Microfinance Focus, May 12, 2011: Goodwell West Africa, a microfinance investment vehicle co-managed by investment manager Goodwell Investments and Alitheia Capital in Nigeria has recently made an institutional investment in Paga – a mobile payments company based in Lagos Nigeria.

Paga was launched in Nigeria in February 2011, with the approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its mobile service platform enables any person with a mobile phone or access to the internet is able to send cash, purchase airtime credit, pay bills, pay retailers and perform a variety of other transactions. Paga operates via a nationwide network of agents.

Goodwell Investments which started its operations in 2006 is an impact investment firm with a focus on access to finance and sustainable development. Since its creation, it has focused on microfinance equity investments in two regions: India and West Africa. In West Africa, Goodwell works in partnership with Alitheia Capital based out of Lagos.

Els Boerhof, Partner at Goodwell said, "Our fund was founded on the principal belief that improving access to affordable financial services for people at the 'Base of the Pyramid' contributes to sustainable development. This can best be achieved by developing and scaling up entrepreneurial institutions aimed at banking the unbanked. We believe that Paga will achieve a substantial social return as well as an attractive financial result. Providing the poor savings and remittances via the mobile phone makes access to these financial services cheaper, as expensive bank branches are not needed and many people do have a mobile phone nowadays in Nigeria."