Konfio B (IFC-39749)

Countries
  • Mexico
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 4, 2017
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
KONFIO LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 6.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 6.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Aug 3, 2018

Disclosed by Bank Jun 8, 2017

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

From the IFC:

Konfio is an online lending platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSMEs”) in Mexico founded in 2013 to address the lack of credit for the vast creditworthy but underserved entrepreneurial segment in Mexico. Konfio has developed an algorithm to underwrite unsecured working capital loans in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional lenders, at competitive rates but with greater convenience for the customer. IFC is considering a debt and equity investment in Konfio, which will be used to finance the Company’s continued expansion. The Project aligns with IFC’s contribution to the WBG goals by addressing gaps to financial services through the use of financial technology.

Currently Konfio offers only small unsecured medium term working capital loans but the company is planning to expand its offerings to larger and longer term loans for its repeat customers. The risk of these activities is considered low and as such this project has been classified as category FI-3 according to the IFC Environmental and Social Review Procedure.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Konfio is raising debt and equity investment to finance (i) customer acquisition costs; (ii) continued growth in underwriting (complemented by debt facility) and (iii) investment in product offering expansion.

The IFC's proposed project consists of $3 million equity and $3 million debt investment to Konfio, who is offering short and medium term working capital loans to formal micro and small enterprises in Mexico.

Konfio also has four institutional investors; QED Investors, Kaszek Ventures, Quona Capital, and Jaguar Ventures. QED Investors is a direct investment fund, set up by one of the co-founders of Capital One, which is focused on high-growth companies that leverage data strategies in FinTech and has made early stage investments in many online lending businesses such as Credit Karma, ClearScore, SoFi and Prosper. Kaszek is a VC fund of the founders of MercadoLibre with extensive experience in investing in high-impact technology-based companies with a main focus in Latin America. Jaguar is an early stage Latin American VC firm focused on internet based ventures while Quona Capital manages the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, a global fintech fund that invests in innovative financial technology and services companies that promote financial inclusion around the world.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Konfio is an online lending platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Mexico founded in 2013 to address the lack of credit for the vast creditworthy but underserved entrepreneurial segment in Mexico. Konfio has developed an algorithm to underwrite unsecured working capital loans in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional lenders, at competitive rates but with greater convenience for the customer.

The Founders are the majority shareholders in the Company. Konfio also has four institutional investors; QED Investors, Kaszek Ventures, Quona Capital, and Jaguar Ventures. QED Investors is a direct investment fund, set up by one of the co-founders of Capital One, which is focused on high-growth companies that leverage data strategies in FinTech and has made early stage investments in many online lending businesses such as Credit Karma, ClearScore, SoFi and Prosper. Kaszek is a VC fund of the founders of MercadoLibre with extensive experience in investing in high-impact technology-based companies with a main focus in Latin America. Jaguar is an early stage Latin American VC firm focused on internet based ventures while Quona Capital manages the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, a global fintech fund that invests in innovative financial technology and services companies that promote financial inclusion around the world.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

IFC
Alicia Ferrer
Senior Investment Officer
+52 55 3098 0157
aferrer1@ifc.org
Torre Reforma, Paseo de la Reforma 483, Piso 18, Col. Cuauhemoc C.P. 06500 Ciudad de Mexico

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

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