ImpactAlpha, November 9 — Washington, D.C.-based Quona Capital exceeded its $250 million target for its latest fund, raising $332 million to back ventures expanding access to financial services in emerging markets
The emerging markets impact investor has raised more than $745 million across three funds since 2015 and provided financial services for 8.8 million emerging market enterprises and more than 30 million undeserved retail customers.
“We have expanded – adding new verticals like challenger banking and embedded finance, and incorporating new partners in promising geographies like Jakarta and Mexico,” Quona’s Monica Brand Engel told ImpactAlpha. “The basic formula has worked, so we’ve doubled down.”
Geographic reach
Engel, who leads investments in Africa and the Middle East, said the new fund will follow the “same thesis, target markets and investment strategy” as the earlier funds. The majority of the fund will be invested in India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Impact footprint
Quona has backed more than 35 companies. Recent investments include Khazna, an Egyptian lender to low- to middle-income and underbanked earners; Kenya’s Sokowatch, which supports informal retailers with online inventory, logistics and sales management; Brazil’s Neon, a neobank that provides credit and other digital financial services to the country’s low- and middle-income individuals, self-employed people and small businesses; and India’s Arya, an enterprise tech startup expanding agri-commerce for smallholder farmers.
