Grace Ashiru
Goodwell Investments and the Dutch organization Oxfam Novib have joined forces to make Pepea a €20 million ($21.7 million) fund that will give money to new businesses in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia just starting.
Pepea will offer companies in the sustainable agriculture, energy, clean mobility, logistics, and waste management sectors venture debt, focusing on mezzanine finance. The fund will give money to new businesses in places where Oxfam and Goodwell are already operating.
Pepea will provide early checks ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 and follow-on investments of up to $1 million. The fund will focus on early-stage companies that have been in operation for one to five years and are generating income but have yet to raise capital.
The goal is to improve the quality and price of basic goods and services, which comprise a big part of what people in low-income areas spend their money on.
The fund will focus on high-impact tech-enabled businesses that work best in places where tech makes things easier to get to and cheaper. Pepea wants to ensure that these businesses have suitable structures and processes in place to help them prepare for and raise their first rounds of funding.
Pepea is the first fund from the impact investor and the non-government organization. Its goal is to make the most positive effect in its communities by helping businesses in less-served parts of the market access patient capital.
