To increase the availability of affordable finance and strengthen local enterprises and supply chains across Africa, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced a strategic partnership with leading global supply chain finance platform, C2FO.

The partnership will see IFC and C2FO jointly develop, test, and deploy a specialized, web-based multinational working capital platform for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. This is IFC’s first dedicated supply chain financing facility in Africa for smaller businesses.

MSMEs account for up to 90 percent of businesses and 80 percent of jobs across the continent, yet these enterprises struggle to obtain working capital through the traditional financial system, constraining the growth of firms. Such financing is critical for helping build more sustainable economic ecosystems, and for strengthening food security, a strategic priority announced by World Bank President Ajay Banga last week.

The program will utilize C2FO’s patented technology and dynamic discounting model to connect MSME suppliers and their anchor buyers with global and local financial institutions. Those institutions will use the platform to extend affordable receivables financing to suppliers through the funding of discounted invoices accepted for payment by buyers.

In turn, African MSME suppliers will be able to improve their access to working capital by converting sales receivables into immediate cash, leveraging the better credit risk of buyers without requiring collateral or facing other barriers of traditional lending.

“IFC is committed to addressing the financing challenges faced by SMEs in Africa. By partnering with C2FO, we aim to unlock significant funding opportunities for these enterprises, enabling them to thrive and contribute to economic growth,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC Managing Director.

The program will begin in Nigeria, where C2FO estimates that a national supply chain finance platform could unlock around US$25 billion in annual financing for MSMEs. IFC has estimated that for every US$1 million of working capital made available in developing countries,16 new jobs are created over two years.

“C2FO is honored and delighted to collaborate with IFC to broaden the global impact of our working capital finance model throughout Africa. We believe this innovative approach will provide much-needed liquidity to MSMEs, helping them to grow and succeed,” said Alexander “Sandy” Kemper, C2FO founder and CEO. “It’s only natural that this work begins in Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria, which has an especially promising small business sector.”

BasiGo, a provider of electric bus solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced the successful closing of a US$42 million in new capital. The funding round consists of US$24 million in Series A equity funding along with US$17.5 million in debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The equity funding round is led by Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, marking the most significant investment from an African fund in an e-mobility company.

The equity round features co-investments from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation. The Series A equity round unlocks a $10 million debt facility from DFC for BasiGo Kenya, as well as a new $7.5 million in debt facility from BII specifically designed for scaling BasiGo’s E-bus deployment in Rwanda.

Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo remarked: “Since we founded BasiGo in 2021, our mission has been to create the future of clean, electric public transport in Africa. We are thrilled to have Africa50, a premier African infrastructure investment fund, recognize the potential of our mission.

The combined equity and debt investment into BasiGo validates our vision and positions BasiGo to focus on scale and profitability. With BII’s support to expand our E-bus model in Rwanda, we are ready to deliver hundreds of modern, emissions-free electric buses across East Africa.”

The capital raised by BasiGo will be put towards the company’s core objective of delivering 1,000 electric buses in East Africa within the next 3 years.

In Kenya, the funds will specifically be used to increase manufacturing capacity at BasiGo’s dedicated E-Bus assembly line located at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers.

The investment will also support the expansion of BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive offering to new vehicle types, and to improve BasiGo’s technology platforms such as Jani which make electric buses more accessible and convenient for passengers.

“We are delighted to conclude Africa50’s first investment in the e-mobility space to support the greening of the public transport sector in Kenya and Rwanda.

“We believe BasiGo is well positioned to scale in East Africa and beyond given its world class engineering and operations teams, strong value proposition to transport operators and the caliber of strategic and financial partners assembled by the founders,” said Raza Hasnani, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50.

“As the largest investment to date by an African fund in an e-mobility company, we are proud to support innovation that drives green growth and development in the region,” added Mr. Hasnani.

Steve Beck, Managing Partner at Novastar Ventures commented: “As an early investor in BasiGo, we are immensely proud of the team’s continued progress towards transforming the public bus transport sector in Africa – delivering improved experience for commuters and substantial environmental benefits.

“This latest funding round is a testament to the strong investor confidence in BasiGo’s business model, value proposition and customer demand as it expands its operations and leads the way in sustainable transportation in Africa.

“We are thrilled with this latest milestone and look forward to our continued partnership with BasiGo through the next phase of growth and beyond.”

In December 2023, BasiGo expanded its operations to Rwanda where it is currently operating 6 pilot electric buses on routes inside Kigali as well as inter-city routes serving nearby towns.

The newest debt facility from BII will be put towards launching commercial deliveries of E-Buses in Rwanda, where BasiGo has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators.

Seema Dhanani, Head of Office, Kenya and Coverage Director, East Africa at BII, said: “We are delighted to support BasiGo as it expands into Rwanda. This marks a significant step in electrifying the local public transport sector, reducing pollution, and combating climate change impacts. This is in line with our priority of supporting e-mobility to foster sustainable economic growth.”

The total capital raised represents one of the most significant investments into Electric Mobility in Africa. The investment accelerates BasiGo’s growth trajectory and strengthens its position as a leader in Sub-Saharan Africa’s evolving EV landscape.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, is beginning to show signs of stability, largely due to recent interest rate hikes and the clearing of foreign exchange (FX) backlogs by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This observation was highlighted in the IMF’s global financial stability report, unveiled during a press briefing in Washington DC.

IMF noted that the CBN’s actions, particularly the settlement of verified FX obligations, have contributed to stabilizing the naira.

On March 20, the CBN announced it had successfully cleared all verified FX obligations, though an unverified amount of $2.4 billion remains under investigation.

The IMF praised these efforts, stating, “Rate hikes and the clearing of overdue domestic central bank foreign exchange obligations have helped the naira show more signs of stability.”

The naira’s improved stability comes at a time of ongoing debate regarding some of the CBN’s monetary policies.

Since Olayemi Cardoso assumed office as governor, the CBN has raised interest rates multiple times to combat rising inflation, which currently hovers around 30 percent.

In the most recent hike on September 24, the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the interest rate by 50 basis points, pushing it to 27.25 percent.

The decision faced criticism from stakeholders such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Both groups expressed concerns about the policy’s potential negative impact on business growth and the manufacturing sector.

Despite the pushback, Tobias Adrian, the IMF’s financial counsellor, commended the CBN’s efforts to transition to an inflation-targeting regime and liberalize the exchange rate.

“The rate hikes implemented so far have been appropriate, especially given the challenges posed by high inflation,” Adrian said.

Though the World Bank recently described the naira as one of the worst-performing currencies in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, the currency has shown signs of stabilization over the past month.

It has been trading between N1,700 and N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market and N1,500 to N1,600 in the official window.