Kenya’s first microfinance institution to provide financial services to the poor entirely via mobile phones, Musoni Kenya, has secured itself funding from three new investors.
The new investors, who have secured a 25 percent stake in the company, include Grameen Foundation, KfW and CARE’s Access Africa Fund.
The Nairobi-based microfinance instutition that focuses on extending microloans exclusively via mobile phones to serve the poor and un-banked more efficiently and safely also aims at saving its customers the hassle of having to travel long distances with bundles of money to weekly meetings as it is the norm with the formal banking.
The customers can repay their loans at any time during the week via the mobile phone.
“Grameen Foundation’s decade-long experience using mobile phones to accelerate poverty reduction in Africa has taught us that convenience and safety are critical to making financial services more accessible and useful to the poor.” Alex Counts, president of Grameen Foundation, said.
He added that the Grameen Foundation is pleased to support Musoni’s efforts to expand these services to more rural communities for significant impact.
“As one of the world’s leading microfinance financiers, our investment in Musoni is one next step to specifically address the continent’s challenges in overcoming distances. The use of the mobile technology provides a way to foster income and employment for people living in rural areas and thus helps to fight poverty,” said Dr. Thomas Duve, director of the Department of Africa Regional Programmes, KfW.
David James, CEO of Musoni Kenya said: “This investment is a major milestone for Musoni Kenya. We are incredibly excited about working with our new partners and building upon their experience to further develop the Musoni Concept and take microfinance to the next level.”
Currently, Musoni Kenya serves over 7,300 clients, and plans to increase its client base to 34,000 by 2013, hence the welcoming of the new equity partners. Musoni also intends to apply for license to accept savings deposits to make it easier for the poor need to improve their lives by saving.
Musoni BV is the parent company of Musoni Kenya and remains as an equity partner in the company
