Founded by Jose Ignacio Avalos Hernandez as an NGO in 1990, Compartamos aimed to alleviate poverty by providing microcredit to small businesses, initially by offering loans to women at the base of the economic pyramid.

[1] In order to grow the fund, it was decided to incorporate as a for-profit company in 2000, and a commercial banking license was obtained in 2006 [2] In 2007 Compartamos controversially raised $467 million from the issue of an IPO,[2] earning large returns for private investors as well as philanthropic backers such as ACCION International and the World Bank without raising any additional capital.

[1] Compartamos attracted fierce criticisms in the wake of the IPO for enriching wealthy private investors with returns on equity of 53% generated from charging interest rates in excess of 100% from those in poverty.

[2][4] Microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus described Compartamos's priorities as "screwed up" and suggested they should not be compared with the microcredit projects he had championed.

[4] The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, a World Bank affiliate that provided some of the early funding for Compartamos, argued that the IPO was the consequence of a justifiable earlier decision to take private investment to expand their capacity to offer loans, but expressed concern Compartamos may be placing shareholders' interests ahead of their clients.