Catalyst Microfinance Investors closes fund on $125m

Investors comprised international institutional and private investors, including pension funds ABP, Stichting Pensioenfonds and US financial services organisation TIAA-CREF.

Shafiqual Haque Choudhury, CEO of ASA International and founder and president of ASA of Bangladesh, said, 'This large pool of equity capital will enable us to build and develop large scale and highly efficient microfinance institutions in developing markets around the world and provide the non-bankable poor in these regions with first-time access to credit and other basic financial services, which will help free them from exploitation, unleash their entrepreneurial drive, and improve families' livelihoods.'

Dirk Brouwer, executive director of CMI and managing director of Sequoia, added, 'ASA's powerful, highly efficient model of microfinance gives us a true competitive edge as an owner and operator of MFI's.'

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