(Ecofin Agency) - The startup, which claims to have provided $1 billion in credit to about 3 million unbanked customers, is set to expand into South Africa and enter the electric motorcycle financing segment. 

According to a report by Reuters on Monday, May 15, Kenyan financing platform M-Kopa successfully concluded a funding round, raising a total of $255 million in equity and loans. The funds will be utilized to support the company's expansion efforts across Sub-Saharan Africa. Standard Bank, a South African bank, played a leading role in arranging and providing $200 million in debt financing. In 2018, Japanese multinational Sumitomo Corporation invested $5 million in M-Kopa and later contributed an additional $36.5 million in equity financing.

British investment firm Lightrock, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), frontier markets investment bank Lion Head's Group, and British development finance institution British International Investment also participated in the round, according to The Financial Times.  

M-Kopa, founded in 2011, began operations in Kenya before expanding to Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana. To date, it claims to have provided nearly $1 billion in credit to about 3 million unbanked customers to finance the purchase of products such as smartphones, off-grid solar power systems, and health insurance policies.

The company is preparing for its South African expansion. It also launched pilot projects to finance the acquisition of electronic bikes as part of a strategy to broaden its business in the electric mobility segment.