GuarantCo provided a 100% payment default guarantee of up to USD 16 million to First Finance, a microfinance institution in Cambodia.

The guarantee will mobilise a series of long-term debt facilities for First Finance, including the first close in November of a USD 5 million guaranteed loan.

This is GuarantCo’s second transaction with First Finance, following the provision of a loan guarantee in 2022 for the same purpose. As a non-deposit taking microfinance institution, First Finance continues to require debt financing to support its growth and enhance its commercial terms to lenders by reducing its own borrowing costs.

The first loan is provided by the Tokyo branch of Korea Development Bank, which GuarantCo onboarded as a beneficiary in September 2025 for a transaction with TDB Mongolia. This second transaction with First Finance therefore benefits from replicability on two fronts, with lessons learned applied to achieve scalability.

The total proceeds supported by the guarantee will be on-lent to c. 1,300 low to middle income households primarily in rural areas and many self-employed individuals, seeking affordable home purchase and home improvement loans.

It is anticipated that 90 per cent of end-users of this housing finance will be women to also address gender inequalities linked to financial security.

First Finance was established in 2006 and received its licence from the National Bank of Cambodia in 2009, to address a significant lack of access to long-term formal financing in the market. It remains the only microfinance company today with this strategic focus on affordable housing. GuarantCo’s contingent credit solution aims to cater to this significantly underserved and financially disadvantaged segment by increasing access to longer-term mortgage products for the unbanked population in Cambodia.

This transaction will contribute towards progress against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 – Gender Equality, in addition to SDG 11 targeting Sustainable Cities and Communities.