Out of the ashes of communism, CAPA takes wing

In 1989, Andi (Adrian) Chindras was among the student leaders who stood between the police and the protestors to keep the peace as the Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was brought down, ending a repressive regime and creating the new Romania.

Today, Andi is CEO of CAPA Finance SA, a leading microfinance institution that has helped bring Romania out of communism, through the economic wilderness, and to a promised land of prosperity in one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe.

But the transformation did not happen over night. Andi and his team of compatriots – inheritors of the new Romania – worked hard to serve people and make CAPA successful. "To Andi and his colleagues," reports MEDA director investment fund development Gerhard Pries, "providing loans to build and grow the businesses of budding entrepreneurs has not been just a job – it has been a commitment to their country and to Romania's future.

"The way Romania has developed is just astounding – amazing development," says Gerhard. "In Cluj, where CAPA is headquartered, construction cranes crowd the skyline – more than you see in bustling downtown Toronto. Romania is a country on the move – it's a dramatic change." Romania joined the European Economic Union in 2007, and plans to convert its currency to the euro by 2014.

CAPA – Creditare Assistenta Pregatire Afaceri – began in 1995 under World Vision when they began to move from post-revolution relief work to community development. MEDA was hired to provide its microfinance expertise to help CAPA grow and develop. Later, MEDA joined CAPA’s Board of Directors to provide governance assistance.

After two decades of steady growth, MEDA and partner World Vision sold CAPA to the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund (RAEF) on Nov. 1, 2007, and the CAPA Management team was rewarded with a small piece of the ownership.

Out of the ashes of communism, CAPA, now with a staff of 100, has grown to have total assets of $30 million and 6,300 borrowers at over 30 branches. MEDA's early investment of $5,000 and a subsequent equity injection of $282,000 in 2006 have reaped a $1.3 million reward with the sale of its 24 per cent share. It's a windfall that will be invested in other developing economies around the world.

Under its new owners, CAPA will continue to grow, using RAEF's infusion of $15 million to springboard to a new level.