In Africa, one of the major challenges for the entrepreneurship sector is access to finance. In the majority of countries on the continent, banks finance very little for small and medium-sized enterprises. The latter have barely survived in recent decades thanks to the development of microfinance. The sector has become one of the most important vectors of financial inclusion and still has a bright future ahead of it, according to experts. Indeed, according to Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), small businesses have a funding gap of $330 billion. However, they represent 90% of the companies operating on site. In Kenya, Pezesha, which is one of the most dynamic players in the market, has been preparing a plan for several months to increase its financial standing, in order to “have a greater impact. And it was able to benefit from the support of Cardano.
“Improving microfinance around the world”
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), which develops Cardano (ADA), announced on his Twitter account that the company has pledged to support the Kenyan microfinance structure Pezesha. Together, they have just participated in a financing round which enabled the Kenyan company to raise 11 million dollars.
According to press details, $5 million was invested by Talanton and Verdant Capital Specialist Funds. The remaining $6 million comes from IOHK and several investment funds.
This envelope will allow Pezesha to revolutionize the sector, by expanding its activities in other countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda and in the French-speaking regions of Africa. Pezesha, which offers loans to local businesses, has created its own scalable infrastructure for digital loans.
Charles Hoskinson said to himself “Excited to support this company’s mission to improve the world of microfinance”. He also added that helping Pezesha was an important step for Cardano (ADA).
Hilda Moraa, the founder of Pezesha, said that the structure offers small loans to more than 100,000 businesses today. Thanks to this funding round, Pezesha will be able to borrow up to 10,000 dollars at a moderate interest rate, repayable in one year. Moraa also intends to start collaborating with new local and international financial companies, high net worth individuals and DeFi platforms to offer $100 million in loans on an annual basis in the future.
You should know that Pezesha and Cardano had already partnered to develop a decentralized financial operating system in Africa.
The ambition displayed by cryptos is to promote financial inclusion in the world. It is in this spirit that Cardano participated in a fundraising that will ultimately support economic growth in developing countries, job creation and give maximum power to the people and control of their money.
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