Emerald Africa Financing Facility
PRACTICE AREA
Investments
REGION
Pan-African
INVESTMENT YEARS
2022-2025
IN 2022
- Explored concept of providing early-stage debt to digital innovators for on-lending
- Began incubating Emerald Africa as Small Foundation’s first in-house pilot
Emerald Africa Financing Facility (Emerald Africa) is a financing facility providing debt to early-stage digital innovators, based in sub-Saharan Africa, that are enabling greater access to finance for rural SMEs. Emerald Africa is a pilot developed within Small Foundation to address a need for early-stage debt for intermediaries in SSA to scale.
Systems lens
In recent years there has been an increase in venture capital being deployed in Africa, including to intermediaries that are enabling greater access and reach of finance to a range of digital innovators bringing new services and products to African markets. They often provide embedded credit and working capital, but due to the lack of debt to fund their activities, the on-lending is funded through ever-diluted equity. Emerald Africa’s solution is to provide early-stage loans for on-lending, to help ventures show they can be viable and reach the next hurdle to access scaling finance from others in the ecosystem, including banks and other investors.
Partner perspective
“During 2022, Emerald Africa was incubated by Small Foundation; exploring the needs of the market and engaging with actors in the ecosystem to understand how best to address the gap in financing that was clearly emerging. As Emerald Africa was initiated by Small Foundation, it wouldn’t have come into existence without Small Foundation’s relationships and networks providing feedback and insights into the needs of ventures. As Emerald Africa seeks to work with others to address the financing needs of early-stage impact, we find it hugely beneficial to be part of Small Foundation’s thriving network to further develop the ecosystem.”
Alex Simuyandi,
Principal at Emerald Africa
30 Merrion Square North
Dublin 2, D02 VE40
Ireland
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