(PR Newswire) Gramercy Funds Management, a US$4.2b dedicated emerging markets investment manager, announced a US$34m investment in Credivalores-Crediservicios, its affiliates and subsidiaries, the leading independent consumer finance company in Colombia and one of the country’s fastest growing non-banking financial institutions.

Grupo Credivalores is comprised of four complementary companies including: Credivalores (non-regulated consumer finance company), Credifinanciera (regulated consumer finance company), Microfinanzas & Desarrollo (microfinance company), and Proteccion Garantizada (micro-insurance broker). The Group offers credit to the low and middle income population in Colombia equal to 7.1 million potential customers or 70% of the population through different credit alternatives with a regional footprint comprised of 43 offices and 48 service points in 41 cities in Colombia. Credivalores’ loan portfolio includes payroll lending, utility-collected credit cards, financing of insurance premiums and micro-lending. As of June 30, 2014, the Company had a total loan portfolio of COP 890 billion ($474 million) and 323,000 active clients.

“We are pleased to partner with a world class entrepreneur like David Seinjet, founder and President of Grupo Credivalores,” said Robert Koenigsberger, Gramercy’s Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer. “Gramercy has a long history of investing in Latin American corporates through several economic cycles. Our capitalization will fund an upgrade of the Group’s entire technology platform combined with several initiatives, including strengthening the management team, improving the capital structure, reducing funding costs, increasing commercial efforts, and increasing market share.”