African financing platform M-Kopa has signed a total of $255 million in new debt and equity from Standard Bank and Sumitomo Corporation among others to fund its expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa, M-Kopa said on Monday.
Founded in 2011, M-Kopa started its operations in Kenya and has expanded to Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana and says it has to date it has helped 3 million customers to access over $1 billion in credit to buy items like smart phones, solar power systems and health insurance.
M-Kopa said Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) led and arranged $200 million in sustainability-linked debt financing, while Sumitomo (8053.T) had injected $36.5 million in new equity investment.
Other participants in the fund-raising included U.K-based investment firm Lightrock, the firm said.