October 24, 2024

Gojo completed USD 233 million in Series F equity finance and debt finance combined to support its growth

Gojo raised USD 122 million (JPY 17.5 billion) in Series F equity financing and USD 111 million (JPY 15.9 billion) in debt from multiple lenders

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce that we have successfully completed our Series F fundraising with paid-in capital since our establishment in July 2014 reaching JPY 46.5 billion (USD 325 million). Gojo also raised approximately JPY 15.9 billion in debt (including Syndicated Term Loan (with availability period) from six Japanese financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

Gojo closed a JPY 17.5 billion (USD 122 million) Series F Equity Financing round with our effort to actively develop new fundraising methods including private placements to professional investors and fundraising from Japanese crossover investors

Gojo has completed JPY 17.5 billion (USD 122 million) Series F financing round1 by September 2024. In March, Gojo raised approximately JPY 5.0 billion from mainly individual investors in Japan through a private placement to professional investors through J-Ships2, which is part of this Series F financing. 

Gojo was selected as the first equity investment to an unlisted company by crossover funds3 launched by leading Japanese institutional investors, Asset Management One Co., Ltd 4., and Rheos Capital Works Inc.5 as well as Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd.6

In addition, we are pleased to welcome new institutional investors including International Cooperation and Development Fund, a Taiwanese dedicated official foreign aid organization, Hungchi Capital Co. Ltd, a Taiwanese impact venture capital focus on sustainability and climate solutions, HiJoJo Partners Inc., an independent investment management company focusing on domestic and international middle and late stage investments, the impact investment division of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Daiwa House Ventures Co.,Ltd., Fujitsu Ventures Fund LLC, Iwagin Mirai Investment Co.,Ltd., The San-in Godo Bank, Ltd., NOW, Inc., ABF Capital, Inc., as well as individual investors. We also received additional investments from existing shareholders, ACA Investments Pte. Ltd., MARUI GROUP CO., LTD., CAPITAL X,Inc., HFA Capital Co.,Ltd., QR Investment Co., 15th Rock Fund II LPS, SAMURAI INCUBATE INC., and GMO VenturePartners,Inc., and DIMENSION, Inc. 

With our cumulative Series F financing amount, we are strengthening Gojo’s financial foundation, investing in further growth of group companies, particularly in India and Tajikistan, as well as investing in financial service providers in Asia and Africa. As part of this, we announced entry into Africa through an investment in Baobab Group, one of the major pan-African microfinance groups.

Gojo raised approximately JPY 15.9 billion (USD 111 million) in debt and diversified debt financing methods

Gojo has been working to diversify debt financing methods and optimise funding costs in parallel with equity financing. As a result, we executed JPY 4.0 billion (USD 30 million) Syndicated Term Loan agreements (with availability period) with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as arranger and agent, the Hokkoku Bank, Ltd. and Higashi-Nippon Bank, Ltd. as participating banks in March 2024. In April, Gojo also raised JPY 1.0 billion (loan term: 3 years) from Mizuho Venture Debt Fund Investment Limited Partnership managed by Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd. through the underwriting of unsecured straight bonds. In August, we raised a term loan of JPY 200 million (USD 1.4 million) and a 3-year term from THE BANK OF FUKUOKA. 

Gojo directly supports the debt financing of group companies in developing countries through intercompany loans as a use of funds of the loan raised in Japan as well as strengthening the relationship between our group companies and lenders by providing numerous types of credit guarantees. In August, a Social Loan of JPY 9.0 billion (USD 60 million) and a 2.5-year loan term was executed by SMBC to Gojo’s group company in India followed by 2023. In September, a term loan of JPY 1.7 billion (USD 20 million) and a 2.5-year loan term was executed by Mizuho Bank, Ltd. to Gojo’s group company in India.

Gojo continues to work on optimising funding costs by pursuing global scale and risk diversification, building strong relationships with Japanese financial institutions and individual investors, and diversifying financing methods.

Footnotes

1. Issued Class F, F2, and F3 Preferred Shares 
2. Please refer to the news release of Nomura Securities Co. for details of the J-Ships
3. Crossover investors or crossover funds refer to institutional investors that invest in both listed and unlisted equity
4. Investment through One-Premier Luxembourg Master SA SICAV-RAIF Crossover Capital Master Fund, for which Asset Management One Co., Ltd. serves as the investment advisor
5. Investment from Investment Trust managed by Rheos Capital Works Inc. 
6. Investment from an investment trust (private placement) managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd.
7. JPY/USD=142.82

About Gojo & Company

Gojo & Company, Inc. is a Tokyo-based holding company of inclusive financial service providers operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Tajikistan, and Africa with a JPY 123.7 billion Consolidated Gross Loan Portfolio. Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion across the globe. Gojo’s goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services in 50 countries. Established in 2014, Gojo Group is serving more than 2.4 million clients across the globe as of March 2024.

October 4, 2024

Gojo expands into Africa with investment in Baobab Group

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce its first venture into Africa through acquiring 16.4% stake in Baobab Group (“Baobab”), one of the major pan-African microfinance groups. Baobab has presence in seven African countries, including Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. The investment in Baobab will enhance access to financial services for underserved populations, reinforcing both Gojo and Baobab’s commitment to financial inclusion. 

Aligned with its mission to “accelerate the financial inclusion and sustainable growth of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises)”, Baobab provides a diverse suite of financial products, from micro-loans of less than EUR 1,000 for small businesses to SME (small and medium enterprises) loans reaching up to EUR 300,000. In addition to loan products, Baobab offers savings products, payment solutions, and insurance products, enabling clients to build comprehensive financial security. Moreover, with the Baobab mobile app, clients can easily apply for digital nano-loans, transfer funds, and keep track of their loan repayments, ensuring seamless access to Baobab’s services. In December 2023, Baobab served more than 460 thousand active clients*, managing a gross loan portfolio of approximately EUR 830 million.

Philip Sigwart, CEO of Baobab, mentioned, “At Baobab Group, we are excited to welcome Gojo into our family of investors. With our shared vision and values, we are confident that together, we will drive further progress in expanding access to financial services across the African continent.”

Speaking on this investment, Arnaud Ventura, Managing Partner at Gojo, said, “Gojo's mission is to accelerate financial inclusion worldwide, therefore Gojo is pleased to be able to support Baobab to grow further in Africa in the coming years. As a long-term partner, Gojo will support Baobab’s management not only to enter new markets in Africa but also to access new sources of funding to reach out to many more clients.”

Bird and Bird acted as the legal advisor for this transaction.

* An active client is a person or a legal entity having done a transaction on a Baobab account over the last 12 months


About Baobab  

Baobab is a leading financial services provider to MSMEs on the African continent. Through its seven subsidiaries, Baobab provides financial services to approximately 460 thousand micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses as of December 2023. It expands its reach to MSMEs in frontier markets by leveraging data and digital technologies, thereby fulfilling its mission of broadening access to finance among those underserved by traditional banks. Baobab’s global range of products includes micro-loans, savings solutions, and mobile payments. Baobab’s 4,800 team members work together to make financial services more accessible, inclusive and transparent.

About Gojo

Gojo & Company, Inc. is a Tokyo-based holding company of inclusive financial service providers operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Tajikistan, and Africa. Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion across the globe. Gojo’s goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services in 50 countries. Established in 2014, Gojo Group is serving more than 2.4 million clients across the globe as of March 2024. 

August 30, 2024

Gojo publishes its Impact Report (2024 August)

Gojo is pleased to announce the publication of the Impact Report (2024 August) .


Gojo’s mission is to extend financial inclusion across the globe. Through our nine group companies* in five countries — Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India and Tajikistan — Gojo Group encompasses 2.4 million clients as of March 2024. 96% of our clients are women, and four out of five clients live in rural areas. 

In this Impact Report, we take a step back to think again about what financial inclusion really is. Gojo defines financial inclusion as “having access to useful and affordable financial services”. According to the Global Findex Database 2021, access to financial services has improved significantly, with the percentage of people aged 15 and above in developing countries who have an account with a financial institution increasing from 42% in 2011 to 71% in 2021. Therefore, the quality and affordability of financial services are becoming increasingly important. The impact of financial inclusion is another discussion point - while financial inclusion has called out for poverty alleviation over many years, the reality is that microfinance does not always lead to income increase. We acknowledge this and strive to improve our outreach and quality of the services so that we provide more choices for clients in better money management, and as a result, empower them to determine their own future.

We also shed light on the side effects of microfinance. Over-indebtedness is a situation in which a client's debts have exceeded his or her ability to repay them. The causes of over-indebtedness are complex. Clients’ income tends to fluctuate due to its informal nature and it is hard to predict over the term of the loan. It can easily be affected by unexpected incidents such as natural disasters, economic crises, pandemics, and so on. Clients sometimes need to make unwanted sacrifices when it becomes difficult for them to repay the loan. Gojo Group aims to prevent over-indebtedness through improvement of loan assessment processes and continuous monitoring, and ensure that collection practices adhere to the Client Protection Standards.

In this context, Social Performance Management (SPM) is evermore important. SPM is a framework defining responsible operations of financial service providers, ensuring no harm to clients and other key stakeholders. Following the Universal Standards of Social and Environmental Performances (USSEPM), Gojo conducts SPI audits to assess the level of SPM practices at group companies and take action to improve them. We conducted SPI audits for MIFIDA and Humo and shared the results in this report. Four out of six consolidated companies have obtained Client Protection Certifications.

Finally, there is also progress made in other areas of operation. Gojo established UNLEASH Capital Partners, a venture capital business, targeting fintech startups in India to explore financial inclusion outside of microfinance. We launched a new initiative in digital financial inclusion called the “Pasio program” which offers digital loans paired with business skill training and online e-commerce and community platform. The female ratio of Gojo members improved to 44%, and we are continuously improving our measurement of GHG emissions to have a better understanding of our environmental impact. You may also notice that throughout the report, we have included client stories which are not always success stories, with the intention of conveying the reality in the field as best we can.

We hope you enjoy reading our Impact Report.

Impact Report Webinar

Please join us for an upcoming webinar this September, in which we will share the key findings from our Impact Report. We will hold two webinars, each in Japanese and English.

[Webinar in English]

Date: Thursday, September 19, 2024

Time: 11.00-12.00 CET / 18.00-19.00 JST

Registration form: Link (prior registration is required)

[Webinar in Japanese]

Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Time: 19.00-20.00 JST

Registration form: Link (prior registration is required)

We look forward to your participation.

About us

Gojo & Company, Inc. is a Tokyo-based holding company of nine inclusive financial service providers* operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, and Tajikistan. Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion across the globe, beginning with developing countries. Our goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services in 50 countries. Established in 2014, Gojo Group is serving more than 2.4 million clients across the globe as of March 2024. 

*For the Impact Report, group companies include nine financial service providers (MAXIMA, Sejaya, MIFIDA, Ananya (including Prayas), SATYA (including SATYA Micro Housing), AVIOM, Loan Frame, HUMO, and MyShubhLife) including non-consolidated companies. 

November 13, 2023

Gojo signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation to extend financial inclusion and established UNLEASH Capital Partners, Inc.

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”, President and Chief Executive Officer, Akihiro Fukutome). Gojo and SMBC will work together on sharing insights and co-developing solutions for financial inclusion in developing countries. 

Gojo established UNLEASH Capital Partners, Inc.("UNLEASH") jointly with our former employee, Natsuki Sugai, a venture capital business specialising in financial inclusion. Gojo also signed an investment agreement with UNLEASH 1st Investment Partnership (the "1st Fund"), the first fund launched by UNLEASH. The 1st Fund is committed to investing in early-stage companies that are at the forefront of tackling the wide-ranging challenges associated with financial inclusion in India. As the start of the collaboration with Gojo, SMBC also decided to invest in the Fund. 

In addition to financial returns, Gojo will gather information on trends in digital technology and build a network of potential investment and collaboration partners through UNLEASH. 

About UNLEASH and the Fund

Name:UNLEASH Capital Partners, Inc.
Foundation:October 2023
India Office:Mumbai, Bengaluru
Managing fund:UNLEASH No. 1 Investment Partnership
AUM:JPY 45 billion, Approx INR 250 crore
Vision:Enable a world where everyone can determine their future.
Mission:Extend financial inclusion by unleashing bold entrepreneurs’ potential.
Long Term Goal:Deploy USD 10 billion in total by 2050.
HP:https://unleashcp.com
Contact:info@unleashcp.com

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion across the globe. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100 million clients in 50 countries by 2030. Nine years since our establishment, we work in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Tajikistan with USD 792 million Assets Under Management and 8,800 employees, serving more than 1.88 million clients (Consolidated, as of September 2023).

October 12, 2023

Gojo’s group company completes JPY 9.0 billion (USD 60 million) Debt Fundraising from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce that we have successfully raised JPY 9.0 billion (USD 60 million) from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”, President and Chief Executive Officer, Akihiro Fukutome) to Gojo’s Group Company. 

This transaction marked the first debt fundraising from one of the largest Japanese commercial banks for Gojo group. A Social Loan of JPY 9.0 billion (USD 60 million) and 3 years loan term has been executed by SMBC to Gojo’s group company. Gojo will work towards improving the livelihoods and empowerment of rural women entrepreneurs in developing countries. 

A Social Loan is a form of financing that enables companies to raise funds for projects that contribute to solving social problems and creating societal benefits (“Social Projects”) and is specifically designed to ensure that (i) the proceeds are allocated exclusively to Social Projects, (ii) the funds raised are securely tracked and managed, and (iii) transparency is ensured through post-financing reporting.

For inclusive financial service providers in low and lower-middle-income countries, one of the major challenges is the high cost of funding. Establishing a sustainable mechanism to channel funds from developed countries such as the US, Europe and Japan to people who need access to affordable financial services in emerging countries is one of the most important roles played by Gojo as a holding company. Gojo continues to work on optimising funding cost by pursuing global scale and risk diversification, building strong relationships with Japanese financial institutions and individual investors, and diversifying financing methods.

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 1 million unserved and underserved people in 50 countries by 2030. Nine years since our establishment, we work in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Tajikistan with USD 759 million Assets Under Management and 8,500 employees, serving more than 1.83 million clients (Consolidated, as of August 2023).

August 16, 2023

Gojo Closed USD 100 million Series E Equity Financing and Achieved Consolidated Profit in FY2023/3

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce that we have successfully raised an additional USD 30.8 million in the final close of our Series E fundraising. The cumulative Series E financing amount has now reached USD 100 million, with paid-in capital since our establishment in July 2014 reaching USD 215 million. Gojo also closed FY2023/3 with JPY 18.6 billion financial income, JPY 1.7 billion operating profit, and achieved profitability. 

Gojo Closed USD 100 Million Series E2 Equity Financing

Gojo has raised USD 30.8 million in the final close of our Series E financing on top of the USD 47.6 million close of Series E financing announced in November 2022, and the USD 23 million raised from Cool Japan Fund, Inc. announced in February 2023. We are pleased to welcome new institutional investors including GLOBIS CAPITAL PARTNERS & Co. and SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd, as well as individual investors and additional investment from existing shareholders, ACA Investments Pte. Ltd. and Samurai Incubate Inc. through Class E2 and Class E4 Preferred Shares. 

With our cumulative Series E financing amount now at USD 100 million, we are strengthening Gojo’s financial foundation, investing in further growth after the group’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19, and promoting the digitalization of group companies, particularly in India and Tajikistan, as well as expanding to new markets in Asia and Africa.

Gojo has also agreed with Renet Japan Group, Inc. to acquire shares in their subsidiary CHAMROEUN MICROFINANCE PLC., a microfinance institution in Cambodia. Gojo will issue the equivalent of JPY 950 million of Class E2 Preferred Shares to Renet Japan Group, Inc. as a part of the consideration for the share transfer. 

Achieved Consolidated Profit 

Gojo reported a consolidated profit for the year ended March 2023, with financial revenue of JPY 18.6 billion and operating profit of JPY 1.76 billion. This is due to the full-year contribution from the performance of Humo, a microfinance institution in Tajikistan in which Gojo invested in September 2021, sustained growth of group companies especially in India, and provisions for overdue loans affected by COVID-19 and the coup in Myanmar. 

Strengthening Group Governance and our Management Team

As a holding company, Gojo provides support for finance, management, and technology to our group companies. This support is made possible by Gojo’s implementation of the best practices in governance for our group companies. 

Gojo Group’s governance practices are underpinned by a solid foundation of microfinance industry knowledge. Gojo’s expert management team has been involved in microfinance businesses around the world and has practical knowledge and an extensive network of entrepreneurs and investors around the world. This knowledge enables Gojo to establish new businesses and undertake M&A in new geographies in a replicable and scalable manner.

We recently welcomed Sohil Shah and Haruna Tanaka to Gojo’s Executive Committee as Principal of Investment & Head of VC and Head of Corporate Planning respectively. With the expansion of our management team, we will work on further strengthening the group’s governance through strong partnerships with the local management team and network development in each country. 

Debt Fundraising Support for Group Companies

Gojo has successfully raised a total of USD 55 million from major European Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in order to support the growth of Gojo’s group companies: Finnfund, the Finnish development financier and impact investor, FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the Agence Française de Dévelopment, all through senior debt over 5 years’ maturity. 

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 1 million unserved and underserved people in 50 countries by 2030. Nine years since our establishment, we work in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Tajikistan with USD 759 million Assets Under Management and 10,000 employees, serving more than 1.75 million clients (Consolidated, as of June 2023).

July 14, 2023

Gojo publishes its 2023 Impact Report

Villagers in the Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar. They live in a remote area which can be reached only by boat. Their life remains much the same even after the coup / Taejun Shin

Gojo is pleased to announce the publication of our 2023 Impact Report.

Gojo’s mission is to extend financial inclusion across the globe. To provide vulnerable people with access to high-quality, affordable and useful financial services, we need to deeply understand who we are serving and what their goals are. This is why we chose “Who Are Our Clients?” as the theme of this year’s impact report.

Highlights from the Impact Report

  • Client Profile: Using core banking system data, we learnt that the majority of our clients are micro- and small entrepreneurs who earn up to 30% above the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 PPP per capita per day. This tells us that our clients, although not extremely poor, belong to a segment of society that nonetheless struggles with income instability and is vulnerable to poverty as a result of shocks such as family illness or natural disasters.
  • Money management: We used our financial diaries data from Cambodia and Sri Lanka to look at how vulnerable people manage their money and use their loans. This has given us a more nuanced understanding of the factors that create good and bad outcomes from borrowing and how people cope with debt stress. We present this in the form of case studies in the report.
  • Client satisfaction and experience: Five of our group companies participated in the 2022-23 60 Decibels Microfinance Index survey. The survey results show that overall, clients have positive experiences with our group companies and would recommend them to family and friends, although there is room for improvement against global benchmarks.
  • Stakeholder impact: In recognition of our responsibility as an organisation towards our people (employees), local and international communities, the environment and our investors, we also include an overview of Gojo’s impact on these stakeholders in the report. This year, we piloted a greenhouse gas emissions calculator, and are sharing Gojo’s emissions at the holding company level in this report for the first time.
  • Corporate governance: The report includes a summary of Gojo’s governance structure, and announces the appointment of Ignacio Mas-Ribo as an Outside Director, and the retirement of Stuart Rutherford and Mangyo Kinoshita from our board in June 2023.

We hope you enjoy reading our impact report, and welcome any feedback or comments, which can be directed to Cheriel Neo (cheriel.neo@gojo.co). 

Impact Report Webinar

We will be holding a webinar in English to share and discuss the key findings from our impact report. It will be held on Thursday 14 September at 1:00 pm CET / 9:00 pm JST. Please register for the webinar here: https://gojo.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BUEZqLQ-S3SG7g_WLJOw4g 

Future impact research

In addition to continuing our financial diaries project in Sri Lanka, Gojo embarked on a collaboration with Stuart Rutherford and L-IFT (Low-Income Financial Transformation) to support and co-manage the Hrishipara Diaries as of 1 July 2023. We are honoured to be able to support the world’s longest running financial diaries project and believe the data from the Hrishipara Diaries will be a valuable counterpoint to our existing financial diary data, enabling Gojo to study money management behaviour in a setting with a deeply entrenched culture of micro-savings.

About us

Gojo & Company, Inc. is a Tokyo-based holding company of eight inclusive financial service providers operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, and Tajikistan. Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100 million clients in 50 countries by 2030. Established in 2014, Gojo Group is serving more than 1.7 million clients and managing an AUM of USD 763 million with 7,150 employees (consolidated total). Gojo was selected for the Global Award (METI Minister's Award) at the Nippon Startup Awards 2023.

Website: https://www.gojo.co 

April 27, 2023

Ignacio Mas-Ribo, an expert in financial inclusion and digital finance, joins Gojo as Outside Director

Gojo & Company, Inc. (Gojo) is pleased to announce that Ignacio Mas-Ribo, an expert in financial inclusion and digital finance, has joined Gojo’s board as a new Outside Director.

Ignacio co-founded the Digital Frontiers Institute, a not-for-profit that develops professional development training courses around digital money and payments, and served as its executive director from 2015 to 2020. He is a Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School's Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at Tufts University.

Previously, Ignacio was Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Senior Advisor at the Technology Program at Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). Ignacio has been Director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, Executive VP of Marketing and Account Management at DoCoMo interTouch, and Senior Manager responsible for telecoms investments in Europe for Intel Capital.

Ignacio has undergraduate degrees in Maths and Economics from MIT and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He has been Adjunct Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. 

Ignacio states, “I am delighted to be joining Gojo’s board as an Outside director. The company has a clear focus on helping drive client impact through the development of a broad range of money management services delivered over scalable digital platforms. I feel that I can bring many relevant insights and experiences that I have collected while at CGAP, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and through the Digital Frontiers’ Institute that I co-founded. I am looking forward to working with such an enthusiastic, empathetic and mission-driven team”.

Here is a short video message from Ignacio himself.

Gojo extends a warm welcome to Ignacio and looks forward to accelerating financial inclusion further!

Gojo’s Corporate Governance

We strengthened our governance by moving toward a three-committee board structure in 2021 to shift to a monitoring-model governance structure, and formalizing our processes for monitoring and reviewing the group companies’ business performances. The board members consist of 1 full-time executive director (CEO as well as Board Chair) and 6 Outside Directors as experts in the relevant sectors as below. 

  • Taejun Shin (Founder & CEO / Board Chair) 
  • Masahiro Kotosaka (Outside Director / Strategy & Management)
  • Stuart Rutherford (Outside Director / Microfinance)
  • Mangyo Kinoshita (Outside Director / M&A and Startup law)
  • Royanne Doi (Outside Director / Ethics, Culture and Compliance)
  • Millena Nikolova (Outside Director / Finance and Investment)
  • Ignacio Mas-Ribo (Outside Director / Microfinance and Technology)

About us

Gojo is a Tokyo-based holding company of eight inclusive financial service providers operating in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, and Tajikistan. Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalization and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100 million clients in 50 countries by 2030. Established in 2014, Gojo is serving more than 1.6 million clients and managing the aggregated AUM of USD 810 million with 9,200 employees.

Website: https://gojo.co/

February 22, 2023

Gojo raises USD 23 million from Cool Japan Fund in Series E financing

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce that we have successfully raised an additional USD 23 million from Cool Japan Fund, Inc., a Japanese public-private fund, as part of our ongoing Series E equity fundraising. The cumulative Series E financing amount reaches USD 80 million and paid-in capital since our establishment in July 2014 has now reached USD 193 million. We are committed to further extending financial inclusion across the globe by leveraging Japanese and international financial assets.

Background of the Investment

Gojo has raised USD 23 million from Cool Japan Fund, Inc., on top of the USD 47.6 million close of Series E financing announced in November 2022. Cool Japan Fund is a public-private fund that aims to support and promote the development of overseas demand for excellent Japanese products and services. Gojo has been led by its Guiding Principles and a client-centric approach since establishment in July 2014. The Principles consist of management principles inspired by Greek philosophy, and the five Confucian values – empathy, integrity, courtesy, wisdom, and trust. 

We believe this investment demonstrates Cool Japan Fund’s confidence in Gojo’s ability to achieve a double bottom line, seeking both financial sustainability and positive social impact through financial inclusion, aligned with the purpose of the Cool Japan Policy. We believe that our business contributes to improving the recognition and credibility of Japan in the area of financial inclusion and impact, as well as to creating partnerships with Japanese companies expanding business in developing countries.

This investment from Cool Japan Fund materialised thanks to the introduction from Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., which is recently strengthening its support for Japanese startup financings. We deeply appreciate the support by Nomura.

Message from Taejun Shin (Founder & CEO)

As a person born and raised in Japan, I consider Sontoku Ninomiya the best Japanese business person. He founded a cooperative called “Gojo-co” in 1820, which played a significant role in Japanese rural village development. “Gojo” (五常) means the 5 Confucian values of empathy, integrity, courtesy, wisdom, and trust, In other words, this means caring for others, doing what is right, behaving in the right way, being able to judge what is right, and being trusted by people through these four things. We believe, as Sontoku Ninomiya did, that these are the most important values in running financial service providers. We are committed to continuously spreading these values in each and every country we operate. 

I have been involved in social work and policy-making for foster care in Japan for over 15 years outside of my professional career. As I have had budget discussions for foster care with the government, I know how precious the money from government-backed funds is. We are not only committed to improving the income of local households in developing countries through our financial services but also to doing our best to increase the national wealth by making investment returns. 

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100 million unserved and underserved people in 50 countries by 2030. Eight years since our establishment, we work in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Tajikistan with USD 756 million Asset Under Management, 8,500+ employees, serving more than 1.5 million clients.

November 9, 2022

Gojo raises USD 47.6 million in Series E financing and its Asset Under Management reaches USD 702.8 million

Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo”) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Series E equity financing of USD 47.6 million with cumulative paid-in capital since our establishment in July 2014 now reaching USD 140.2 million. The number of loan and remittance clients of Gojo Group Companies has surpassed 1.39 million and assets under management of the group crossed USD 702.8 million as of September 2022.

Participation by international and domestic institutional investors

Series E financing has been supported by a total of 21 institutional investors as well as several individual investors. In addition to follow-on investments from existing shareholders (GMO VenturePartners, Inc., TGVest Capital, and TransLink Capital Partners (SOMPO) I, L.P.), Gojo welcomed ACA Investments Pte. Ltd., QR Investment Co., Ltd., and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., among others, as new shareholders in this financing round through Class E, E2, and E3 preferred shares. 

Despite the challenging business environment due to macroeconomic instability, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and political instability in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, we successfully managed to raise funds led by existing shareholders. We are grateful for what we have achieved and are committed to further extending financial inclusion through a solid partnership with group companies to meet the expectations of our shareholders. 

The newly raised funds will be allocated mainly for strengthening the financial foundations of group companies, further growth after the recovery from COVID-19 impact, and promoting the digitalization of group companies, as well as possible expansion to new markets in Asia and Africa. We will continue to work towards the final close of the Series E financing. 

Series E Investors (as of September 2022)

  • GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
  • TGVest Capital Inc.
  • Miyagin Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
  • ITOCHU Corporation
  • Venture Labo Investment Co., Ltd
  • HFA Capital Co., Ltd.
  • FFG Venture Business Partners, Inc.
  • Samurai Incubate Fund Ⅵ Investment Limited Partnership (Samurai Incubate Inc.)
  • Hashimoto Foundation Inc.
  • CAPITAL X, Inc.
  • QR Investment Co., Ltd.
  • TransLink Capital Partners (SOMPO) I, L.P.
  • Sumisho Venture Partners, Inc.
  • Marubeni Corporation
  • Chiba Dojo Fund
  • TSUNEISHI CAPITAL PARTNERS Co., Ltd.
  • iSGS Investment Works Inc.
  • SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
  • ACA Investments Pte. Ltd.
  • HAKUHODO DY FUTURE DESIGN FUND(Hakuhodo DY Ventures Co., Ltd)
  • KDDI Open Innovation Fund Ⅲ(operated by Global Brain Corporation)
  • Individuals

The number of loan and remittance clients passed 1.39 million and assets under management (AUM) of the group crossed USD 702.8 million

Following the completion of Series D equity financing in December 2020, Gojo increased its stake in SATYA MicroCapital (India) to 66.66% on a diluted basis through additional investment and share purchase from existing shareholders. In September 2021, Gojo invested and acquired a majority stake in Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) Microcredit Deposit Organization (MDO) "HUMO", one of the fastest-growing microcredit deposit organizations in Tajikistan, and marked its entry into the Central Asian region. In March 2022, Gojo also invested in MyShubhLife (a product of Datasigns Technologies Private Limited), a full-stack financial services platform in India.

Driven by robust growth in India which achieved a record high new disbursement thanks to remarkable growth post-recovery from COVID-19, as well as Tajikistan business which quickly responded to political instability, Gojo Group’s AUM crossed USD 702.8 million in September 2022. Seven years after our establishment, we now operate in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Tajikistan with more than 8,500 employees, serving more than 1.39 million loan and remittance clients.

While Gojo continuously grew its financial income at 100% per annum over the past five years, the delinquency ratio of the portfolio remained low thanks to the digitized operations. 

Gojo’s Group Total Assets Under Management (AUM)

(Unit: USD mm)

About Gojo & Company

Gojo was founded to extend financial inclusion to everyone in the world, beginning with developing countries. Gojo encourages the formalisation and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Our long-term goal is to enable the provision of high-quality affordable financial services for 100 million unserved and underserved people in 50 countries by 2030. 

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