What
We
Do
Our Firm
MicroVest is an asset manager that specializes in allocating private debt capital to responsible microfinance and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) finance institutions serving unbanked and underbanked microentrepreneurs and small businesses in emerging markets. As one of the first U.S.-based microfinance investors, MicroVest has built a track record since 2003 of investing in institutions whose interests are aligned with the borrowers and communities they serve.
By catalyzing the availability of credit to responsible MFIs and SME Finance Institutions—many of which serve as the first provider of formal credit to underserved microentrepreneurs and small businesses—MicroVest is facilitating financial inclusion, supporting job creation, promoting inclusive growth, and reducing poverty.
At MicroVest, we seek to support financial inclusion for un- and underbanked microentrepreneurs and small businesses that seek financing for income-generating initiatives but who are unable access credit through the formal financial system. To achieve this, we invest in responsible Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Financial Institutions that ethically and transparently provide productive loans to underserved microentrepreneurs and SMEs.
With access to credit on fair and transparent terms, these microentrepreneurs and SMEs are able to securely finance their small business dreams. Our portfolio’s end borrowers operate enterprises across a variety of sectors, which include production and manufacturing, crafts, agriculture and livestock, commerce and trade, services, education, and renewable energy.
When the un- and underbanked become financially included, they are better equipped to manage day-to-day finances, build financial resilience, and knowledgeably use financial products and services to pursue their goals.
Since its founding, MicroVest has disbursed more than $1.7 billion to over 200 microfinance and SME finance institutions in more than 60 countries.
Why It Matters
Without responsible Microfinance and SME Finance Institutions to serve un- and under-banked end borrowers, irresponsible actors (more commonly known as “loan sharks”) in this sector can contribute to borrower over-indebtedness and/or threaten the stability of a country’s financial sector through high delinquencies and/or nonperforming loans. Due to the position of trust that financial institutions occupy and the importance of empowering end borrowers throughout their financial lives, MicroVest believes scaling institutions with integrity is even more critical and our work anchors on this principle.
Our Philosophy
Our track record shows that selectively allocating private debt capital to Microfinance and SME Finance Institutions can generate investment returns in addition to quantifiable social impact. Our investment process combines a proprietary top down country risk assessment with rigorous bottom up due diligence to identify Microfinance and SME Finance Institutions whose culture and lending policies are aligned with supporting end borrowers in the communities they serve.
An Emphasis on Quality
Given that much of low-income lending is unsecured, risk management is our highest priority. To protect investors’ capital and ensure portfolio quality, MicroVest only invests in institutions with strong credit profiles, sound operations, and business models that possess favorable strategic and financial prospects. The processes that these institutions utilize for borrower selection, underwriting and monitoring are critical, and our due diligence efforts focus on these.
Network - Partnering with Responsible Investing Leaders & Impact Initiatives
MicroVest is a proud participant in and signatory of a number of impact investment-focused initiatives that support the growth and professionalization of the industry around the world. Throughout our 20+ year history, we have sought to build strong partnerships and lead dialogue around impact measurement, benchmarking, and transparency to sustainably grow the base of capital that seeks to advance social and environmental priorities while achieving financial returns.
MicroVest is a Certified B Corporation, a member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), and a Signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and The Operating Principles for Impact Management.
In 2025, MicroVest was again selected for the ImpactAssets 50 2025 as an Emeritus Impact Manager, a designation that recognizes established impact fund managers who have been on the IA 50 for at least five years. MicroVest has been selected in all fourteen IA50 showcases since the list’s inception. MicroVest is also proud to be among the 17% of fund managers featured who have had their impact reporting verified by a third party.
Ensuring Institution Responsibility
At MicroVest, our team screens portfolio investments for institution responsibility as rigorously as we do financial stability. Ensuring portfolio responsibility starts at deal origination and continues throughout the lifecycle of our investment. We believe that by putting our investments to work in institutions that are ethically responsible, offer fair and competitive rates, and operate in a manner that serves and protects customers, we are strengthening the financial impact of our capital, promoting transparency, and helping to diminish the footprint of problematic lenders.
Our screens also help to exclude institutions that may correlate with higher environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, any of which could undermine the value of the investment and impair impact performance. To help assess institution responsibility, MicroVest utilizes ALINUS,[1] a social data collection tool that measures the implementation of the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management across the following 14 metrics:
The above radar illustration reflects actual results of an assessment of a MicroVest portfolio company.