Verdant Capital arranges $10m debt and equity financing for Tugende

Tugende has raised $10 million in debt and equity capital from a consortium of investors arranged by Verdant Capital. This capital raise includes a strategic equity investment by Mobility 54, the Africa-focused investment fund of Toyota Tsusho Corp. This adds further strength to Tugende’s balance sheet and pushes the total balance sheet size above $30 million.

Tugende is a technology-enabled asset finance company operating in Uganda and Kenya. Using asset finance, technology and a high touch customer model, Tugende is tackling part of the $331 billion credit gap MSMEs face across Africa. Since its launch, Tugende has financed over 35,000 clients and processes (pre-Covid crisis) more than 500 applications per week across its 17 branches in Uganda with a market leading low default/write-off rate. Through expansion into new markets and increased product offerings, Tugende aims to continue along its steep growth curve to have a net portfolio value in excess of $100 million by the end of 2022.

The transaction is Verdant Capital’s second completed transaction in Uganda in 2020, following advising on the sale of plantation forestry business Global-Woods.

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