M-KOPA, a Nairobi, Kenya-based provider of a fintech platform for digital financial services, raised $250M in funding.
Over $200M in sustainability-linked debt financing was led and arranged by Standard Bank Group, with participation form The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, British International Investment, Mirova SunFunder and Nithio. A further $55M in equity investment was provided by existing strategic investor Sumitomo Corporation. Blue Haven Initiative, Lightrock, Broadscale Group and Latitude, the sister fund to Local Globe, also participated.
The company intends to use the funds to expand the offering of financial services offered to underbanked consumers across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Jesse Moore, M-KOPA is a fintech platform that provides digital financial services to underbanked consumers by leveraging data to combine digital micropayments with Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
Its flexible credit model allows individuals to pay a small deposit and get instant access to everyday essentials, including smartphones, electric motorcycles and solar power systems, and then graduate to digital financial services such as loans and health insurance. The solution embeds credit into the product through a smart digital connection, giving customers ownership instantly, which they can pay off through micro-instalments over time.
With operations in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana, the platform has provided over $1 billion in credit and enabled 3 million customers to access smartphones, solar power systems, digital loans and health insurance. The company directly employs nearly 2,000 people across Africa and has created over 10,000 roles for sales agents since the start of 2020.
FinSMEs
15/05/2023