Finastra has announced that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has gone live with its Loan IQ platform.
The project, delivered in partnership with IBM Japan, is the first deployment of Loan IQ in Japan and is intended to modernise JICA’s core system for private-sector investment finance.
This programme provides loans to private sector projects in developing countries and is expected to continue expanding.
The new system enables end-to-end management of international private sector loan transactions and supports lending in Japanese yen, US dollars, euros and local currencies.
According to JICA, the platform will help improve operational efficiency and provide flexibility to support future growth in private-sector investment finance.
“We expect that this transformation will strengthen our ability to mobilise private capital for development, and to support increasingly diverse financial structures, enhancing the foundation of JICA’s private sector operations,”
said Taketsuru Eiko, Director of Information System Division 2, Information System Department at JICA.
JICA is Japan’s main agency for Official Development Assistance, providing long-term concessional financing for infrastructure and social development projects in developing countries.
With growing demand for private funding to address economic and social challenges, the agency’s private-sector investment finance scheme is expected to expand.
Finastra’s Loan IQ platform provides lifecycle management of loans, from transaction set-up and approval to disbursement, interest and fee calculations, and repayment.
It is used by a range of commercial and development financial institutions internationally.
“JICA plays a critical role in advancing sustainable development in emerging markets,”
said Andrew Bateman, EVP for Lending at Finastra.
“We’re proud that Loan IQ now powers JICA’s private sector lending operations, enabling it to streamline processes and scale impact in line with its mission.”
The implementation was carried out by IBM Japan, which provided development, data migration, user training and operational support.
IBM’s prior experience with Finastra deployments and expertise in public-private finance contributed to the rollout.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik