MicroVest today announced a loan of $15 million to Georgia’s Credo Bank. The loan seeks to promote post-COVID access to financing for the country’s agricultural microentrepreneurs, MSMEs, and youth-owned enterprises.
Agriculture remains an important sector for the Georgian economy. The sector accounted for approximately 7-8% of GDP over the past five years and employs 40% of all the country’s inhabitants (ITA). Credo Bank is one of Georgia’s market leaders in agricultural lending, with nearly half of its portfolio comprised of agricultural loans.
Founded in 1997 as a part of World Vision’s micro lending program, Credo Bank is a regulated, commercial bank based in Tbilisi, Georgia. With a network of 75 branches and 430,000 customers across the country, Credo is among the top 10 banks in Georgia by asset size and offers a full suite of products including business loans, personal loans, credit cards, deposits and payment services. Credo was the first financial institution in Georgia to achieve SMART Campaign certification. Unique to other banks in Georgia, Credo has a strong presence in rural areas and is one of the few banks to focus on delivering banking products and services to farmers and microenterprises.
This is MicroVest’s fourth investment in the company.