This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On July 28, 2019, Nairobi-based fintech startup Umba, formerly Mkopo Kaka, announced an undisclosed equity financing round led by ACT Venture Capital, Frontline Ventures, and Bloom Equity.
The funding will enable Umba to lend up to €1 million a month to consumers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, where it operates.
Founded by former Irish rugby professional Barry O'Mahony and his co-founder Tiernan Kennedy, Umba aims to expand to more markets in Africa to provide micro-loans to Africa's unbanked population.
According to the World Bank, there are approximately 440 million unbanked adults in developing economies, with over 125 million in Sub-Saharan Africa and 105 million in South Asia.
Umba, which offers loans between $2.5 and $700 via its smartphone app, aims to solve this problem by allowing users to apply, drawdown, and repay loans directly from their smartphone or desktop computer.
Once an individual is verified, Umba makes lending decisions based on an assigned risk rating.
Umba's CEO stated, 'We are attempting to solve one of the biggest problems in the world. Over 2.4 billion people are currently either underserved by the banking system or completely unbanked.'
With smartphone penetration growing in Africa, Umba aims to grow its user base and offer them cheaper loans than the competition.
Umba aims to expand across Africa and help the next 2 billion people in emerging markets to build their creditworthiness and join the formal financial world.
