worthy and demand customized financial services supporting their businesses.

CreditAccess Asia responds to this strategic opportunity by providing professional and customized financial services to local micro-entrepreneurs in the region, building on strong technological and process innovation. CreditAccess Asia has developed an operational model based on the microfinance group-lending methodology in order to provide high quality financial services to this unbanked sector at low risk and with high levels of efficiency. Since its establishment in 2007, the company has experienced strong growth in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

CreditAccess Asia currently has a total portfolio of EUR 240 million with over 1.3 million clients. The initial investment proceeds of US$30 million will be used to fund the expansion of the company’s operations in existing markets and to set up operations in new geographies within Asia. Over the next two years, CreditAccess Asia aims to expand its operations into an additional one to two new countries and expects to more than double its client base to over three million customers.

For more information, please contact:

 CreditAcess Asia:

Michael Bosman – Director Investor Relations

E: michael.bosman@creditaccess.com

T: +31 6 229 32320

 Olympus Capital Asia:

CreditAccess Asia

CreditAccess Asia is an operator of credit institutions in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Today, its regional companies in Asia have a total portfolio of EUR 240 million with over 1.3 million clients. Over the next two years, CreditAccess Asia aims to expand its operations into one to two new countries in Asia and to more than double its client base to over 3 million customers. The CreditAccess Asia companies employ some 5,400 people across the world.  CreditAccess Asia is committed to seeking a stock listing in the longer term to enable the company to raise capital to further extend its outreach to unbanked entrepreneurs in Asia. The focus on the very attractive and fast-growing segment of micro-enterprises that do not have access to local banking services provides significant growth opportunities.

More information on CreditAccess Asia N.V. can be found at www.creditaccess.com.

Olympus Capital Asia

Olympus Capital Asia is an Asian middle market private equity firm with experienced investment professionals and advisors located in Hong Kong, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and New York. The firm focuses on financial services, food & agribusiness, environmental and healthcare. Since its founding in 1997, Olympus Capital Asia has successfully invested over US$2 billion on behalf of its funds and co-investors in more than 40 portfolio companies throughout Asia, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. In addition to helping middle-market companies expand in their home markets, Olympus Capital Asia leverages its regional platform to help portfolio companies drive cross-border expansion where possible. 

More information on Olympus Capital Asia can be found at www.olympuscap.com.