Victoria Mutual Investments Limited stake in Carilend

Peer to Peer Lending company, Carilend Caribbean Holdings Limited, announced that a 30% stake was acquired by Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL) of Jamaica. In addition, Kailash Pardasani, a Barbados based, serial entrepreneur acquired a further minority stake. 

“This partnership between Victoria Mutual Investments Limited and Carilend is the first step in expanding Carilend’s fintech capabilities across the region. We aim to deliver the same convenience, ease, speed and great rates for borrowers and investors that we have already delivered in Barbados. We look forward to launching our fintech platform in Jamaica later this year and further expanding in the Caribbean in 2020,” said CEO of Carilend, Mark Young

“VMIL was attracted to this unique investment opportunity due to the value of the emerging technology which has the potential in other areas of finance with the ability to scale within the Caribbean. This certainly represents a long-term investment for our shareholders,” said CEO of VMIL, Rez Burchenson. 

Carilend provides an integrated end-to-end online lending experience via its electronic exchange platform. Its first success was the introduction of the service in Barbados. It connects people who have money to lend with people who want to borrow money in a secure online marketplace. 

In its first two years of operation in Barbados, Carilend has approved over 1200 loans for over BDS $19,000,000 for Barbadian consumers. It is currently paying its Lenders average returns of 8.15% on loans in their portfolios. Carilend reported Lenders investing in all sizes and from all walks of life in amounts ranging from BDS $2,500 to in excess of BDS $900,000. 

The partnership between VMIL and Carilend draws on the similarities of the Peer to Peer Lending concept of Lenders and Borrowers helping each other and the mutual society model of members helping members.