Almelo, 1 October 2018 - Qredits International, founded in July 2018, signed a shareholder agreement last week with their first partner IMF Oportunitas based in Barcelona. Together with the other shareholders, including Bankia and Mapfre, Qredits will contribute to the growth and success of Oportunitas enabling them to support more entrepreneurs in Spain.
Qredits international
The establishment of Qredits International is a logical next step in the mission of Qredits to promote entrepreneurship in the broadest sense of the word. As best practice in Europe Qredits wants to inspire other Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and help them to support entrepreneurs even more successfully in their own country. This is possible in a direct way, as Qredits does on the Caribbean islands through local Qredits offices. But with the founding of Qredits International this can also be done indirectly by becoming shareholder of smaller European MFIs and supporting them with capital, IT solutions and consultancy.
Main contribution
Qredits has the greatest added value for smaller organizations that need to grow or make a turnaround. Therefore this will be their main focus when selecting an organization to partner with. Other deciding factors are professionalism, the vision of the MFI, stability in finances and the presence of strong partners. A partnership with Qredits will be for a minimum of three years and can be designed in various ways.
Steady growth in the Netherlands as well
In the third quarter of 2018 Qredits disbursed € 16.3 million in commercial loans assisting more than 340 starting and 280 existing entrepreneurs. The total number of loans issued in 2018 has already reached 2,324 continuing the steady growth seen during the first half of 2018.
More loans than in 2017
Comparing the first nine months of this year to last year the number of microcredit loans issued (loans up to € 50,000) grew by 26%. The number of SME loans (ranging from € 50,000 - € 250,000) rose by 6%. During the first three quarters of 2018 89 SME loans were disbursed for a total € 8.1 million.
About Qredits
Qredits is a social enterprise that supports entrepreneurs in the Netherlands to successfully start or invest in their business by offering business loans up to € 250,000, coaching and the Academy for entrepreneurs. Qredits has already provided almost 13,000 loans for a total amount exceeding € 297 million. This makes Qredits the largest alternative lender for entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. Currently the social enterprise employs 85 employees and works with 600 voluntary entrepreneurial coaches. In the Caribbean, Qredits is active through local Qredits offices on Bonaire, Aruba, Sint Maarten and Curaçao. So far more than 350 loans have been disbursed on the islands.