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52 results for "microfinance"
After four decades in corporate banking, Foluke Alakija is channeling her expertise into something she wished existed throughout her career: a bank designed specifically to empower women. Her mission is simple but powerful: women don't lack potential, they lack access.
LAPO Microfinance Bank is rolling out climate-smart loans to help Nigeria's poorest communities adapt to climate change while building economic independence. The bank's new 11-point action plan includes renewable energy financing, sustainable agriculture loans, and micro-insurance for small businesses.
A former Nigerian congressman is investing his wealth where it's needed most: his rural hometown. The new microfinance bank and shopping complex will bring financial services and essential goods to thousands of unbanked residents.
Mobile banking and fintech are bringing financial services to millions of previously excluded Ethiopians. A major conference is now showcasing how innovation is transforming lives in the country's most remote communities.
Ethiopia just unlocked a massive financial boost for its rural communities, with international partners investing $177 million to help small businesses and farmers thrive. The funding will put credit and resources directly into the hands of micro-enterprises across the country.
After devastating floods destroyed shops and livelihoods in downtown Kampala, FINCA Uganda is delivering over $26,000 in relief to help traders rebuild. The support comes as a lifeline for merchants who lost everything when floodwaters submerged basement stores and wiped out their inventory.
A Nigerian foundation brought medical care and financial support to over 70 market traders who rarely have time or resources for health checkups. Even pouring rain couldn't stop volunteers from offering blood pressure tests, diabetes screenings, and low-interest loans to help women grow their businesses.
Moniepoint disbursed over ₦1 trillion (roughly $600 million) to 70,000 Nigerian businesses in 2025, fueling a 36% average growth for borrowers. In a country where traditional banks leave small businesses behind, fintech platforms are stepping up with data-driven lending that's changing lives.
A Nigerian microfinance bank celebrated International Women's Day by teaching female business owners how to use artificial intelligence to grow their companies. The free three-day course was so popular it drew double the expected participants.
A Nigerian business-banking unicorn just secured a 78% stake in a Kenyan microfinance bank, opening the door to serve thousands of small businesses across East Africa. The move signals a new era of cross-border financial access for entrepreneurs who've long struggled to secure working capital.
After years of trying to break into East Africa, Nigerian fintech success story Moniepoint just secured a 78% stake in Kenya's Sumac Microfinance Bank. The move marks a major milestone for African fintech, showing how homegrown digital finance companies are expanding across borders to serve more small businesses.
Nigeria's Bank of Industry has poured $150 billion into women entrepreneurs, financing over 2,600 businesses and proving that investing in women drives economic growth. The initiative saw a stunning 396% jump in women-owned businesses funded in just one year.
Every time a small business in India accepts a digital payment, they're building something powerful: a credit history that could finally unlock loans. The country's 21.7 billion monthly digital transactions are creating new pathways to financial freedom for those long excluded from formal banking.
While Kenya's banking sector struggles with a 15.5% bad loan ratio, one micro-lender is achieving 92% on-time repayment by visiting every first-time borrower in person. 4G Capital's "touch-tech" approach is proving that relationship-based lending works, even in stressed markets.
More than 750,000 refugees in Kenya just gained access to business loans through a groundbreaking $20 million partnership that's turning aid recipients into job creators. Equity Bank and the International Finance Corporation are proving that giving refugees capital instead of handouts can lift entire communities out of poverty.
Nigeria's new credit program has distributed ₦30 billion to over 200,000 citizens with a perfect repayment record, proving that affordable access to credit can transform lives. The initiative is replacing predatory lenders charging 600% interest with government-backed loans as low as 2% monthly.
A member of parliament in Ghana just committed $1 million of his own money to help 5,000 women grow their small businesses without paying a cent in interest. The OH-WE Fund targets petty traders selling street food and essential goods, giving them a real shot at financial independence.
A Lagos neighborhood is putting real money behind local entrepreneurs with low-interest loans up to $1,200. The program has already funded 10 businesses and trained 200 more, with credit help for those who need it.
Over one million Nigerians now own smartphones and have credit histories thanks to a company that ditched traditional banking rules. More than half are accessing formal credit for the very first time.
A Cairo-based startup just raised $37 million to help millions of Egyptians access their very first loan. Three out of four customers using Blnk have never borrowed money through formal channels before.
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