Vancity Loans $740k to Brighter Investment for Education Microfinance in Africa

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity) of Canada is lending CAD 1 million ($740,000) to Brighter Investment, a Canadian lender to university students in Africa. Of the total, half of the funds were disbursed to Brighter Investment in April, and the remainder is scheduled to be distributed in September. Brighter Investment is using the funding to expand its funding of students, who agree that upon graduation they will repay their loans based on a “percentage of their income…typically 25 percent for six years.” The terms of the loans from Vancity to Brighter Investment remain confidential.

Brighter Investment Investor Relations Manager Belinda Kuglenu argues that although school closures, rising unemployment rates and falling wages may result in delayed distributions to investors, the outlook for "long-term returns remain strong." Based on the "worst case scenario" of schools remaining closed for prolonged periods, the economy failing to recover in the medium-term and an unemployment rate of 20 percent, she predicted investors in Brighter Investment would still earn a four- to seven-percent return.