Bamboo Capital Partners (“Bamboo”), the specialist impact investor operating in emerging and frontier markets, today announces its successful exit from Banco Popular, a Latin American microfinance bank in Honduras. Banco Popular supports the development of the microfinance industry through investment, financing, technology and rural products to promote equitable and inclusive development in Honduras.
Institutional investors IFC, BCIE and impact investor Bamboo Capital Partners are selling their full participation on Banco Popular (which combined amount to almost 65% of the total shares). Their shares are being taken over by new shareholders Incofin and Triple Jump while existing shareholders BIO and FMO increase their positions.
BIO, FMO, BCIE and IFC have been Banco Popular’s investors since 2007. Together with Bamboo since 2012, they have played a key role in attracting both local and international funding that has fostered the bank’s expansion in recent years.
Today, Banco Popular is the leading microfinance institution in Honduras with over 60,000 clients, with consistent profitability. During the last few years the bank has expanded to rural areas where the need for financial services and credit for agricultural enterprises is more critical. This strategy will be fostered by new shareholders.
Besides a rural expansion, the bank is on the beginning of a digital transformation process. Among other initiatives, the bank is already implementing digital and mobile tools that facilitate data collection during the loan origination. Further digitization is scheduled for the coming years.
Through its investment in Banco Popular in 2012 as part of its first Financial Inclusion Fund, Bamboo has positively impacted the development of local microfinance companies in Honduras. During this period, Banco Popular extended its credit portfolio from USD 40MM to 144MM and grew deposits from USD 16MM to 122MM. In addition, the number of microfinance clients increased from 20,670 to 59,218, while the number of depositors increased from 30,336 to 182,877.
This is the latest in a series of successful exits in the microfinance sector by Bamboo, following the exits from Kopo Kopo in early 2022 and CONFIE in early 2021. To date, Bamboo’s investments in microfinance and fintech companies have provided 87 million people worldwide with access to financial services.
Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, Founder and Managing Partner of Bamboo Capital Partners commented:
“This is a successful and responsible exit, and one which extends our long track record in the microfinance sector. This exit has been unlike anything we have experienced, and I am therefore incredibly proud of the team at Bamboo for completing this transaction during such unprecedented times.
“Over the last 10 years, Bamboo Capital Partners has played a crucial role in scaling Banco Popular to provide growth opportunities to local entrepreneurs through access to financial services, and we look forward to following Banco popular future successes as it continues its social mission”.
Jose Enciso, Head of Private Equity Latin America of Incofin:
“We are very happy with this investment in Banco Popular, entering one of the most successful financial inclusion institutions in Central America and helping to continue the excellent work of its management and current shareholders. This once again demonstrates Incofin’s commitment to the region and to this critical impact sector.”
Jarri Jung, Head of Financial Services at Triple Jump:
“The investment in Banco Popular further confirms Triple Jump and ASN Microkredietfonds’s long-term commitment to inclusive finance investments in Central America. We are extremely excited to become part of Honduras’ largest microfinance institution and only microfinance bank. We look forward to working with our co-shareholders and bank management to build on Banco Popular’s long term track record of providing impactful financial services to Honduran entrepreneurs.”
