Kenya’s M-KOPA Secures USD 250 M+ Debt, Equity Funding

M-KOPA, the asset financing platform that offers underbanked African customers access to “productive assets” and the ability to pay for them via digital micropayments, has secured over USD 250 M in new funding. The capital injection includes USD 55 M in equity and over USD 200 M in debt. Following the USD 75 M in equity the Kenyan-based fintech announced last March, M-KOPA has raised USD 45 M in equity funding since its inception in 2011. 

Japanese-based trading house Sumitomo Corporation led the growth equity capital, donating the lion’s share at USD 36.5 M. Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank in terms of assets, provided half of the USD 200 M+ “sustainability-linked” debt financing. Development financial institutions: the IFC, FMO, and BII and funds managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners, Mirova SunFunder, and Nithio supplied the rest.

The company is known chiefly for its pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing model that allows customers to build ownership of appliances over time by paying an initial deposit followed by flexible micro-payments. It is present in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana. The asset financier also intends to: extend its financial services offerings and product sets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Kenya and Uganda, where its solar product is more prominent.