According to customer surveys, most Branch loans are used for small business start-up costs and ongoing business investment/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya , Jan 14 – Digital financial services provider Branch International has raised Sh500 million in its largest commercial paper issuance to date.
This is the third time the financial services firm has issued a commercial paper, following a Sh350 million issuance in 2018 and Sh200 million in 2017.
All commercial paper issuances have been arranged by Centum-owned advisory firm, Barium Capital.
The latest investment will be used to continue to expand Branch’s services in Kenya.
“We continue to be impressed by Branch’s approach to credit management despite the very competitive Kenyan mobile lending space which for us remains the fundamental test of issuer quality. This, coupled with the calibre of Branch’s leadership team, is what has allowed the firm to access the private capital markets much earlier than other companies in their industry and position themselves for the spectacular growth they’ve achieved to date,” Teresia Muthoni, the Managing Director of Barium Capital said.
Previously, the firm garnered more than Sh7.1 billion from top international investors, including the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, whose previous investments have included Airbnb, Instagram, and Facebook.
In addition to the new capital, Branch is also announcing that it has now issued its 10 millionth loan in Kenya since its launch in 2015.
Branch issues tens of thousands of loans per day and has disbursed more than Sh25 billion in Kenya.
According to customer surveys, most Branch loans are used for small business start-up costs and ongoing business investment.
“It’s very exciting to be serving millions of Kenyans and providing them with access to essential financial services,” commented Daniel Szlapak, Head of Global Operations for Branch.
“The huge growth and success in the Kenya market has positioned the company for strong global expansion,” he added.
Branch leverages best-in-class data science to unlock financial access for people around the world, while keeping costs and default rates low.
The firm’s first product offering is lending, but plans to expand into savings and payment products in the future
