Nairobi-headquartered asset financing platform M-Kopa has raised USD 257 mn in debt and equity financing from Standard Bank and the IFC among other players, the Financial Times reports. M-Kopa provides underbanked African customers access to credit as well as goods including solar panels via digital micropayments.

Who’s paying in? Japanese trading and investment company Sumitomo Corporation led the growth equity component, investing USD 36.5 mn of the USD 55 mn the company raised in equity during its latest financing round. Blue Haven Initiative, Lightrock, Broadscale Group, and Latitude contributed the remainder of the equity financing through undisclosed individual investments. Standard Bank provided USD 100 mn in green loans and the IFC provided USD 65 mn in credit lines. Lion Head’s Group, the UK government’s development finance institution British International Investment, and Dutch development bank FMO also contributed to the debt financing.

Where’s the money going? The company — founded in 2011 with a total of USD 245 in equity financing to date — currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Nigeria, according to Tech Crunch. The company will channel the capital toward retiring existing debt and acquiring upwards of 100k customers on a monthly basis as part of its target to double its 3 mn user base, M-Kopa co-founder and CEO Jesse Moore told TechCrunch.

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