Victory Park Capital Partners with IFC to Invest in Financial Technology in Emerging Markets
Press Release
Mar 16, 2018
CHICAGO – March 16, 2018 –Victory Park Capital (“VPC”), a leading investment firm focused on providing flexible debt and opportunistic equity solutions worldwide, announced today that it has launched a new fund together with the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group. The new fund will invest in financial technology companies in emerging markets. The partnership aims to improve access to debt capital for financial technology companies that lend to small businesses and consumers in emerging markets.
The new fund will combine VPC’s decade-long expertise in investing in financial services and financial technology with IFC’s leading role in investing in these sectors in developing countries. VPC and IFC will target growth investments in technology-driven companies across emerging markets with a focus on financial infrastructure, products and services.
“Our partnership with IFC, the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector and a leading investor in financial technology in developing countries, opens a world of opportunities to fill the growing need for capital in emerging markets and scale our existing exposure,” said Brendan Carroll, senior partner and co-founder of VPC. “We are a long-standing investor to companies that provide innovative financial solutions, often overlooked by traditional investors despite generating attractive returns, and we are eager to continue identifying high-quality opportunities alongside IFC.”
Kai Schmitz, Principal Investment Officer of IFC, said: “Over the past few years, IFC has become a leading investor in financial technology companies in emerging markets which offer new solutions that expand access to finance. At the same time, we have seen a lack of growth capital available to these companies, both debt and equity financing to support new lending solutions. Partnering with Victory Park Capital allows us to bring the expertise of one of the leading specialized investors in this area to emerging markets and will encourage other investors to follow. We look forward to combining our more than 60 years’ experience in developing countries and financial services with Victory Park’s leading edge in this new sector.”
As one of the largest and most active financial technology investors in the industry, VPC has made over 40 investments in this sector globally.
About Victory Park Capital
Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (“VPC”) is a privately held, SEC-registered, global alternative investment firm. VPC provides opportunistic capital solutions to both emerging and established businesses with an expertise investing across various sectors where traditional sources of capital are limited. The firm’s differentiated offerings leverage an extensive network of industry relationships, disciplined deal origination, creative financing capabilities and broad credit structuring and special situations expertise. The firm was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.victoryparkcapital.com.
About the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, we delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
Contacts
Victory Park Capital
Julia Sahin
212.738.6131
Email: Julia.Sahin@edelman.com
IFC (Washington, DC)
Esther Navarro
202.473.3511
Email: ENavarro@ifc.org