The project

Please note: 1st principal repayment after 12 months instead of 6 months. However, the interest payments start after 6 months.

Batbaigali isn't just a bakery; it's a place full of memories for many who work there. Started by a married couple and their kids, this family business has grown a lot over the past 15 years. Today, they have a team of 116 employees. With multiple loans from InvesCore, a local microfinance institution, Batbaigali was able to secure essential kitchen equipment and buy high-quality ingredients. This helped them to maintain the finest standards in their products and enabled them to enhance their production capabilities. As a result, the bakery could scale its operations and meet increasing demands.

Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Mongolia need working capital for their businesses to grow, as exemplified by the bakery. A thriving business means higher income, directly improving the lives of the entrepreneur, the suppliers, and employees. Invescore offers entrepreneurs business loans which have a maturity between 24 and 36 months with a monthly repayment of principal and interest. 

What social return could your investment make?

InvesCore recognises the important role small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play in Mongolia's socio-economic landscape. Representing approximately 86% of all active legal entities in Mongolia, these SMEs are fundamental to job creation, poverty reduction, and community empowerment (National Statistical Office (NSO) of Mongolia, 2019). Yet, many entrepreneurs, especially women, face considerable financial barriers.

To bridge this gap, InvesCore has introduced innovative fintech services to democratise access to funding. Their automation of the traditional loan process has not only reduced 80% of manual work and potential errors but also expanded their reach. In 2021, this led to over 1,200 SME owners, of which more than 250 were female entrepreneurs, securing business loans. By investing in InvesCore, you facilitate the disbursement of loans to 15 SMEs in Mongolia. 
 

What financial return could your investment generate? 

• Annual interest rate 5.5%
• Maturity of 24 months
• Grace period: the first repayment of your investment will be made after 12 months. After that, there will be a repayment every 6 months. 
• With an investment of 1,000 euros, your expected total repayment would be 1,075 euros.
• This is a local currency (LCY) project, but the exchange risk is covered by our partner TCX. Using local currency for loans in emerging markets helps business owners avoid losses from unpredictable currency changes. Read more about it on our blog and FAQ.

The story of InvesCore

InvesCore is Mongolia's largest financial institution. With financing via Lendahand, they provide business loans to their current and new customers. The main customers are small and medium-sized enterprises in the capital, Ulaanbaatar and agricultural businesses or farmers in the countryside. To best support the entrepreneurs, InvesCore also offers business training. InvesCore processes the loan applications of their more than 80,000 customers through their internally developed Loan Origination System (LOS). The LOS automation process collects customer information from government systems, saving customers time in gathering the necessary documents. In 2019, InvesCore held an initial public offering (IPO) relating to 15% of the total shares. Since the IPO, the share price has increased by 145%. For the future, the non-banking financial institution plans an international expansion of their activities in Central Asia and Southeast Asia. 

In 2021, InvesCore launched a special program that allows low-cost financing for more vulnerable customer profiles. The program is funded by Rio Tinto Mongolia LLC. The target groups are:

• SMEs implementing an environmentally-friendly project
• SMEs run by entrepreneur(s) with disabilities
• SMEs run by women entrepreneur(s)
• SMEs run by single parents
• SMEs conducting import substitution activities

InvesCore in numbers

• Founded in 2016
• Loan portfolio of 74 billion MNT (approx. 60 million USD) (end of 2021)
• 18 branches in Mongolia
• 2 subsidiaries in Kyrgyzstan
• 269 employees
• 40% of their customer portfolio are SME entrepreneurs
• More than 80,000 customers