Press release -
Swedfund invests USD 10 million to support MSME lending in East and Southern Africa
Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution, has signed a USD 10 million loan to Platcorp Holdings Limited to support lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The investment aims to address persistent barriers to finance in these countries, where small businesses often lack access to formal credit. The loan is expected to help businesses grow and create decent jobs, with a particular focus on women-owned enterprises and climate-resilient agriculture.
"Limited access to finance is a key constraint for small businesses in many developing countries," says Jakob Larsson, Senior Investment Manager at Swedfund. "This investment supports the expansion of financial services in underserved communities and contributes to Swedfund’s broader objectives of inclusive and sustainable economic development in low-income countries."
Swedfund has previously provided loans to Platcorp in 2018, 2020, and 2022. In connection with its investments, Swedfund has seen improvements in the company’s environmental and social risk management, including measures related to customer protection and gender equality.
"This renewed partnership with Swedfund marks a significant step forward in our journey toward financial inclusion and sustainable impact," says Ignatius Obara, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, Platcorp Group. "With this support, we will be able to channel more capital to women entrepreneurs, expand access to climate-smart agricultural finance, and continue strengthening our environmental and social practices. Swedfund’s commitment reinforces our shared values of gender empowerment, responsible finance, and job creation across underserved communities."
Swedfund’s loan is supported up to 50% through a guarantee by the European Union under EFSD+ as a contribution to the Global Gateway investment priority of Financial Inclusion.
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About Swedfund
Swedfund is Sweden’s development finance institution with the mission to reduce poverty through sustainable investments in developing countries. Swedfund plays an important role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate. Swedfund shares the same goal as development cooperation in general, but the tools Swedfund uses are different. Swedfund has two instruments to fulfil its mission: sustainable investments in the private sector and technical feasibility studies through the Project Accelerator targeting the public sector.
Swedfund's investments contribute to the creation of decent jobs and increased access to essential products and services such as electricity and food. Swedfund is a long-term investor and is additional and catalytic through its investments and by mobilising private capital. Swedfund's feasibility studies support sustainable public infrastructure development, trade, and export opportunities for Swedish solutions.
We are part of Swedish development cooperation, and we measure and report all our results. As a state-owned company, Swedfund is managed by the Ministry of Finance and financed through portfolio reflows and annual capital injections for which the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible.
For more information: please visit www.swedfund.se/en
