Branch International Secures KES 350 Million Funding The Rise and Rise of Fintech in Kenya

Branch International, the popular loan app has managed to secure funding to the tune of KES 350 million. The fintech company plans to use the money to further expand their market horizons in Kenya as well as to India and Mexico.

The app has been very successful in Kenya, managing to penetrate and provide loans to an estimated 1 million Kenyans. The funding came from Barium Capital, a subsidiary of Centum Investment; the largely successful investment firm. The company is behind the development of two rivers, the biggest mall in East and Central Africa.

Branch, which has its headquarters in the center of Silicon Valley at San Francisco has disbursed loans to more than one million Kenyans to pass the 1 billion Kenya shillings mark. Its recent plans to expand in the country are welcome by many Kenyans who use the loan app to secure quick cash for business activities. The company now hopes to surpass 2.5 billion in loan servicing this year.

Rapid smartphone adoption and internet penetration have facilitated the success of Branch. While Kenyans have a genuine affinity for mobile money transactions, pioneered by Safaricom’s M-PESA Kenyans are also a business and tech-savvy society at large. Barium Capital CEO Teresa Muthoni is quoted as saying ‘Branch has a first-rate operation, and we are impressed by their achievements. We are happy to be part of them for our investors”.

Reportedly, six out of every ten Kenyans have a mobile banking account. Penetration of the internet has accelerated the adoption of smart devices. According to GSMA intelligence, a predicted 400 million new smartphones connections will be present in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. The company also succeeded to secure a previous investment of KES 200 million late last year.

Original article written on Techweez.com