Asante Financial Services Group, a high-impact lending fintech focusing on assisting African Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in their growth (MSMEs), has raised $7.5 million in a Series A round led by Goodwell Investments, with participation from Sorenson Impact Foundation and Forsage Holdings. 

“We are delighted to welcome our new investors including Goodwell, Sorenson and Forsage in our inaugural institutional fundraise. Together, we will advance access to finance, and financial independence and wellbeing for the millions of small businesses on the continent,” said Chidi Okpala, Founding CEO of Asante.

Asante will use the Series A funding to expand its lending solutions to the disadvantaged MSMEs in Kenya and Uganda, as well as to Nigeria and Rwanda.

Why The Investors Invested

Investment in Asante came mostly as a result of the traction the startup has garnered over time. Asante has established over 16 major corporate channel agreements, giving the company direct access to over 2 million SMEs and a monthly lending opportunity of over $200 million.

“With over 650% growth in lending activities since Q1 2021 and a sustained average all-in default rate of 2.5%, Asante is well-positioned to fast track scale and deepen our impact in our operating markets. Our bold post-COVID response is helping small businesses recover, reconstruct and reposition for growth while ensuring that thousands of jobs are safeguarded. We look forward to a round extension very early in the new year to support the solid growth momentum,” said Okpala.

Goodwell Investments is a pioneering impact investment firm focused on inclusive growth in sectors providing basic goods and services and income generation opportunities to underserved communities in Africa and India. The firm provides early-stage equity to high growth, high impact businesses. With teams in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Amsterdam and a track record of over ten years, Goodwell demonstrates the ability to simultaneously deliver significant social impact and strong financial returns.

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“MSMEs — particularly those in the informal sector — are being held back by a lack of responsible lending from traditional financial services providers who are unable to run accurate credit checks and offer profitable loans to this segment of the market. Asante has solved these problems through its innovative digital platform and ecosystem approach. The company’s success to date is proof that the model works, and we are very confident that the business will scale quickly and successfully with this round of funding,” said Bitta Wycliffe, Senior Investment Associate at Goodwell Investments.
“This is the 20th investment by Goodwell Investments’ uMunthu fund, of which 50% is invested in financial inclusion. Asante is a perfect fit and a great addition to our portfolio of other socially responsible financial services providers.”

A Look At What The Startup Does

Incorporated in Mauritius, and commenced operations in 2018, Asante Financial Services Group is a high-impact digital financial services startup focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). 

Asante stands out with its ecosystem-based digital lending platform, which approves loans to SMEs using alternative data and its properietary AI loan decisioning management system. With the clients’ permission, the business works directly with ecosystem channel partners to collect conventional and non-conventional MSME data. Africa’s top telcos, mobile-based marketplaces, airlines, merchants, payment processors, insurance firms, smartphone phone OEMs, and large FMCGs are among its channel partners. This lowers the cost of customer acquisition and due diligence while yet offering enough alternative data for credit underwriting.

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Asante is a Mastercard digital lending strategic partner in Africa, and the only African fintech in a class of six scaling start-ups invited to join the award-winning Mastercard Start Path program in May 2021.
Asante is currently piloting its Business Lending Platform to expand its lending and other services to small business clients, providing them with essential tools such as the Business Financial Manager, Management Toolkit, and Tax Advisory to help them run their businesses more efficiently while instilling resilience. Asante will be able to offer insurance, payments, and other products to its customers through the platform.

The company has grown exponentially with operations in Kenya and Uganda with active plans to be in 12 countries by 2025.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer