APPROACH
What do we do?
The purpose of Ankaa Investors is to raise funds and make investments in institutions that further financial inclusion and protection to vulnerable borrowers in the developing world. Ankaa Investors will provide funding to MFIs that currently offer equity-based and interest-free products, as these products have proven to be safer for the borrowers.
Ankaa Investors aims to develop successful and sustainable business models for equity-based finance branches of MFIs, to expand the reach of these products and further encourage financial inclusion and protection for borrowers.
Critical Benefits
The equity-based microfinance industry is new but growing rapidly because safe products are extremely important when working with the poorest of the poor in international development. These products directly address inclusion gaps in the microfinance industry, as well as common criticisms of traditional microfinance products that can leave borrowers over-indebted.
Equity-based and interest-free microfinance products are the most financially inclusive on the market. There are 1.7 billion “un-banked” or financially excluded people around the world, and a large portion of that community reside in predominantly Muslim communities. Working with Muslim communities has an added complication as the financial products offered must be considered compliant with their Islamic (aka sharia) finance rules. Generally, for a financial product to be considered sharia-compliant, the product cannot be associated with interest or illicit activities such as gambling or alcohol. A huge benefit to Ankaa’s product suite is that none of our products involve any sort of interest (or illicit activities). Meaning Ankaa is uniquely qualified to help address the challenges involved in financially including religiously observant Muslim communities.
Ankaa Investors is a U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization.