The Kenyan subsidiary of U.S. bank CitiBank is mentioned in a loan deal of KSh285 million (about $2.6 million) with the African neobank 4G Capital. The fully digital financial institution, whose services are accessible via a mobile application, wants to reach approximately 25,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

CitiBank will support the operating activity of these companies by strengthening their working capital needs. The line of credit will mainly target companies specializing in the distribution of consumer products. They will be eligible for the specific financial service set up by the neobank to enable them to maintain a large stock of consumer products and to increase their orders. The financing is part of a guarantee mechanism jointly set up with the U.S. government's Development Finance Corporation.

“We are delighted to be working with Citi as our strategic finance partner as we expand the reach and breadth of our services to Kenya’s MSME sector. 2020 has been a challenging year, but the backbone of our community and economy, the informal traders, have shown an inspiring degree of resilience,” said Wayne Hennessy-Barrett, CEO of 4G Capital. The company is present in Kenya and Uganda.

Chamberline Moko