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Ghana’s Fido Secures $30 Million Investment to Reach New Markets

September 5, 2024

Ghana’s Fido secures $30 million investment to reach new markets. The fintech lending platform received $20 million in Series B funding from two investors to expand across Africa. These two investors are the global impact investment manager BlueOrchard and the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO.

Additionally, Fido secured $10 million in debt funding from Stanbic Bank Ghana and Growth Investment Partners (GIP) to extend its reach into new markets and enhance its product offerings.

BlueOrchard, highlighting its partnership with Fido, mentioned that the collaboration aims to expand insurance coverage for climate-related risks for its loan recipients.

With the new investment, Fido said it would extend its financial solutions, including small business loans, savings, and personalised insurance, to even more individuals and small businesses across Africa.

Services provided by Fido

Fido provides credit access to individuals and MSMEs in Ghana and Uganda and prides itself on its AI-driven services. It is reported to have reached 1 million clients as of August 2024, with 40% being small businesses. It has also extended loans for over $500 million across Ghana. Additionally, since its launch in Uganda, it has served 50,000 customers.

Fido customers can access repayable loans of between $20 and $500 within six months, while businesses could obtain higher amounts depending on their needs, the nature of the enterprise, and their credit score. The interest rates on the loans range from 7% to 12%.

Commenting on the investment, Alon Eitan, Fido’s CEO said that the funding will accelerate Fido’s growth across Africa and enhance its financial services for the unbanked.

Prior to this recent funding, in June 2022, Fido reportedly secured a $30 million equity investment and some undisclosed debt funding in a Series A round led by Fortissimo Capital. At that time, the funding brought the firm’s total equity investment to $38 million.

Concerns around the digital lending market in Ghana

While Fido taps into the digital lending market in the Middle East and Africa, expected to reach $2 billion in the next five years. The digital lending environment in Ghana has not been without concerns. In June 2024, the Ghana Cybersecurity Authority (GCA) revealed that 38 digital lending mobile applications were engaging in cyberbullying.

However, this concern is not peculiar to Ghana. The Nigerian government also shares the same concern including unethical recovery of funds and compliance. Zeeh Africa, a Nigerian-based open banking company, said it has a loan recovery solution built on Global Standing Instruction (GSI) technology that allows lenders to automatically and directly recover funds.

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