Small Foundation – 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.

Small Foundation is particularly excited about EFAfrica Group’s approach to streamline loan processing with minimal paperwork and offer appropriate terms for equipment loans to SMEs, filling a niche in small-ticket size asset finance.

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. This journey illustrates the power of catalytic capital in enabling EFAfrica Group graduation toward sustainability and scale; bridging the gap between concessional support and long term commercial financing.

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

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