Kenyan fintech M-KOPA gets $250M+ in debt and equity

M-KOPA, a Kenyan fintech has secured more than $250 million in debt and equity funding. Standard Bank led the round with $200 million in sustainability-linked debt financing, while Sumitomo invested $36.5 million in equity funding, per Reuters.

"Supporting M-KOPA is in line with our purpose of driving sustainable growth for Africa and her people. Financial inclusion not only enables economic growth, it also accelerates it," says Nick Riley, Corporate Financing Solutions at Standard Bank. "M-KOPA has, in a short time, managed to positively impact so many lives by enabling access to power and smartphone connectivity, which are a vital part of enabling the economic empowerment of all."

With this new funding, M-KOPA says it will acquire at least 100,000 customers every month to grow its existing three million customer base in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Nick Riley, corporate finance solutions at Standard Bank said that the new funding will also enable the company to "retire existing debt and bring its borrowings under a simplified structure".

In 2022, the fintech disclosed that it provided over $600 million in cumulative credit for its underbanked customers via a network of over 10,000 agents, 52% of these agents are women. The cumulative credit has since grown to over $1 billion, according to Moore.

"As we continue to scale we remain committed to building a sustainable business and closing economic and digital gender gaps. We are delighted to have the support of new and existing investors who share our vision and mission," says M-KOPA Solar CEO and Co-Founder Jesse Moore.

Beyond assets financing, the Kenyan company is also making a tilt towards hardware offerings with the pilot test to finance electric motorbikes in South Africa, as part of its e-mobility plan. It has also sold over a million solar systems in its existing markets.

According to Moore, "there’s a huge demand for life-enhancing products like smartphones and solar systems, which are difficult to afford, but we’ve made them affordable and accessible to our customers. Our next category in R&D [research and development] right now is electric motorcycles. We’re very excited about electric mobility and we’re sure that in the next couple of decades, there will be a big switch in ownership where electric motorbikes will scale when there’s financing to go with them."