Saison Investment Management steps into Mongolia

Saison International, the international arm of Credit Saison, has made its first foray into Mongolia with a USD 14 million investment through Golomt Bank and M Bank. This investment will be managed by Saison Investment Management Private Limited (SIMPL).

Golomt Bank, Mongolia’s leading commercial bank, and M Bank, wholly owned by MCS Group, are the recipients of this investment. The funds will support the expansion of lending portfolios specifically targeting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), individual retail borrowers, and women-owned businesses.

Founded in September 2021, Saison Investment Management Private Limited (“SIMPL”) is the impact investing arm of Saison International. SIMPL operates with the mission to foster inclusive growth in emerging and frontier markets by investing in sustainable solutions that enable fair and equitable access to resources.

Following a successful pilot in South-East Asia in 2020, SIMPL has now the mandate to scale its operations and further expand across geographies. As of June 2022, SIMPL advises and manages proprietary funds of USD 55m. These funds are to be deployed strategically to support the growth of innovative and inclusive businesses providing underserved individuals and enterprises with access to financial services.

SIMPL is run by a specialized, driven, and experienced team based in Singapore, responsible to source and diligence impact investment opportunities, assess and manage the risks and impact of those investments, as well as to execute and manage transactions.

SIMPL’s main impact goal is to foster inclusive growth. It does so by providing debt financing to specialized financial services providers, early-stage and tech-enabled companies that operate at the intersection of inclusion and innovation in emerging and frontier markets.

As an impact investor, SIMPL seeks to support companies that have proven traction of delivering affordable and accessible solutions and scale financial inclusion.

SIMPL is actively working towards the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8, 9 and 10.

To measure its contribution to those SDGs, SIMPL has designed an impact framework against which all portfolio companies are screened, assessed and scored to ensure their alignment with SIMPL’s impact ambitions.

While doing good is at the core of its business, SIMPL strives to put in place the necessary safeguards to ensure that its investments do no harm. As such, SIMPL is developing an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) aligned with international standards and fully embedded in its investment process to appropriately manage the ESG risks of its portfolio, inform decision-making and guide its portfolio companies in the adoption of better practices.

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