DFC has granted a $51 million loan to M-KOPA, a Nairobi-based digital financing company that assists underbanked Africans, in order to increase digital access throughout the nation and give inexpensive handsets to underprivileged areas. CEO Scott Nathan and Co-Founder and CEO of M-KOPA, Jesse Moore, signed the pledge formally.
DFC claims that M-KOPA has already produced more than a million cellphones domestically and that, with assistance from DFC and the Kenyan government, it intends to expand its local production facilities.
Furthermore, to promote e-mobility in Kenya and bolster President Ruto’s Africa Green Industrialization Initiative, DFC lent $10 million to Mogo Auto Kenya and BasiGo. Mogo Kenya is a financial business that specializes in logbook loans, boda boda (motorcycle) loans, and used car loans in Kenya.
Conversely, the Kenyan electric bus company BasiGo just started up a production line there.
Additionally, Roam Electric was given a $10 million loan by DFC to help with the planning, building, and testing of electric buses, motorcycles, and charging stations in Kenya.
Roam and Mogo collaborate to facilitate Kenya’s switch to electric motorcycles.
Additionally, Pezesha, a company that helps SMEs access digital finance, was awarded a $500,000 grant for technical assistance to use cutting-edge computing technology to enhance credit scoring algorithms.
According to a US government release, “FACT SHEET: Kenya State Visit to the United States,” these announcements followed Kenya’s presidential state visit, where President Ruto was greeted by President Biden to commemorate and strengthen connections between the two nations, honoring 60 years of formal US-Kenya partnership.
Key investments and support in Kenya were recognized in the study showcasing the two countries’ partnerships, including its digital and renewable energy industries. Google and Microsoft have also announced investments in the nation’s data centers, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital connectivity in addition to the new DFC investments.
Tech giants also revealed their commitments, which mirrored those in the US government report. Microsoft and G42, for example, announced a partnership to construct a data center campus in Kenya using water saving technologies and renewable geothermal energy, with an initial expenditure of up to $1 billion. The Microsoft initiative also includes other projects related to AI and internet connectivity.
Google also revealed plans to develop AI in Kenya, help with cybersecurity, and undertake a fiber optic project. Google claims that the Umoja fiber optic cable project is the first to link Australia and Africa directly.
