Kenyan fintech Zanifu nabs $1M to bridge MSME financing gap, eyes Ghana, Uganda expansion –
Summary
Kenyan fintech Zanifu is set to upgrade its platform and grow the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) it extends stock financing to after securing $1 million in seed funding. We are filling a critical gap in providing stock financing, which enables small businesses to grow their turnovers by more than 40%,” said Zanifu co-founder and chief operating officer, Steve Biko. Mithika said that Zanifu is playing its role in bridging the $20 billion (as estimated by the World Bank) MSME financing gap in the country experienced by 5 million small businesses, most of which are informal. Zanifu works with a number of manufacturers and distributors to extend the credit to these small businesses with retailers already sourcing products from the startup’s partners qualifying for the financing. A regional presence will step-up competition for the likes of Uganda’s Numida and Nigeria’s Payhippo, some of the fintechs providing unsecured financing to small businesses.