Saison International Partners Asian Development Bank to Expand Access to Finance for MSMEs in Asia

  • Date

    November 09, 2026

  • Category

    Business, Finance, Impact

  • Reading Time

    3

Saison International Partners Asian Development Bank to Expand Access to Finance for MSMEs in Asia 

1_ADB MOU_web.jpeg

Left to Right - Isabel Chatterton, Director-General, Private Sector Operations Department of ADB, Bhargav Dasgupta, Vice President, Market Solutions of ADB, Kosuke Mori, Chief Executive Officer of Saison International and Presha Paragash, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Saison India at the MOU signing ceremony at ADB in Manila on 18 August 2026

Saison International, the Singapore-based international headquarters and subsidiary of Japan’s Credit Saison Co., Ltd., has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to explore opportunities to improve access to finance for underserved communities and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) amongst ADB’s developing member countries in Asia, including supporting women entrepreneurs, and to promote climate-efficient practices.
 

Saison International and ADB will collaborate to jointly identify projects to improve access to finance for MSMEs and women-owned businesses, share knowledge, and promote best practices in sustainable business and finance, while also supporting strong governance standards, including climate-related financial disclosure. 
 

Under the partnership, ADB will explore arranging a potential financing package of up to US$500 million in medium- and long-term financial assistance over the next three years to the portfolio companies of the Credit Saison Group to drive financial inclusion efforts in ADB's developing member countries in Asia. 
 

"We're proud to deepen our partnership with ADB, building on our ongoing relationship through Credit Saison India. Financial inclusion and sustainability have been part of Credit Saison's DNA throughout our 75-year history, from our long-standing commitment to advancing financial inclusion for women, having been the first player in Japan to issue credit cards to women, to our commitment to climate transparency and resilience. This partnership is a landmark step towards expanding access to finance for MSMEs, including women entrepreneurs in Asia, and an opportunity to explore extending our work with ADB into climate finance and disclosure," said Kosuke Mori, Chief Executive Officer, Saison International.
 

Saison International is the international headquarters of Credit Saison Co., Ltd., one of Japan's largest non-bank financial institutions with a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. From Singapore, Saison International drives the Credit Saison Group's global business strategy in its key markets of India, Brazil, and Mexico, and spearheads strategic debt and equity investments across markets worldwide. As of March 2025, Saison International has directly disbursed 3.7 million loans totaling $3.3 billion, with an active portfolio of $2.3 billion across 19 countries, directly financing over 30,000 MSMEs and supporting more than 138,000 jobs. Collectively, its portfolio companies have served more than 34 million end-clients, including 15 million women.