Gojo & Company, Inc. (“Gojo” or “We”), a microfinance-technology company, made the first close of its Series C financing led by Dai-ichi Life Insurance followed by Tokyo University of Science Investment Management Company and other individual shareholders. The total funding amount in the financing round is expected to be in the range of $35 to $50 million.
The raised funds will be used for expanding Gojo’s international footprint and for accelerating our technology initiatives. Until recently, some MFIs in our group have adopted the digital model of cashless collections, fingerprint authentication, and credit risk modeling, and these innovations will be applied in all group companies of Gojo. Gojo’s group company, Satya MicroCapital, is the only MFI in India which is successfully running cashless repayment using fingerprint authentication. From this year, Gojo will make sure that all group MFIs apply the cashless model, although the practical application may vary from country to country. Also, we will install our credit risk model in all group companies and will further develop it by using voice and GPS information of the clients. Furthermore, we wish to maximize the impact that we can make from our microcredit and thus start developing an application by which our field staff can provide meaningful business support for the clients.
We are also pleased to share that during this period, Mr. Stuart Rutherford, a reputable microfinance practitioner, and researcher, joined us as a Director thereby augmenting the company. In 2015, Stuart’s book, “Portfolios of the Poor” was one of the recommendations made by Mark Zuckerberg’s book club; “A Year of Books”. Business Insider said of the book; A fundamental finding in “Portfolios of the Poor” is that extreme poverty flourishes in areas not where people live dollar to dollar or where poor purchasing decisions are widespread but instead is where they lack access to financial institutions to store their money. The authors’ research has inspired them and their respective organizations to find ways to bring banking to the worlds least fortunate. We are very happy to welcome Mr. Rutherford to the Gojo Board.
Gojo will continue to raise its equity in a private round. It is expected to be a “unicorn” after the Series D financing and will work in 6 to 10 nations, serving more than 3 million people. To underpin the growth, we will recruit talent from all over the world.
About us
Gojo was founded to provide financial access for everyone in the world beginning with the developing countries. Our long-term goal is to provide quality and affordable financial service for 100+ million people in 50+ countries by 2030. 4.5 years since our establishment, we work in India, Cambodia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka with 1,600+ employees, serving more than 300,000 women who are also mothers. The total loan portfolio reached is $150 million, and since 2017 the company has made a profit on a consolidated basis.
Gojo & Company, Inc.
Vision: Create a world in which everyone can overcome one’s destiny and attain a better life
Mission: The first mission is to be the “Private Sector World Bank” providing financial access for everyone in developing countries
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
CEO: Taejun Shin
Since: 4 July 2014
Capital: Approximately $45 million
Mail: info@gojo.co
URL: http://gojo.co/