Accion Venture Lab

Accion Venture Lab is the world’s leading seed-stage investor in fintech for the underserved. Venture Lab invests capital in, and provides support to, innovative fintech start-ups that increase access to, improve the quality of, or reduce the cost of financial services for the underserved at scale. Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global non-profit dedicated to building a financially inclusive world by giving people the financial tools they need to improve their lives.

Over more than 50 years, Accion has helped to build 65 next-generation microfinance institutions on four continents that today reach millions of clients. Accion’s impact investing initiatives are pushing beyond microfinance to catalyze more than 30 innovative start-ups dedicated to improving the efficiency, reach, and scope of financial services for the poor.

Dutch Good Growth Fund

The Dutch Good Growth Fund is a ‘fund of fund’ investment initiative by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to improve financing for the missing middle – i.e. entrepreneurs who have outgrown micro-financing but do not yet have access to conventional capital markets.

The DGGF aims to reach out to underserved countries, foster innovative financing products, and invest in specific target groups (young entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs in fragile states that face high barriers to attracting capital). By doing so, the DGGF contributes to promoting knowledge transfer, increasing employment and production capacity and thus becomes a driver of economic growth.

Paragon Partners

Paragon Partners was established in 2015 by Siddharth Parekh and Sumeet Nindrajog, it is a private equity firm focusing on the lower mid-market segment in India. Investing out of its maiden fund Paragon Partners Growth Fund-I, the firm focuses on making investments in five key sectors comprising consumer discretionary, financial services, infrastructure services (asset-light), industrials, and healthcare services. The fund has a corpus of $120 million and typically invests $10 to $20 million in companies where it can play an active role in value creation.

Quona Capital

Quona Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to financial technology for inclusion in emerging markets. The firm backs entrepreneurs whose companies have the potential to provide outstanding financial returns and promote breakthrough innovation in financial inclusion. Quona works shoulder to shoulder with entrepreneurs, investors, and strategic partners, with a holistic approach to venture capital investing, aligning value with values, profit with purpose, and combining financial return with social impact. It leverages a strategic relationship with Accion, a global non – profit with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Quona invests in scale-up stage companies that are expanding access to quality financial services for underserved consumers and small businesses in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.