Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund

Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund ("Frontier") is a growth-stage impact investing fund focused on catalyzing new approaches to financial inclusion. Frontier's mandate is to invest in disruptive business models and technologies that will radically enhance the efficiency, reach and scope of products and services for the financially underserved.

Frontier intends to invest globally, with a focus on certain core markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have attractive enabling environments, entrepreneurial ecosystems and large market opportunities.

Accion International, a global leader in microfinance with five decades of experience in emerging markets, is Frontier's sponsor and anchor investor. Frontier will leverage Accion’s on-the-ground presence and institutional relationships, operating management strength in each of its regional hubs, global recognition as a leading impact investor and technical specialists in Frontier’s target sectors. Frontier draws on the Accion relationship and the Frontier team’s sector- and market-specific domain expertise, its experience investing in similar companies as well as its strong global network to actively support the growth of its portfolio companies.

Accion's important role in impact investing was recognized for the second consecutive year in 2013 by Impact Assets 50, a database of experienced impact investment fund managers.

Financial description

Frontier seeks to generate appropriate risk-adjusted financial returns, by investing in early- and growth-stage companies with disruptive business models that promote financial inclusion for financially underserved populations primarily at the BoP.
Frontier expects to make 12 to 15 equity or equity-like investments of between US$1 and US$5 million each, with additional reserves for follow-on investments, in scalable early- and growth-stage businesses. Frontier will typically make significant minority investments, where possible alongside complementary co-investors, and will seek board representation to enable active governance and portfolio management.
Frontier targets companies that can be scaled to create both competitive financial returns and innovation in financial inclusion, and seeks to create a demonstration effect so that new investors are encouraged to deploy capital that results in the expansion of financial inclusion.