Private equity impact investor, PG Impact Investments, has announced a debt investment in Bayport Mexico, a non-bank financial institution offering loans to lower middle-income public sector employees and pension beneficiaries in Mexico.

(Press Release) PG Impact Investments, a global impact investment firm, has made a debt investment into Bayport Mexico. Bayport Mexico is a Mexico City based lender focused on public sector employees who cannot access nor afford traditional banking products or credit cards, yet fall outside the classic rural microfinance borrower profile (e.g., teachers and healthcare workers). Bayport Mexico’s financial products seeks to improve client welfare through increasing access to affordable financial products.

Bayport Mexico is a subsidiary of Bayport Management Ltd (“Bayport”), a multinational company offering transactional banking, credit and insurance solutions to individuals and microbusinesses in emerging and frontier markets. Bayport’s footprint includes 311 branches in Africa and 96 branches in Latin America; servicing a consolidated borrower base of over 600’000.

The World Bank estimates that 54.3 million people in Mexico are underbanked. Despite recent economic growth in Mexico, 32% of Mexican adults are still without access to financial products. Furthermore, income inequality in Mexico is high with the wealthiest 40% of the population earning 75% of the country’s income. As of 2017, just 8.0% of Bayport Mexico’s target public sector population has access to credit in Mexico. Since 2014, Bayport Mexico has grown their client base to more than 46’000 borrowers. The institution hopes to reach over 125’000 by 2022.

PG Impact Investments’ debt investment will help Bayport Mexico reach more clients and expand its geographic footprint to new underserved regions in Mexico.

As a business, Bayport Mexico has become a market leader as an equal opportunity employer; 54% of its employees are female. Furthermore, Bayport Mexico is committed to obtaining an EDGE Certification, an international business standard for equality. The EDGE Certification methodology assesses gender equity across five areas: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development, flexible working conditions, and organizational culture.

Urs Baumann, CEO of PG Impact Investments, stated: “We are pleased to support the continued growth and success of Bayport Mexico, we believe Bayport Mexico plays an important role in providing financial stability to the people of Mexico.”

Pablo Montesano, CEO of Bayport Latin America, stated: “The PG Impact Investments funding will support our ongoing effort to provide responsible financial solutions to an inclusive and broad customer base in Mexico and we look forward to growing our relationship with PG Impact Investments across the Bayport group.”