ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) has announced today that ITOCHU has invested in Gojo & Company, Inc. (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Taejun Shin, Founder & CEO; hereinafter “Gojo”), which develops small financial services (microfinancing) for micro-, small- and medium-sized companies in emerging countries.

Up to 80% of the four billion people who live in emerging countries are unable to access regular financial services and the gap between the supply and the potential demand for financing is believed to be 100 trillion yen.^*1 In these circumstances, utilizing FinTech, which refers to the integration of technology into financial services, it is vital to improve access to financing for lower-income people and micro-, small- and medium-sized companies in emerging countries.

Gojo is a holding company that provides microfinancing in emerging countries via nine group companies in five countries. ^*2 Since it was established in July 2014 with the mission of "to extend financial inclusion across the globe", Gojo has been working to improve operations, strengthening governance and advancing digital transformation along with its group companies. It has a goal of to enable the provision of high-quality financial services to 100 million clients in 50 countries by 2030. As of the end of September 2022, it had 8,500 group employees and more than 100 billion yen in outstanding assets under management.

With this investment, ITOCHU will support Gojo’s expansion of its microfinance business by leveraging ITOCHU’s own business foundations and its domestic and international networks. Moreover, ITOCHU will consider creating business opportunities, including co-investment in emerging countries.

ITOCHU has a broad business portfolio in the retail finance sector, centering on Pocket Card Co., Ltd., an operator of a credit card and postpay businesses. It thus provides services to meet consumers’ financing needs.
Established in 1993, United Asia Finance Limited provides personal unsecured loans as one of the biggest loan businesses in Hong Kong. At present, it has 48 branches in Hong Kong and 18 in China. As it further accelerates the overseas development of its financial business, ITOCHU will pursue initiatives to achieve the SDGs, such as contributing to improved living standards through the provision of opportunities to use financial services in emerging countries.