Africa

Washington, D.C., March 12th, 2020 –FCMB Group, First City Monument Bank Limited, became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. 

“40 percent of small and medium businesses worldwide struggle to get access to the credit and capital that they need to grow their enterprises. We are delighted to welcome FCMB Group to our network of more than 180 members who are working to eliminate the finance gap for SMEs,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the Forum. 

FCMB Group is a bank-led financial services group, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with operating companies divided along with three business groups. First City Monument Bank Limited, the wholly-owned flagship company of FCMB Group Plc, is a top-10 lender in Nigeria and has over 4.9 million customers and 205 branches in Nigeria and a banking subsidiary in the United Kingdom through FCMB Bank (UK) Limited (which is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA in the United Kingdom). “We are thrilled to join the SME Finance Forum to share our expertise on small business lending as well as to learn from fellow members of the Forum,“ said Mrs. Bukola Smith, Executive Director of FCMB Group.

To see all SME Finance Forum members, please visit: https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list

About SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge center for data, research and best practice in promoting SME finance. As an implementing partner for the GPFI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was tasked with managing the initiative. 

About FCMB Group
With over 2000 employees, FCMB Group is a bank-led financial services group, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with operating companies divided along three business groups – Commercial and Retail Banking (First City Monument Bank Limited, Credit Direct Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited and FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited); Investment Banking (FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited); and Asset & Wealth Management (FCMB Pensions Limited, First City Asset Management Limited, and CSL Trustees Limited). Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the ticker symbol ‘FCMB’, FCMB Group Plc has 19,802,710,781 ordinary shares held by about 517,186 shareholders. First City Monument Bank Limited, the wholly-owned flagship company of FCMB Group Plc, is a top-10 lender in Nigeria and has over 4.9 million customers and 205 branches in Nigeria and a banking subsidiary in the United Kingdom through FCMB Bank (UK) Limited (which is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA in the United Kingdom.

Media Contact
Carina Carrasco
ccarrasco@worldbank.org
 

This year, the Group of Seven (G7) outlined an agenda to fight inequality. As part of this agenda, the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa will support African governments, central banks, and financial institutions in their efforts to build more inclusive, sustainable, and responsible digital financial systems, ensuring that 400 million more African adults are financially included—nearly 60 percent of whom are women. Essential to efforts to expand digital financial inclusion to women
in Africa are five pillars that fall into three categories: infrastructure, regulation, and planning.

This report draws on the lessons The Bill & Belinda Gate’s Foundation has learned about financial services for the poor since the G7 Partnership started investing in the area about 15 years ago. It identifies five key ways in which G7 countries can support African countries as their leaders seek to include more than 400 million people in the digital economy for the first time.

Nairobi, Kenya, May 15, 2018 – Sub-Saharan Africa’s small and medium enterprises have benefited enormously from the revolution in digital finance in the region, and now require more innovation and targeted approaches to reach entrepreneurs hungry for $331 billion in new funding across Africa. These issues are at the forefront of discussion in Nairobi at the SME Finance Forum, an initiative managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.
 
Microentrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises are leading employment in Sub-Saharan Africa and contribute significantly to economic growth. But, their development is constrained by limited access to finance and markets. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are at least 44 million formal MSMEs, 51% of which require more finance than they can access to grow their businesses.
 
Through the first Africa SME Finance Forum, IFC, financial institutions and entrepreneurs are seeking to find solutions to close the gap. The conference on May 15-16 will explore local and global best practice SME banking solutions to harness digital technology, e-commerce and blockchain, to promote youth entrepreneurship and new SME banking models.
 
SMEs are critical to meeting the needs of Africa’s rapidly growing population. Africa’s working age population will increase by 1.7 million people a month until 2030, and the urban population is expected to double over the next 25 years.
 
“We are seeing significant improvements in access to finance in Africa, creating opportunities for small and medium enterprises that create jobs and reduce poverty. We should celebrate the gains while recognizing we have much more to do. Digital finance is the future so we must expand and tailor products and services to meet the growing needs of a dynamic continent,” said Karin Finkelston, Vice President of Partnerships, Communication, and Outreach at IFC.
 
“We realize that the Kenyan economy runs on small and medium sized enterprises, and we need to ensure that they have adequate access to the financing that they need to be successful,” said Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, who opened the SME Finance Forum event in Kenya.
 
 “We are at a time of immense change in finance – change that opens up opportunities to serve SMEs. The SME Finance Forum hopes to accelerate this change by helping the finance industry learn from each other, link to new market opportunities, and lead the industry’s voice in high level policy dialogue,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum.

About IFC
IFC - a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, we delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity.

About the SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum works to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses. The Forum operates a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. Established in 2012 by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, the SME Finance Forum is managed by IFC. For more information, visit http://www.smefinanceforum.org

In Nairobi
Neha Sud
Phone: +254 202937403
Email: Nsud@ifc.org

In Johannesburg
Devon Maylie
Phone: +27 78 195 8098
Email: dmaylie@ifc.org

In Washington D.C.
Farah Siddique
Phone: +1 (202) 473 9601        
Email: fsiddique@ifc.org

3rd May 2023: Nairobi, Kenya: 4G Capital, the market-leading neobank powering micro and small business growth in Kenya and Uganda, has been ranked as one of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies by the Financial Times. The Financial Times compiled the ranking with data company Statista and based findings on compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in audited revenues from 2018 to 2021.

4G Capital (Fourth Generation Capital Ltd) is ranked Number 43 in Africa and Number 7 in Kenya, with an absolute growth rate of 201% and an average Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44.4% over the past ten years in Kenya. 4G Capital consistently delivers sustainable high growth with growing profit margins as it achieves economies of scale with its digital credit services.

The company’s scalable and capital-efficient model has loaned over $340 million between 2016-2022, significantly higher than the microfinance industry average lending-to-capital ratio.

4G Capital provides 100% unsecured working-capital loans, enterprise training, and access to digital solutions for predominantly informal Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs). These entrepreneurial companies are the backbone of Africa’s economies and support 80% of Africa’s employment and over half of the region’s GDP. Most of these businesses cannot access traditional sources of finance and lack the cash flow to grow their companies. According to the IFC’s SME Finance Forum, Africa’s MSME finance gap is $331bn; in Kenya, the finance gap is $19bn. Without access to institutional capital, 72% of MSMEs rely on family or friends for loans and 30% fail due to funding shortages.

4G Capital is committed to delivering the right products and services that bridge the MSME finance gap in Africa and plays a vital role in the informal sector's economic advancement on a pathway to formality. The company blends client-centric relationship management with proprietary AI technology to minimise default risk. 4G Capital’s clients maintain high repayment rates (around 95%) without needing refinancing; on average, customers increase their annual revenue by 82%. One of the world’s top 10 Finance B-Corporations, 4G Capital, has positively impacted over 4 million people.

Upon receiving the recognition, Wayne Hennessy-Barrett said, “This recognition is a most welcome milestone in the 4G Capital journey. Having recently accompanied US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, on her roadshow to promote investment in Kenya and Africa, we are very proud to play our part in this most important and growing market. We are democratising wealth creation by helping small businesses to grow and in turn, demonstrating that global capital can get world-class returns by driving the regenerative economy from which everyone benefits.”

4G Capital employs almost 1500 employees across Kenya and Uganda, nearly tripling since the start of 2022. Since its inception in 2013, the company has loaned over 2,600,000 small working capital loans via mobile money networks valued at over $340 million. The company has over 350,000 clients, 74% female, and 53% run micro and SME enterprises in rural areas.

4G Capital clients receive customised business training programs and credit guidance via mobile apps and in-person via a nationwide network of branches. 4G Capital’s unique machine learning technology delivers high-fidelity insight into client risk and affordability. As a result, 4G Capital consistently achieves high collection rates (95%) without collateral or refinancing its clients, only lending to viable businesses on terms that are right for them. 4G Capital has positively impacted over 4.1 million people.

This year, 4G Capital has gained recognition for several awards, such as the Global Top 10 for Financial Services in the Real Leaders Impact Award & Top B Lab 2022 Best for The World™. Recently, the company received an Honourable Mention for Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year at the IFC’s Global SME Finance Forum Awards 2022. Wayne Hennessy-Barrett, CEO and Founder of 4G Capital, was also recognised in this year’s Top 50 Financial Technology CEOs of 2022.

Media Enquiries:

Lydia-Claire Halliday, LCH Consultancy
+254 (0)708000510 / +44 (0)7052000943
lydia@lchconsultancy.com

Investor Relations

Mark Jackson, Michel Dyens & Co
New York,
MJACKSON@micheldyens.com

For more information about 4G Capital: www.4g-capital.com

Washington D.C, March 9, 2023 – Standard Bank joins the SME Finance Forum as the newest member of our global membership network. Our members are SME financing experts from 80+ countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.

“Since 2016, we’ve been implementing our mission to build a global membership to support better SME financing, and since then, we’ve established a network with over 240 active member institutions, which operate in over 190 countries sharing the common purpose of helping under-served enterprises. We are delighted to welcome Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa, to further grow our mission.” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum.

Standard Bank is Africa’s largest financial services provider and is committed to providing banking and financial services to meet the needs of individuals, businesses, institutions, and corporations in Africa and abroad. With over 160 years of history and over 15 million active clients, Standard Bank is driving Africa’s growth and building Africa’s future.

About SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge center for data, research, and best practice in promoting SME finance. As an implementing partner for the GPFI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was tasked with managing the initiative. The Forum operates a global membership network of +240 members that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs.

Discover SME Finance Forum members:
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list

About Standard Bank
Standard Bank is a major South African bank and financial services group and Africa’s biggest lender by assets. With over 160 years of experience in Africa and more than 15 million active clients, it provides banking and financial services to meet the needs of individuals, businesses, institutions, and corporations in Africa and abroad.

Learn more:
Website: https://www.standardbank.com/sbg/standard-bank-group
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-bank-group/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBGroup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standardbankgrp/

The SME Finance Forum’s Leader Dialogues is a series of one-on-one interviews with CEOs, senior executives of financial institutions and technology companies as well as financial sector regulators.

Learn more about I&M Bank
I&M Bank is the oldest commercial bank in Rwanda.
The bank provides services to customers across different segments including retail, business (SMEs), corporate and institutional banking.