Named "Alumbra" the initiative is the brainchild of Banco Macro’s president Jorge H Brito and will be operated via the bank’s charitable arm, Fundacion Macro. Using the Mambu platform, Alumbra will offer loans ranging from $250 to US$6,000 to small businesses and microenterprises initially in Salta, one of Argentina’s poorest northern regions.
The goal is to reach more than 6000 unique clients and disburse US$3.5M in loans by 2017 across 6 branches, with a view to further expansion across the country and potential integration with the bank’s main systems in the future.
"Working together in collaboration with Banco Macro, Fundacion Macro, Mambu and our wider community, Alumbra enables our vision for greater financial inclusion in Argentina," said Jorge H Brito, president of Banco Marcro. "With Mambu’s help, we will deliver a complete set of loan and financial products customized to the needs of microenterprise, including mortgage loans and credit cards. Alumbra will also offer non-financial products such as financial education, health education and microinsurance."
Mr Brito, who is also president of FELABAN (the Latin American Federation of Banks, which represents more than 500 banks across the region), has long supported financial inclusion as a priority in the regional agenda, and Alumbra has been designed and created to back up that commitment.
"As innovative banks such as Banco Macro seek to reach underserved markets, they are turning to new technology that offers them greater flexibility, agility and ease of use, than ever before," said Eugene Danilkis, co-founder and chief executive at Mambu. "With a new brand and Mambu’s nimble cloud technology platform in place, Alumbra is now ideally placed to rapidly deliver real life benefits to the small business customers it has been created to serve."
Through Alumbra, the bank aims to promote and grant access to loan products to low income sectors, helping to fuel economic growth and generate valuable employment opportunities in a currently underserved market. Alumbra opens its doors to customers in September 2014.
