Case Study: Small Foundation and EFAfrica Group- Advancing inclusive finance for rural MSMEs across sub-Saharan Africa

Small Foundation collaborates to build resilient systems enabling rural African MSMEs to thrive. From 2016 – 2025, Small Foundation made four investments to support EFAfrica Group to scale equipment loans for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

This case study highlights the decade-long partnership (2016–2025) between Small Foundation and EFAfrica Group (EFAG). By deploying a mix of seed funding, equity, and debt, this collaboration transformed a niche social lender into a commercially viable financial intermediary supporting rural MSMEs across Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia.

Over nine years, Small Foundation’s partnership with EFAfrica Group and other investors has helped transform it from an early-stage social lender constrained by misaligned capital into a commercially viable financial intermediary demonstrating profitable, scalable equipment finance for rural SMEs.

Sector: Equipment Financing
Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia
Published by: AVPA

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