Grace Ashiru
HAVAIC, a venture capital business based in South Africa, has announced the completion of a pre-Series A investment round of $500,000, a Kenyan company that offers software solutions and digitizes farming co-ops and community banks, known as Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) in the region.
The twenty million dollars invested in FinAccess will come from HAVAIC’s Universum Core African Fund, primarily concerned with providing capital for early-stage businesses. Post-revenue seed and later-stage development Series A start-ups born in Africa that employ technology to tackle real-world problems on a local, regional, or national scale are eligible for investment in global problems while also affecting the markets that they serve.
FinAccess was established in 2017, and it currently offers two primary products. The first one is called FinCore, and it’s a micro-banking platform that’s meant to enable back-office activities. The second Dropbox is a way for dairy cooperatives to see their data. It tracks milk production to help cooperatives make better decisions and get more credit. The second Dropbox is a way for dairy cooperatives to see their data. It tracks milk production to help cooperatives make better decisions and get more credit.
The company now offers a third product under the name Mango Engine. This product is a digital platform that enables cooperatives and other social savings groups to engage in new forms of savings and lending.
In his remarks regarding the investment round, the Chief Executive Officer of FinAccess, Barclay Paul Okari, noted that the financial inclusion of underserved people in Africa is at the core of the organization’s business model.
Ultimately, digitization makes credit and other important financial services more accessible to farmers, enabling them to improve their efficiency and productivity. He continued by saying, “we are thrilled to join with HAVA’C and provide our software solutions to additional African communities.”We are excited to be able to support them as they continue their growing adventure across Kenya and beyond.
According to statistics provided by the World Bank, agriculture is responsible for generating 53 percent of jobs in Africa; nevertheless, despite the sector’s considerable contribution to the expansion of employment opportunities, only 1 percent of bank loans are allocated to agriculture.
SACCOs and co-ops, formed when communities band together to pool their savings and invest them, are typically utilized by farmers who cannot obtain credit from traditional banking institutions.
FinAccess will use the money from HAVAC to sell more of its products in Kenya and other East African countries. Live pilots for the business are now being conducted in Uganda, while Zambia, Rwanda, and Tanzania are scheduled to open in the following months.
