【世界银行】非洲包容性信贷金融科技创新融资-2025

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FOCUSNOTE

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

January2025•DavidKruijffandAlexanderSotiriou

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CreditFintechsinAfrica.”2025.WorkingPaper.

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fintechs-in-africa

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InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

Acknowledgments

Thisfocusnotewasmadepossiblebytheinvaluable

insightsgainedfrominterviewswithinclusivecredit

fintechsandinnovativeassetmanagers.CGAPextendsitsheartfeltgratitudetothesepartnersfortheir

generosity,openness,andwillingnesstosharedetailedinformationabouttheiroperationsandchallenges.Theirtimeandtransparencywerecrucialtothedepthand

successofthisresearch.

InclusiveCreditFintechs:4GCapital,BoostTechnologies,FieldIntelligence,KopoKopo,Kuunda,M-Kopa,Moove,

Numida,OystrFinance,Vula,andWasoko.

InnovativeAssetManagers:AccialCapital,ALMA

SustainableFinance,CaurisFinance,Community

InvestmentManagement,GlobalInnovationFund,Lendable,Lendahand,SunnuCapital,TimonCapital,UnconventionalCapital,andUntappedGlobal.

Thisresearchwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithout

theoutstandingeffortsandcommitmentofBriter

BridgesandDFSLab.BriterBridgesprovidedinvaluabledataanalyticsandadvisoryonunderservedAfrican

markets,showcasingitsunmatchedexpertise.DFSLabbroughtitsworld-classresearchteamanddeepmarketknowledge,leveragingitsextensiveexperienceinthedigitalecosystemacrossfrontiermarketsinAfrica.

Theiranalyticalinsights,innovativeprograms,and

pan-Africanfocuswereinstrumentalinshapingthisstudy.Wearedeeplygratefulfortheirdedicationandexceptionalcontributions.

TheresearchteamgreatlybenefitedfromLendable’svaluableinsightsandresearchparticipation.Finally,theresearchteamthanksPedroXavierFazdelosSantos

forhistechnicaldirection,andAnaarKaraandEstelleMarieLahayefortheirpeerreviews.Furthermore,

theteamisgratefultoJahdaSwanborough,

FevenGetachewAsfaw,andSimrinMakhijaforcommunicationsandeditorialsupport.

iii

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

Contents

ExecutiveSummary1

Introduction2

SECTION1

:

FinancingofInclusiveCreditFintechs:PastandPresent5

Thegrowthoffundingforinclusivecreditfintechs5

Traditionalfundinginstruments7

Mostinclusivecreditfintechsfail12

Howcantraditionalinvestorsimprove?15

Adata-driveninvestmentapproachtotheearly-stagefinancinggap15

SECTION2

:

FinancingofEarly-StageCreditFintechs:TheFuture18

Step1:DataIntegration19

Step2:ProcessInnovation21

Step3:financingproductinnovation23

SECTION3

:

BridgingtheGapforInclusiveCreditFintechs:Innovation,Knowledge,

andPartnerships28

Unlockingpotentialamidchallenges28

Callforcollaborativeeffort29

Appendix31

TableA.1.Producttaxonomy32

TableA.2.Fundingstagetaxonomy34

TableA.3.Fundinginstrumentsraisedbyinclusivecreditfintechs35

References37

Acronyms

AI

ArtificialIntelligence

API

ApplicationProgramInterface

B2B

Business-to-Business

B2B2C

Business-to-Business-to-Consumer

BNPL

BuyNow,PayLater

CIM

CommunityInvestmentManagement

DFI

DevelopmentFinanceInstitution

EMDEs

EmergingMarketsandDevelopingEconomies

EUR

EuropeanUnionEuro

FSP

FinancialServiceProvider

KSh

KenyanShilling

LLM

LargeLanguageModel

MSE

MicroandSmallEnterprise

NGO

Non-GovernmentalOrganization

RBF

Revenue-BasedFinancing

SaaS

Software-as-a-Service

SAFE

SimpleAgreementforFutureEquity

SFTP

SecureFileTransferProtocol

SPV

SpecialPurposeVehicle

SSA

Sub-SaharanAfrica

USD

UnitedStatesDollar

VC

VentureCapital

v

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

ExecutiveSummary

innovativefinancingstrategiesforreaching

inclusivecreditfintechsinAfrica,particularly

thosetargetingunderservedmicroandsmall

enterprises(MSEs).ThesefintechshavethepotentialtoaddresstheestimatedUS$4.9trillionglobalcreditgapforMSEs.1However,accesstodiverseandsuitablefundingsourcesremainsacriticalchallenge,especiallyforearly-stagefintechsthatarenotyetprofitable.

Whileventurecapital(VC)hastraditionallybeen

aprimaryfundingsource,itisrelativelyinefficient

andcostly,makingitunsuitableforgrowingloan

portfolios.Debt,asthemostappropriateinstrument

forscalingaloanbook,isincreasinglyessentialfor

early-stagecreditfintechswithpositiveorimprovinguniteconomicsthathaveyettoreachbreakeven.Theriskaversionofassetmanagerstowardearly-stage

fintechsisunderstandable,giventhesector’shigh

failurerateandthesignificantchallengesstartups

faceinachievingsustainability.However,thiscautioncanunintentionallyhinderthesector’sdevelopment

bylimitingfundingforbothpromisingandlessviablestartups.Newinvestmentapproachesareemerging

toaddressthisissue,usingadvancedscreening

methods,data-driveninsights,andtailoredsupport

toidentifyandnurturehigh-potentialfintechsearlyintheirlifecycle.Theseapproachesbalancethejustifiedcautionofinvestorswiththeneedtofosterinnovation.

T

HISFOCUSNOTEEXPLORES

Anewgenerationofinnovativeassetmanagersis

pioneeringthesealternativefinancingmethods.Byleveragingapplicationprograminterfaces(APIs)andothermeansofdataintegration,thesemanagers

gainreal-timeaccesstofintechs’financialand

operationaldata,enablingadvancedriskmanagement

andcustomizedloanstructures.Instrumentslike

drawdown-on-demandseniordebt,revenue-based

financing(RBF),andasset-backedlendingprovidemoreadaptablealternativestoconventionaldebt.Thesetoolshelpfintechsoptimizecashflowandaccesssuitable

financingmechanismstoscaletheirloanbook.These

toolsalsoallowinvestorstomanageriskmoreeffectivelywhiledeepeningengagementwithportfoliocompanies.

However,adoptionoftheseadvancedfinancingtoolsishamperedbyasignificantknowledgegap.Manyassetmanagersandfintechsremainunawareofthebenefitsofdata-driveninvestingorlackthetechnicalcapacitytoimplementthesesystemseffectively.Toaddress

this,thedevelopmentfinancecommunitycansupportknowledgedissemination,technologyimprovement,

andcapacity-buildingeffortsthatequipfintechsandimpactinvestorswiththeskillsandtechnologytousetheseproducts.Fosteringawarenessandcreating

enablingframeworks—suchasinclusiveregulations,digitalinfrastructure,andstrongpartnerships—willhelpscaletheseinvestmentmodels,enhancing

financialinclusionforMSEsanddrivingsustainablegrowthfortheinclusivefintechsector.

1AlldollaramountsareUSdollarsunlessotherwiseindicated.

1

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

Introduction

(MSEs)arethebackboneoftheeconomy

inmostemergingmarketsanddeveloping

economies(EMDEs),accountingfornearlyall

enterprisesandjobsavailabletolow-incomeworkers.Despitedecadesofeffortsbythedevelopment

communityandlocalgovernments,manyMSEs—

especiallysmallerandmorevulnerableones—still

struggletoaccessthecreditneededforgrowthand

resilience,leavingaglobalcreditgapof$4.9trillion

(Kruijff,Sawhney,andWright2024).Technological

progressisenablinganewgenerationofbusiness

modelswiththepotentialtosignificantlyadvance

thefrontierofMSEfinance.Ofcourse,realizingthis

promisealsodependsoncomplementaryefforts,suchassupportivepolicies,capacitybuilding,andtargetedstrategiesforunderservedgroups.

Thereisreasontobeexcited,however,asthenumberofinclusivefintechstargetingMSEshasincreased.

Thisincreaseinfinancialserviceproviders(FSPs)is

M

ICROANDSMALLENTERPRISES

accompaniedbyasurgeofcreditprovidersoutsideofthefinancialsectortargetingMSEs,includingonline

e-commercebusiness-to-business(B2B)orbusiness-to-business-to-consumer(B2B2C)platformsand

mobilityplatforms.However,manyoftheunderlying

businessmodelsneedmoretimetomature.Forthe

mostpart,thefintechbusinessesCGAPstudied

remainnascent,havenotscaled,andarestillcalibratingfoundationalaspectsoftheirbusinessmodels.

Asignificantfactorlimitingfintechsintheirgrowthisthelackofaccesstodiversesourcesofinvestmentcapital.Currently,mostfundingcomesfromventurecapital,whichisequitycapitalwithhighreturn

expectations.Whileequityisessentialforbuildingteams,developingtechnology,andenteringnew

markets,itisinefficientandcostlyforgrowingloanportfolios.Expandingtheirloanbookiscriticalfor

thesefintechstoachievethescaleneededtoreachbreakevenandensuresurvival.Financingloanswithequitytiesupexpensivecapital,drivingupcosts

KeyTerminology

Early-StageInclusiveCreditFintech(sometimesreferredtoasinclusivefintechsorcreditfintechs):

•Early-stagereferstopre-profitfintechs,fromseedfundinguptoSeriesB.

•InclusivereferstoactivelytargetingunderservedorexcludedMSEs.

•Creditfintechinthisstudyincludesallfintechsthatprovideproductivecredit(suchasbusinessloans,overdraft,advances,andBuyNow,PayLater).

Data-DrivenAssetManagersreferstoanewtypeofinvestorwhousesadata-drivenapproachforinvestinginearly-stagecompanies,allowingthemtoidentifyandmanageriskinrealtime.Thisnextgenerationwillalsobereferredtoasinnovativeassetmanagersorassetmanagers.

2

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

andlimitingoperationalsustainability.Additionally,

repeatedlyraisingequitydilutesfounderownership,whichcanbedemoralizingandleavesfewersharesavailabletoattracttalent,furtherhamperinggrowth.

Thelackofsuitabledebtfinancingforearly-stage

creditfintechsmakesitdifficultforthemtoscale

theirMSEloanbook,jeopardizingtheirabilityto

survive.AddressingthisgapisessentialforenablingtheinclusivefintechsectortofulfillitspotentialandsustainablyservetheMSEmarket.

Investinginearly-stageinclusivefintechsremains

inherentlyrisky,asgenerallyspeaking:(1)mostearly-stagefintechswillhaveasmallcapitalbasewith

nocollateral,(2)thebusinessmodelhasnotbeen

fullyprovenyet,(3)thetechnologystackusedor

scoringmodelsareopaque,and(4)thereisshallow

governance,andthecompanyoftenfallsoutside

ofthefinancialregulation.Thisresultsinsignificant

fundinggapsthatnegativelyaffectthepotentialof

theemerginginclusivefintechsector.Thisresearchhasunveiledthat54percentoftheinclusivecredit

fintechsdonotmakeitpasttheirfirstfundinground,andonly15percentofthesecreditfintechswill

completethreeormorefundingrounds.Thishasa

negativeimpactonfinancialinclusionasalargeshareoftheinclusivecreditfintechsdisappear,andthosethatsurviveoftendosobytargetingmoreupmarketfinanciallyincludedMSEs

Thisfocusnoteacknowledgesthesignificantrisksandhighfailureratesassociatedwithearly-stageinclusivecreditfintechs,consistentwithglobalfintechtrends.Theauthorsagreethatassetmanagers’cautious

approachtoinvestinginearly-stagefintechsis

justified.Nonetheless,effectivelyaddressingthegapinfinancinginclusivecreditfintechsrequiresdiversifyingcapitaloptions,particularlythrough

flexibledebtproductsforthosefintechsthathaveachievedorarenearingpositiveuniteconomics.

Limitinginvestmentstomature,profitablefintechsrestrictstheoverallimpactofcapitaltoasmall

portionoftheMSEpopulation.

StudyScope

•Thisresearchinvestigatesthedemandandsupplysidesofthemarketforinvestingininclusivecreditfintechs.

•Demand-sideresearchfocusesoninclusive

creditfintech,whichareprimarilytargeting

MSEswithproductivecredit,tacklingtheMSEcreditgap.

•Supply-sideresearchfocusesoninnovativeassetmanagerswhoareabletofinance

early-stageMSEs(inclusivecreditfintechsandothers)duetoadataintegrationplay,

providingthemwithadvanced,real-time

dataandanalytics.Most,butnotall,haveanAfricanportfolio.

•Geography:Thisresearchfocusseson

Africa.InclusivefintechfundinggapscanbeexperiencedthroughoutthedevelopingworldbutaremostnotableinAfrica,wheretheMSE

financemarketsareparticularlyunderdeveloped.

•Thereareseveralotherimportantfactorsthatinfluencetheinclusivefintechsector,

mostnotablydigitalpublicinfrastructure,and

regulation.Thisresearchishowever,narrowin

designasitaimstoprovideinsightsfortheimpactinvestorsandinvestorcommunitytoengagewiththeinclusivecreditfintechsectorunderprevailingmarketandregulatoryconditions.

Thisstudyhighlightstheimportanceofdata-drivenstrategiesforassetmanagerstomitigateearly-stagerisksandidentifyhigh-potentialfintechs,enabling

broaderandmoreimpactfulinvestments.Data-drivenapproachestransformfintechinvestingbyenhancingriskmanagement,improvingtransparency,and

unlockingscalablecapitalforearly-stagecompanies.Unliketraditionalmodelsreliantonstaticmetrics

andlengthyduediligence,thesemethodsleveragereal-timedata—suchasportfolioperformance,cashflows,andborrowerbehaviors—toprovidedynamic

3

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

riskassessments.Thisallowsinvestorstomake

informeddecisions,respondquicklytochallenges,andoffertailoredfinancingsolutionslikeflexiblesenior

debtandrevenue-basedfinancing.

Byfosteringtrustandefficiencythroughdata

integration,automatedreporting,andadvanced

analytics,data-driveninvestingcansupport

underservedinclusivecreditfintechswithstrong

uniteconomicsyetlimitedoperationalhistories.Thisapproachnotonlyadvancesfinancialinclusionby

channelingcapitaltoearly-stagecreditproviders

servingtheMSEmarket,butalsocreatesafuture

pipelineofhigh-potentialinvestmentsfortraditional

investors.Addressingthisinvestmentgapbenefitstheentireecosystem,ensuringsustainablegrowthandamoreinclusivefinanciallandscape.

Thispaperprovidesinsightsintothemostcrucial

knowledgegapsthathindereffectivestrategydesignfortheinternationaldonorandimpactinvestment

communityeagertosupportthedigitalinnovationsthataretransformingMSEcreditmarkets.

Section1.FinancingInclusiveCreditFintechs:PastandPresent

Thissectionreviewsfundingflowsoverthepastdecade,offeringinsightsintoinvestortypes,instrumentsused,

andtargetfintechs.Italsoexaminestheimpactof

availablefundingoninclusivefintechs,concludingwithanin-depthlookattheirdrop-offrates.

Section2.FinancingInclusiveCreditFintechs:TheFuture

Thissectionexploresrecentdata-driveninnovations,whereinnovativeassetmanagersleverageAPI

integrationswithportfoliocompanies.Real-timedataaccessenablesthemtoofferalternativedebtinstrumentstoearly-stagefintechs.Casestudiesillustratetheseprocessandproductinnovations.

Section3.BridgingtheGapforInclusive

CreditFintechs

Thefinalsectionpresentsconclusionsontheroleof

data-driveninvestmentinexpandingfinancingoptionsforinclusivefintechs.Ithighlightsareasneeding

technicalassistanceandemphasizesthepivotalroleofdevelopmentfinanceinstitutions(DFIs)inadvancing

thesectorthroughinnovativeinvestmentvehicles.

Definitionsandexplanationsforalltechnical

terminologyusedthroughoutthepapercanbefoundintheAppendix.

4

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

SECTION1

FinancingofInclusiveCreditFintechs:PastandPresent

Thegrowthoffundingforinclusivecreditfintechs

TheinclusivecreditfintechsectorinAfricahasseenexponentialgrowth,bothininvestmentvolumeand

asashareoftotalfintechfunding.Accordingtoourstudies,CGAPfoundthatnearly270inclusivecreditfintechshavecollectivelyraisedover$4billionover

thepastdecade(Figure1),2representingone-thirdofallAfricanfintechfunding.Thisgrowthaccelerated

from2017onward,withanotabledipin2020duetotheCOVID-19pandemic,whichslowedinnovation

fundingacrossthecontinent.Fundingrebounded

in2021andpeakedin2023(Figure2),drivenpartly

bytheaccelerateduseofdigitalfinancialservices

post-COVIDandtheemergenceofgrowth-stage

fintechsraisinglargerounds,suchasHalan,Jumo,

M-Kopa,andMNT-Moove.Whileonly16percent

ofinclusivecreditfintechsraisedover$10million

between2015and2023,thesecompaniesaccountedfor90percentofthesector’stotalfundingvolume,

despiterepresentinglessthanathirdofdealflow.

Overone-thirdofinclusivecreditfintechfunding

isdirectedtowardassetfinance,withanotherthirdsupportingunsecuredlendingplatforms.Major

fundraisersincludeunsecuredlendingplatformslike

ThissectionexplorestheevolutionoffinancingforinclusivecreditfintechsinAfrica,highlightingthe

challengestheyfaceinsecuringcapitaltoaddresstheMSEcreditgap.Despitenearly270credit

fintechsraisingsubstantialfundingoverthepast

decade,moststruggletoprogressbeyondinitial

roundsduetohighrisks,limitedtrackrecords,andinvestorcaution.Early-stagefinancingisdominatedbyventurecapital,whichiscostlyandlimits

scalability,whiledebtfundingremainsscarceandhardtoaccess.Thekeytakeawayisthatthereisasegmentofpromisingfintechsthatfacedifficultiesscalingandachievingsustainabilityduetoalackofearly-stagedebtforfundingtheirloanbooks.

Branch,MNT-Halan,andTala,alongsideassetfinancecompaniessuchasM-Kopa,Moove,andPlanet42,

whichareamongthelargestfundingrecipientsin

thesector(Figure3).Credit-enablingfintechslike

Jumo(bankingSaaS)andStitch(financialAPI)havealsodrawninvestorinterest,reachingtwiceasmanyfintechsasothercategoriesbutatabouthalfthe

fundingvolume.

2Seventy-sixpercentofdealsdisclosedfundinginformation.

5

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

FIGURE1.Keyfigures:Inclusivecreditfintechsfundedbetween2015and2024

270+

No.fundedinclusivecreditfintechs

$4B

Totalvolumeofdeals(2015-2024)

540

Totalno.ofdeals

(2015-2024)

$1M

Medialdealsize(USD)

3

Averageno.offundingrounds

700+

No.ofactiveinvestors

Source:Authors(2024).

Note:BriterIntelligencedatatracksinvestmentsbetween2011and2023,butthescopeofanalysiscoversthelastdecade,between2015and2024.Fundinginformationpriorto2015isnotincludedinthedataanalysis.Between2011and2014,inclusivecreditfintechssuchasJududiKilimo,KopoKopo,M-Kopa,Migo,andTalahaveraised$24millionoffunding.

FIGURE2.Growthofinclusivecreditfintechsinthelastdecade

$1500

TotalFundingVolume(MUSD)

$1000

$500

$0

88%

60%

48%

49%

35%

23%

19%

13%

4%

201520162017201820192020202120222023TotalFundingVolumeforInclusiveCreditFintech

InclusiveCreditFintechas%ofOverallFintechFundingVolume

100%

75%

%fundingvolume

50%

25%

0%

Source:Authors(2024).

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

6

FIGURE3.Inclusivecreditfintechproductsbyshareofdealflowandtotalvolume

15%

4%

5%

3%

16%

9%

20%

32%

36%

2%

4%

2%

3%

2%

6%

0%

2%

0%10%20%

%oftotal

30%40%

%oftotalfundingsize

%oftotalfundedcompanies

Source:Authors(2024).

However,despitethisgrowth,fundingisheavily

concentratedamongasmallnumberoflater-stagedeals.SeriesBtoEfundingaccountsformostofthetotal

volumewhilerepresentingonly5percentoffunding

frequency(Figure4).Mostfundingactivityoccursattheearlystages,withsmallerticketsizes—medianamountsof$100,000attheincubatorandacceleratorstages

and$520,000atpre-seed(Figure5).Fintechstypicallyraiseover$1millionattheseedstage,withticketsizesincreasinginlaterstages.However,manyearly-stage

fintechsareunlikelytoprogresstoadvancedrounds,

asmostremainsmall-scale.Thesector’soverallfundinggrowthisprimarilydrivenbyaselectfewfintechsthathavesuccessfullyscaled.

Traditionalfundinginstruments

Frompre-seedfundingtoSeriesB,equity

instrumentsprovidefor65percentofallfundingforinclusivecreditfintechs.

EQUITY

Figure6showsthatequityfundingistheprimaryfinancinginstrumentforinclusivecreditfintechs.

Equityfundingoffersflexiblecapital,enablingearly-stagefintechstobuildteams,developproducts,

establishabusinesscase,andacquirecustomers.Thisfundingisessentialfordemonstratingtheviabilityoflendingproductsbyprovingstronguniteconomics,

includingfavorablerisk/returnmetricsacrossmultipleloancycles.Additionally,equityoftenbringswith

39%

UnsecuredlendingplatformAssetfinance

EmbeddedcreditstartupCreditenablingfinance

Digitalbanks

InventoryandinputfinancingFactoringandinvoicefinanceP2Plending

Digitalmerchantcashadvance

7

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

FIGURE4.Proportionofstagedealsinoverallfundingsizevs.numberoffundingdeals

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Pre-seed

IncubatororAccelerator

Pre-seriesBBridge

Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB-E

Pre-seriesABridge

%oftotalfundingsize%Nofunding

Source:Authors(2024).

FIGURE5.Medianfundingsizebyfundingstage(2015–2024)

IncubatororAccelerator

Pre-seed

Seed

Pre-SeriesABridge

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

$100,000

$520,000

$2,000,000

$5,000,000

$8,620,000

$20,000,000

$58,00,000

$0$20,000,000$40,000,000$60,000,000

Medianofdealsize

Source:Authors(2024).

InnovativeFinancingforInclusiveCreditFintechsinAfrica

8

FIGURE6.Fundinginstrumentsovertime

125

100

No.ofdeals

75

50

25

0

201520162017201820192020202120222023

Dealyear

$1,250,000,000

$1,000,000,000

Totalfundingvolume

$750,000,000

$500,000,000

$250,000,000

$0

FundingvolumeDebt

ConvertibleGrant

Hybrid(debt&equity)Equity

Source:Authors(2024).

itvaluableadvisorsandnetworkstohelpfintechs

strengthenoperationsandstrategicallygrow.Field(acompanythatimproveshealthcareaccessbydigitizingandfinancingpharmaceuticalsupplychains)reportedthatsomeimpact-focusedVCsandcorporateVCs

wereinstrumentalinprovidingresources,guidance,andindustryconnections.

However,equityfinancingcanbecostly,potentially

drivingfintechstoprioritize