Browsing: IFC

• IFC and Viva Technology have announced the second edition of the AfricaTech Awards.
• Founders are invited to apply for the awards in three categories – climate tech, fintech, and health tech 
• The winners of the awards will gain access to leaders and top executives in the tech industry and increased visibility among global investors.

IFC and Viva Technology have announced the second edition of the AfricaTech Awards, an initiative to spotlight Africa-focused companies with innovative solutions addressing key development challenges linked to climate change, health care, and financial inclusion.

Founders are invited to apply for the awards in three categories – climate tech, fintech, and health tech – on the awards’ website from February 27 to March 12, 2023.

The winners of the awards will gain access to leaders and top executives in the tech industry and increased visibility among global investors, including IFC, one of the largest venture capital …

• IFC, DEG, Hollard, and Yellowwoods Invest $17 million in Naked to Boost Access to Insurance in South Africa
• The IFC – Led equity Investment is aimed at increasing access to quality insurance products and services in South Africa
• The combined investment will also support Naked’s strategy to expand its digital insurance offering, including to more first-time insurance buyers, and allow it to continue innovating to improve customer experience.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), Hollard, and Yellowwoods to invest $17 million in South African insurtech company Naked to expand access to vehicle, home, and other insurance products.

The IFC-led equity Investment is aimed at increasing access to quality insurance products and services in South Africa

The combined investment will also support Naked’s strategy to expand its digital insurance offering, including to more first-time insurance buyers, and allow it to continue innovating to …

• IFC and Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (EquityBCDC), a subsidiary of Equity Group, has partnered to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the DRC and to promote economic diversification in the country.
• Under the partnership, IFC will support the expansion of EquityBCDC’s SME-lending operations through a $12.5 million risk sharing facility (RSF).
• Through the partnership, EquityBCDC aims to provide an additional 1,700 SME loans within the DRC and expand its SME portfolio from $250 million in 2021 to $631 million by 2026.

IFC and Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (EquityBCDC), a subsidiary of Equity Group, has partnered to increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the DRC and to promote economic diversification in the country.

Under the partnership, IFC will support the expansion of EquityBCDC’s SME-lending operations through a $12.5 million risk sharing facility (RSF).  

 IFC is also providing advisory services …

• Burkina Faso’s largest microfinance institution ACEP Burkina has received $2 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).  
• The loan facility will allow ACEP to ramp up access to longer-term finance for agri-sector MSMEs, smallholder farmers, and businesses in rural food chains in Burkina Faso.
• The financing will also help improve ACEP Burkina’s liquidity and support the company’s expansion of its mobile banking and access to credit services for rural MSMEs.

Burkina Faso’s largest microfinance institution ACEP Burkina has received $ 2 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) aimed at improving access to finance for farmers and micro, small and medium sized enterprises. 

The loan facility will allow ACEP to ramp up access to longer-term finance for agri-sector MSMEs, smallholder farmers, and businesses in rural food chains in Burkina Faso, including women-owned businesses, contributing to increased agricultural production.

The financing will also help improve ACEP Burkina’s liquidity and support the …

• Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has received a $30 million loan facility from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help the bank expand lending. 
• The facility will allow Union Bank to increase trade financing and working capital lending to Nigerian businesses.
• The loan facility to Union Bank is being made through IFC’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Working Capital Solutions Envelope, which was launched in 2020. 

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has received a $30 million loan facility from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help the bank expand lending to hundreds of businesses operating in critical sectors in the country that  include food, healthcare, manufacturing, and services.

The facility will allow Union Bank to increase trade financing and working capital lending to Nigerian businesses, including those whose cashflows have been strained by recent disruptions in global and local markets.

“As a bank, we are deeply committed to enabling success for …

The new three-year benchmark is priced with a spread of SOFR MS+25 basis points, equivalent to +12.5 basis points over the three-year US Treasury note.

The new standard pays a semi-annual coupon of 3.625 per cent. Morgan Stanley, Citi, Wells Fargo Securities, and TD Securities served as the joint lead managers for this transaction.

IFC achieves another outstanding result in the capital markets! Utilising the robust USD SSA primary market following the summer, the new three-year benchmark was oversubscribed by more than 2.4 times, with both a highly diversified and high-quality final order book.

IFC has succeeded in ensuring that its global annual outing encapsulates the broadest possible investor attention through coherent excellence in execution.…

The Guide mainly covers three key areas – understanding the asset class and where it sits alongside other asset classes, why and how to invest in PEs and an overview of the benefits and risks of investing in PE.

The development of the guide was informed by a market study report that sought to investigate the low uptake of investment by pension schemes.

In Kenya, for instance, PE allocations by pension schemes account for only 0.08 per cent of the total industry assets under management. From a regulatory perspective, there are provisions allowing pensions to invest in PE funds across East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia).

According to Kenya’s pension regulator, the Retirements Benefits Authority (RBA), though the country has had regulations that provide for diversification of pension funds away from traditional instruments, most pension schemes are still predominantly bond and stock investors.…

• The continent internet economy can reach $180 billion by 2025, accounting for 5.2 per cent of Africa’s GDP
• Africa’s access to the internet stands at  40 per cent, according to Google
• With more than 1.3 billion people, Africa lags behind the rest of the world in internet connectivity as it has only 22 per cent in connectivity

Africa’s digital economy is expanding quite fast. The continent internet economy can reach $180 billion by 2025, accounting for 5.2 per cent of Africa’s GDP, according to information from IFC.

Doubling down on the latter, by 2050, the projected potential contribution could reach $712 billion, 8.5 per cent of the continent’s GDP (IFC). Internet in Africa is the new gold as it facilitates the growth of technology-driven sectors, transforming communities’ economies.

Internet in Africa is transforming economies of fast-growing countries that also record a large share of internet users in the region, such …

This as 19 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa lived in areas not covered by mobile networks while an additional 53 per cent did not use mobile internet despite having coverage.

The need for accessible internet solutions comes after Meta (formerly Facebook) announced plans to shut down its low-cost Express Wi-Fi internet.

The programme was launched back in 2016 to drive internet connectivity in regions where other forms of connectivity, like ADSL and fibre-optic networks, aren’t readily available or established.…

The Kenyan bank said it would use the loan to help it increase working capital and trade-related lending to its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients in Kenya, especially those facing COVID-19 related challenges.

The loan from IFC is one of the single-largest credit facilities to a Kenyan lender.

Besides shoring up the bank’s capital base, the new loan will also be lent to customers, fitting IFC’s’ impact investing criteria.

IFC encourages the banks it funds to lend to women-owned enterprises and climate-related ventures such as renewable energy projects.…