Financial inclusion

Moniepoint, which focuses on driving financial inclusion for MSMEs and individuals, received an additional $90m backing, after initially raising $110m in October 2024, including from several impact investors.

Finland’s development finance institution aims to mobilise private capital to fund critical digital infrastructure projects and boost inclusive growth in emerging markets.

The collaboration aims to help low-income and vulnerable adults to manage their money online at a time when one in five UK households or individuals face some form of digital exclusion.

The DEG loan to the CRBD bank will use a guarantee from the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus, and will support small businesses including those owned by women and young adults.

The $10m investment is the fourth loan to date to Platcorp Holdings Limited, an impact investment management company focused on lending to MSMEs in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

Proceeds from the latest bond in the series will provide financial support for high-impact enterprises owned and operated by women, as well as disadvantaged communities in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

GIP Zambia, with $70m of initial funding, builds on a model developed by BII and its partners in Ghana to provide finance for firms overlooked by the existing banking system.

To date, the African Local Currency Bond Fund has invested $420m in African companies in sectors ranging from financial inclusion to renewable energy and affordable housing.

TBC Bank Uzbekistan will use the proceeds to grow its lending business to historically underserved groups in Central Asia’s most populous country.

Trading impact credits based on social outcomes is proving a success in some places and should be scaled up to offset constraints on social funding, a new report concludes.