What CapPlus does

CapPlus (legal name: CapitalPlus Exchange Corporation) is an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, with a regional operations hub in Accra, Ghana. The organization delivers capacity-building and technical-assistance programs to financial institutions in emerging economies, enabling them to profitably serve underserved micro and small enterprises, smallholder farmers, women-owned businesses, youth entrepreneurs, and persons with disabilities. CapPlus does not charge fees to its financial institution clients; instead, it is funded through grants and technical-assistance agreements with development finance institutions, foundations, and government aid agencies.

CapPlus's service portfolio combines structured programs with a proprietary automated appraisal tool. Flagship offerings include FIRST+ and the scaled FIRST+II program (a $43 million Mastercard Foundation-funded initiative targeting 307,000 youth jobs in Ghana by June 2028 with a 10-partner consortium), the Education Markets Impact Initiative (EMII), and the MAMA Program for women's financial inclusion. Its proprietary iCAM (Integrated Creditworthiness Appraisal Module) applies cashflow-based lending methodology with crop-specific scoring criteria to compress rural-bank loan approval cycles from over seven months to under seven days. The earlier Small Business Banking Network (SBBN) merged into the G20 SME Finance Forum in 2015.

CapPlus reports cumulative outcomes of $12.8 billion disbursed across 12.9 million loans through partner financial institutions, 7,500+ bankers trained, and operations spanning more than 30 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia & Pacific, Europe & Central Asia, MENA, and Latin America. Its go-to-market is an enterprise partnership model with financial institutions, government ministries, and multilateral/development partners rather than a commercial sales motion.

Name

CapPlus

Legal name

CapitalPlus Exchange Corporation

Website

https://capplus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CapPlus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds capacity at financial institutions across 30 emerging economies so they can profitably serve underserved micro and small businesses, smallholders, women, and youth through programs like FIRST+II, EMII, and the iCAM credit appraisal tool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Inclusion Services

NAICS

Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Microfinance, Financial Inclusion & Inclusive Markets (BPAGABAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Financial inclusion services
• Capacity building programs
• MSME lending support
• Microfinance technical assistance
• Credit appraisal tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Skokie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Development Partner Funding: CapPlus operates as a nonprofit organization primarily funded through grants and technical assistance agreements with development finance institutions, foundations, and government aid agencies. The organization does not charge financial institutions for its capacity-building services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CapPlus (CapitalPlus Exchange Corporation) is an international nonprofit capacity-building organization that partners with financial institutions in emerging economies to develop sustainable lending capabilities for underserved markets. The organization delivers structured programs (FIRST+/FIRST+II, EMII, MAMA), proprietary credit appraisal tools (iCAM), training, and technical assistance to enable rural banks, savings and loans, and microfinance institutions to profitably serve micro and small enterprises, smallholder farmers, women, youth, and people with disabilities.

Product overview

CapPlus is a nonprofit organization that provides capacity building and technical assistance to financial institutions in emerging economies, not a software product company. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and tools including iCAM (an automated credit appraisal module), the FIRST+ and FIRST+II programs (financial institution capacity building initiatives), the Education Markets Impact Initiative (EMII) for school finance, and the MAMA Program for women's financial inclusion. These offerings work together as an integrated ecosystem development approach, combining automated lending tools, training programs, and partnership networks to enable financial institutions to profitably serve underserved micro and small businesses, particularly youth and women-led enterprises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FIRST+: Financial Institution Resilience and Strengthening program - an ecosystem development approach to increasing jobs for youth in Ghana through access to finance
• FIRST+II
• EMII
• iCAM
• MAMA Program

Products and services

• iCAM (Integrated Creditworthiness Appraisal Module) An automated credit appraisal tool with cash flow-based lending methodology and credit scoring criteria for 12 crops. It assesses borrowers' ability and willingness to pay without requiring traditional collateral or lengthy savings deposit periods, reduces collateral requirements, eliminates gender biases in assessment, and accelerates loan approvals from months to days. It is used by financial institutions serving micro and small enterprises, smallholder farmers, women, and youth borrowers who typically lack formal credit histories.
• Financial Institution Resilience and Strengthening (FIRST+) An industry-wide capacity building program delivered in Ghana that helps financial institutions recover from economic shocks and expand micro and small business finance. The program delivers credit appraisal training, risk management support, marketing skills development, and gender strategy implementation.
• FIRST+II A scaled ecosystem development program in Ghana targeting 307,000 youth jobs by June 2028. It delivers capacity building to financial institutions, business development services to smallholder farmers and MSMEs, loan portfolio guarantees, and financial capability training for persons with disabilities, integrating the expertise of consortium partners including the Bank of Ghana, African Management Institute, GHAMFIN, GIRSAL, and Opportunity International Ghana.
• EMII (Education Markets Impact Initiative) A program that equips financial institutions to finance affordable private schools and the families they serve while driving quality improvements in education. It leverages schools' demand for credit to incentivize education quality improvements through loan conditions and targeted interventions, unlocking the estimated $4.5 billion private school credit market potential across seven researched cities.
• MAMA Program A comprehensive suite of financial and non-financial services for women, offered through Pan-African Savings & Loans with CapPlus support. The program provides easier access to loans, flexible repayment options, tailored savings products, and financial literacy support across business, agriculture, housing, employment, and youth development sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 83% of clients increased lending to women after implementing CapPlus programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bank of GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral bank partnership supporting the implementation of CapPlus programs in Ghana's financial sector, regulatory engagement, and policy alignment for financial inclusion initiatives.
• African Management InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing management and capacity-building expertise to complement CapPlus programs across Africa.
• Ghana Microfinance Institution Network (GHAMFIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network organization collaborating with CapPlus on microfinance capacity building and industry development in Ghana.
• Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDisability advocacy organization partnering with CapPlus to ensure financial inclusion programs address the needs of people with disabilities.
• GIRSALcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGhana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, partnering with CapPlus on agricultural financing programs.
• Opportunity International GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational microfinance organization collaborating with CapPlus on financial inclusion programs targeting underserved populations.
• FarmerlinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization specializing in agricultural value chains, partnering with CapPlus on financial services for smallholder farmers.
• CDC ConsultminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting partner providing technical expertise for specific program implementations.
• Digital Frontiers InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitute focused on digital finance, collaborating with CapPlus on technology-enhanced financial inclusion initiatives.
• DEEPENminorOthersResearch partner conducting studies and evaluations on financial inclusion outcomes.
• IDP Foundation, Inc.minorOthersFoundation conducting research on education finance in partnership with CapPlus.
• MicroCredminorOthersMicrofinance institution and research partner collaborating on financial inclusion studies.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FINCA International: Microfinance and financial inclusion nonprofit serving low-income customers across emerging markets via partner institutions — closely aligned target beneficiaries and institutional capacity-building approach.
• Accion: Global nonprofit focused on financial inclusion through capacity building for microfinance and small-business finance providers — directly comparable mission, FIs as primary clients, and technical assistance delivery model.
• Women's World Banking: Nonprofit that designs and incubates financial products, services, and policies for women in emerging markets — directly comparable gender-inclusion mandate and FI-engagement model.
• Opportunity International: Microfinance nonprofit providing loans, savings, and training through local partner institutions in developing countries — overlaps on FIs-as-clients model and smallholder/MSME focus; also an active CapPlus partner.
• Grameen Foundation: Nonprofit that builds capacity of microfinance institutions and develops digital tools for the poor — direct overlap with CapPlus's FI-focused TA and proprietary credit/tool development (e.g., iCAM parallels Grameen's scoring work).
• BFA Global (Bankers without Borders / Catalyst Fund): Consultancy/tech nonprofit supporting financial service providers serving low-income customers — comparable FI capacity-building and inclusion-tech focus.

Broad incumbents

• ACDI/VOCA: Large international development nonprofit implementing economic development programs including MSME/agricultural finance — broader portfolio but overlapping donor base (USAID) and methodology.

Emerging players

• Root Capital: Nonprofit agricultural lender and capacity builder for smallholder farmers and agri-SMEs — overlaps with CapPlus's smallholder finance and agricultural lending methodology.
• Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX): Data and analytics nonprofit supporting responsible financial inclusion via market intelligence — partial overlap on enabling healthier MFI/FI practices in emerging markets.

Others

• ShoreBank / ShoreCap: Predecessor and original founder of CapPlus; community development banking pioneer — the historic institutional lineage from which CapPlus was incubated alongside the ShoreCap equity fund.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capplus__
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CapPlusXCorp/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/CapitalPlus-ExchangeCapPlus-460315587336347
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capitalplus-exchange-formerly-shorecap-exchange-
• Instagraminstagram.com/capplusxcorp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CapPlus