Proximity Finance Microfinance Company Limited

Region and country of operations: Southeast Asia, Myanmar
Jurisdiction of registration: Myanmar
Business sector: Microfinance
If funding channeled through another company,  its jurisdiction of registration: Proximity Holding Company Pte Ltd,  Singapore

Date of agreement (month/year): 6/2020
Instrument: Equity
Finnfund’s financing: USD 4,700,000
Share of Finnfund’s financing: 33%
Size of project/financing: USD 14,000,000
Environmental and social category: FI-B

Project description

Proximity Finance Microfinance Company Limited is Myanmar’s first farmer-focused finance institution. Proximity Finance was launched in 2010 as the microfinance arm of Proximity Designs. Proximity Designs is one of the largest agricultural services platforms in Myanmar, providing a combination of farm technology, advice, and financial services to small family farms across the country. Proximity Finance serves over 130,000 smallholder farmer households through 16 branches, reaching 2,000 villages in 9 of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions.

Finnfund participates with USD 4.7 million equity in Proximity Finance’s USD 14 million equity package together with Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Proparco. The funds will be used to increase loan sizes to adequately meet the capital requirements of small farms in order to boost farm yields and profits, to diversify Proximity Finance’s financial product offering, and invest in technology and systems with the goal of  growing the gross loan portfolio and doubling the active smallholder farmer client base.

Main development impact

Access to appropriate financial services to smallholder farmers, Myanmar’s most unbanked and vulnerable population; improvement in farm profits, farmer resilience and gender equality as women comprise the majority of Proximity Finance’s clients.

More information

https://proximitydesigns.org/service/farm-finance/