era92 Fund raises $425,000 from Angello and PVL.
era92 Fund has gained $425,000 in new support from Angello Development Foundation and Peter Vardy Foundation to increase lending capital in 2023.
era92 Fund mobilizes funds & resources from investors across the globe and makes it accessible to start-ups, SMEs & micro-entrepreneurs across Uganda. The fund backs companies solving our society’s biggest challenges to build a prosperous Africa.
Since inception in 2021, era92 Fund has provided 2000 loans totalling around $500,000, introduced savings and provided financial literacy training and business education as well as managing 5 Social Enterprises. Through its two arms era92 Finance and era92 Ventures. era92 Fund serves over 2,000 clients, the vast majority of whom are women and often the main income generator and caregiver for their families.
“We are grateful to Angello and PVL who have helped bring this to fruition in order to ease access to capital to the Underbanked and SME’s across Africa. This partnership paves the way to create prosperity simply by Investing in both Micro Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs.”
The funds raised will be used by era92 Fund to on-lend to and grow its microfinance institutions and also provide a runway for era92 Ventures. Both these arms require debt funding to expand their reach and impact, and serve vulnerable people and social entrepreneurs that would otherwise find it difficult to access loans, savings. These financial inclusion services enable families and Social Entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, increase incomes, manage their finances and strengthen their livelihoods hence creating prosperity in frontier markets.
era92 Fund team says the Investment comes at the right time in its plan to double down on Micro Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurship.
The draw to Uganda and Africa at large is because the continent demonstrates some of the greatest need for era92 Fund’s financial inclusion mission – Democratization of Capital
By several estimates, Africa is home to the largest share of the world’s unbanked population and has a sizable number of underbanked consumers and SMEs.
Roughly 66% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people don’t have a bank account, according to World Bank data.
Collectively, these numbers have led us to create a solution that will solve the scale payment solutions across Uganda and our move towards Digital Financing especially in a market like Uganda.
As era92 Fund grows, it is clear that it has the potential to revolutionize the way that underprivileged individuals and businesses access credit in Uganda and beyond. By providing affordable credit to those who need it the most, the platform is creating a pathway towards economic growth and prosperity for all.
“What distinguishes this seed round is our ability to proactively select our investors, led by Angello, rather than the traditional approach of investors choosing us. This exceptional opportunity has enabled us to uphold our faith values and cultivate deeper relationships with the individuals who have invested in our vision. These connections will play a vital role as we embark on our journey to make affordable capital accessible to all and create prosperity in frontier markets.” said Emmanuel Trinity, who is the co-founder of era92 Fund.
era92 fund is onto something big, with its interest in Launching their Venture arm which is an impact investing initiative of era92 fund that offers patient capital to innovative, high-impact social enterprises that spark household and SME labor productivity across Africa.
