Absa Bank Kenya has teamed with Melanin Kapital, a pan-African investment platform, to develop a program that would lend up to Sh3 million to social impact-driven enterprises.

The Tuungane2x to See Her Empowered program aims to reach 1,000 women-led enterprises and improve financial inclusion by providing financial training, investment readiness capacity building, structured mentorship, structured networking, and access to capital.

“This partnership is as a result of feedback we have received from SMEs across Kenya and especially start-ups and through it, we seek to address some of those bottlenecks with the aim of ensuring that they can survive after their 3rd birthday and beyond,” Absa Bank’s Business Banking Director Elizabeth Wasunna said during the launch.

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• By de-risking, making them investable, and linking them to impact-driven capital, the investment platform hopes to make financing viable for early-stage impact enterprises.

“We aim at bridging the SDG financial gap by channeling more investments towards early-stage entrepreneurs operating in Africa, looking for pre-seed, seed as well as funding that focuses on solving a critical social impact challenge,” Melanie Keïta, Melanin Kapital’s CEO said. 

• To be eligible for funding, entrepreneurs must first access and register on the Tuungane 2X platform, then complete a six-month investment readiness program that culminates in proposal pitches to impact investors.

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“We are committed to continuing supporting Micro and Small Enterprises to develop resilience mechanisms to enable them to withstand different social, economic & political circumstances,” Wasunna added.

Melanin Kapital Absa Melanin Kapital Absa

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