African FinTech Platform M-KOPA Secures $202 Million In New Funding

M-KOPA, an African Fintech platform that provides digital financial services to underbanked consumers, has secured $20 million in new funding.

Since its inception in 2011, M-KOPA has provided over $1 billion in credit to more than 3 million customers, thereby avoiding 2.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions through clean energy products and allowing almost 2 million individuals to access high quality smartphones, positively impacting over 5.5 million lives on the continent.

Having well-defined growth ambitions, M-KOPA has entrusted Standard Bank Group (through its subsidiaries, Stanbic Bank Kenya and Stanbic Bank Uganda) to act as mandated lead arrangers for two sustainability linked multi-currency facilities.

“Standard Bank Group remains an important partner in our growth journey, and they remain supportive of our aspirations to ensure that Africa continues to grow and ultimately thrive. Not only does Standard Bank provide an innovative and bespoke approach to our financing needs, their knowledge and understanding of the African continent enables us to achieve our ambitions,” says Jesse Moore of M-KOPA.

For a business like M-KOPA to expand geographically, they require a reliable mechanism to raise funding in multiple currencies. Standard Bank’s ability to structure and arrange solutions that cater for several currencies means M-KOPA is well equipped to hedge the risk of foreign exchange in its funding structure

As a Fintech business that has achieved significant scale, M-KOPA demonstrates the African continent’s young, critical and vibrant population’s economic potential that makes for an attractive prospect for foreign investors. “Africa has significant economic potential, especially for foreign investors, which is why we remain committed to working with M-KOPA as it improves financial inclusion across the continent for millions of Africans who struggle. to access credit,” says Nick Riley, Corporate Financing Solutions at Standard Bank.

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.