Oikocredit makes first-time $10m loan to AfricInvest for SMEs

Daba Finance/Oikocredit makes first-time $10m loan to AfricInvest private credit

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCEJune 23, 2024 at 4:00 PM UTC

TLDR

Oikocredit provides $10 million loan to AfricInvest Private Credit (APC) for SME support in Africa.
APC focuses on providing medium to long-term credit to underserved SMEs in Africa.
Capital infusion will enable APC to expand lending to diverse companies across multiple African countries.

Social impact investing cooperative Oikocredit has provided a $10 million loan to AfricInvest Private Credit (APC) to bolster support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

APC focuses on offering medium to long-term credit to SMEs, particularly those underserved by mainstream financial institutions due to insufficient collateral. This capital infusion from Oikocredit will allow APC to expand its lending activities, benefiting a diverse range of companies in multiple African countries.

Kouraiech Belhajali, CEO of APC, said: “We are proud of our new partnership with Oikocredit. This facility will support us in continuing to serve the underserved in Africa, widening APC’s target market and reach."

Key Takeaways

Access to credit remains out of reach of many Africans and is a significant barrier to the growth of many small businesses. The continent has an estimated trade finance gap of $81 billion. It’s also a problem investors are particularly keen to address as they get attractive returns as evident in APC's fundraising. AfricInvest Private Credit was launched in May 2014 as SFC Finance Ltd. and commenced its operations with committed shareholders’ equity of $20 million and an initial $50 million debt facility extended by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

Oikocredit

AfricInvest Private Credit

AfricInvest

SMEs

SME Financing

Business Lending

Small Businesses

Invest in Africa