Unitus Forms Partnership with Credex to Empower Mexico’s Poor
Unitus and Credex to Bring Microfinance to More Than 82,000 of Mexico’s Working Poor by 2009
Redmond, WA—January 24, 2007—Unitus, Inc, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing global poverty by increasing access to microfinance, today announced a partnership with Credex (Grupo Crediexpress S.A. de C.V.), a microfinance institution in Mexico. The partnership will enable Credex to bring life-changing financial services to more than 82,000 customers by 2009, an increase from 12,000 today. Credex is Unitus’s second microfinance partner in Mexico, along with Pro Mujer Mexico.
Unitus is a leading social enterprise empowering the working poor to improve their own lives through access to financial services such as microcredit loans, insurance and savings products. Unitus provides technical assistance and financial support; including loans, grants and guarantees, to help microfinance institutions increase their capacity and enhance their ability to reach even more of the world’s working poor. Through its proven microfinance acceleration model, Unitus’s 13 microfinance partners have been able to grow eight times faster than similar institutions. As of December 2006, the Unitus portfolio of partners is providing economic and social empowerment to more than 1.2 million microentrepreneurs and their families in India, Kenya, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Indonesia.
With 15 branches in seven Mexican states, Credex provides more than 12,000 people with small loans for starting businesses or personal and family consumption needs. Founded in 2002, Credex targets the working poor in southwestern and central Mexico and has plans to expand across the nation. In September 2006 the Unitus Equity Fund, an affiliated organization of Unitus, made a $1 million investment to help Credex open more branches and improve hiring and other internal systems. The Unitus Equity Fund is a private equity fund which invests in microfinance institutions in Asia and Latin America.
Credex’s founder and CEO, Eduardo Gallardo D’Aiuto, has more than 22 years of experience in Mexico’s commercial finance industry. Mr. Gallardo, a former senior banker at Bancomer-BBV, Mexico’s leading commercial bank, founded Credex with the goal of establishing a large microfinance institution capable of significantly improving the lives of Mexico’s poor. Credex has a management team comprised of experienced commercial and investment bankers who, like Mr. Gallardo, believe that microfinance in Mexico can empower small businesses to dramatically reduce poverty.
“We’re very excited to be partnering with Credex,” said Unitus president and CEO Geoff Davis. “Credex shares our vision of a microfinance industry that combines proven strategies from the business world with an unwavering commitment to alleviating poverty. By partnering with Credex, we will pool our resources and expertise to help Credex reach dramatically more clients.“
“Our partnership with Unitus positions us to make a big impact on poverty in Mexico,“ said Credex founder and CEO Eduardo Gallardo. “Since we began operations in 2002, Credex has achieved tremendous growth. Working alongside Unitus, we will be able to reach even more of the country’s poor, and at the same time demonstrate to the capital markets in Mexico and abroad that microfinance makes good business sense.”
About Unitus:
Unitus, Inc. is a nonprofit organization creating innovative solutions to global poverty using a venture capital model. Based in Redmond, Washington, with an office in Bangalore, India, Unitus dramatically accelerates the growth of its microfinance partners by supplying technical and financial resources that enable them to transform into profitable, large-scale, poverty-focused businesses with links to formal capital markets. Unitus currently has 13 partners in its worldwide portfolio that provide life-changing financial services for more than 1.2 million of the world’s working poor. For more information about Unitus, please visit: www.unitus.com.
About Credex:
Credex (Grupo Crediexpress S.A. de C.V.) is a for-profit microfinance institution that was founded in June 2002 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Credex, with 15 branches in seven states in southwestern and central Mexico, targets the working poor who lack access to financial services. Since its inception Credex has disbursed over 30,000 loans and currently serves more than 12,000 active borrowers with a $5 million loan portfolio. Profitable since 2005, Credex has actively built its presence and brand in Mexico while recruiting a professional, talented team and creating the infrastructure to support future expansion. For more information about Credex, please visit: www.credex.com.mx.