By Edmund Higenbottam, Managing Director, Verdant Capital, manager of the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund Greater macro-economic volatility, as well as outright macro- economic headwinds, are likely to impact the asset allocations of both LPs and GPs for the balance of the decade. The early years of the 2020s, which were overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and preceded armed conflict in Europe and sharp monetary policy changes in the US, saw a growth in the private credit asset class as a proportion of private capital in Africa, albeit from a low base. Will private credit continue to enjoy growth – both relative and absolute – in these […]
Verdant Capital is pleased to announce a revolving credit facility for Patasente Uganda (“Patasente”), a digital trade services platform for farmers, warehouses, and factories. The facility will be used to support Patasente’s invoice discounting and supplier financing activities. “Patasente” is a local Swahili and Luganda word that means “Get Money”. Patasente was established by George Bakka and Gilbert Mutungi in 2016 and is headquartered in Kampala, Uganda. Patasente operates an e-procurement, payments and factoring platform for sellers and buyers to trade on favourable terms. Patasente enables suppliers (farmers and warehousing centres), being the “principal”, to sell their produce to large buyers, […]
Mary-Beth has joined Verdant Capital as Legal and Compliance Officer. She is responsible for the legal, compliance and regulatory functions for the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund I and the Verdant Capital Group. Mary-Beth has experience in commercial law, banking and finance and Fintech. Prior to joining Verdant Capital Mary-Beth worked in commercial litigation and as group legal at MTN as they established their mobile money operations. In her role, Mary-Beth will oversee the legal competencies and compliance requirements and maintenance for the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund and the Verdant Capital Group. Mary-Beth has a Bachelor of Laws from the University […]
Flow Global Limited (“Flow”), a Fintech company that provides ecosystem-agnostic digital growth capital solutions to small merchants in Uganda and Rwanda, was awarded the “FinTech for Good” award at the prestigious Fintech Awards London 2023. This is yet another recognition of its ability to drive impact in emerging markets at the same time as financial returns. The Fintech commenced operations in 2018 and is on a rapid drive to expand across Africa. Flow works with merchants offering mobile money and agency banking services (“agents”), who lack the digital working capital (e-money float) to meet ever-increasing customer demand. This is a […]
The investment will help provide thousands of self-employed entrepreneurs operating as motorbike and tuk-tuk taxi riders or courier or delivery drivers in Kenya with greater economic empowerment and asset ownership opportunities. Verdant Capital is pleased to announce that its Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund (the “Fund”) has completed a USD 7 million dual-tranche investment comprising a subordinated loan and senior secured loan to Mogo Auto Limited (“Mogo Kenya”), a subsidiary of Eleving Group operating in Europe, Asia, and Africa. This investment is the third for the Fund. The investment will help Mogo Kenya expand its portfolio of motorbike (fuel and electric-powered […]
The investment will support LOLC’s expansion strategy into Africa, through the financing of MSMEs, thereby promoting a high social and developmental impact including financial inclusion, employment creation, income generation, and economic growth. Verdant Capital is pleased to announce that its Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund (the “Fund”) has completed a USD 9 million investment, structured as a holding company loan in LOLC Africa’s holding company, which will be invested in the lending subsidiaries in Zambia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. LOLC, which was founded in 1980 in Sri Lanka, entered the African continent […]
