Uganda’s fintech startup Ensibuuko has raised $1m from global impact investor FCA Investments to provide digital financial services to over 200,000 rural customers in Uganda.
With the new raise, Ensibuuko expects to build out its operations in Uganda and as well expand its proprietary microfinance platform to reach more credit unions (SACCOs) and savings groups across Africa.
According to Ensibuuko’s Founder & CEO, Gerald Otim, “With this latest investment, Ensibuuko ups its competitive stance in Africa’s fintech space. The investment will allow Ensibuuko to scale rapidly in Uganda and to expand to other markets. Ensibuuko also intends to make major improvements to its newer digital loan and microinsurance products, which target rural customers.”
Founded in 2014 in Kampala, Uganda, Ensibuuko’s platform automates data and processes payments for SACCOs and savings groups and connects them to the wider ecosystem of financial service providers including telecoms, insurance, and banks. It also has consumer products for saving, borrowing, and managing money on a mobile wallet even those without smartphones.
With three of Uganda’s leading banks and microfinance companies as well as two of the largest telecoms in Uganda, as its customers, Ensibuuko processes USD $1 million in transactions every month and is 80 percent lower than the cost of traditional banking software.
On the other hand, FCA Investments, founded by Finn Church Aid (the largest Finnish international aid organization) in 2018, FCA Investments seeks to leverage the power of long-term finance to unlock opportunities for underserved communities and boost job creation in developing countries by investing in impactful and scalable SMEs. FCA has has already made several investments in high-growth, impact-driven businesses in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia. Ensibuuko is the first fintech investment to join its portfolio.
Emmanuel Obwori, COO of FCA Investments, commends Ensibuuko on its focus on growing customer value and commitment to facilitating last-mile financial services. Ensibuuko’s vision is well-aligned with the values of FCA Investments.
The two firms aim to increase financial inclusion by scaling rural banking infrastructure and digital financial services to millions of customers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ensibuuko will also gain access to FCA Investments’ technical resources and a global network of partners allowing it to build internal capacity and to establish strategic relationships across the Sub-Saharan region.
This new raise brings total investments in Ensibuuko to $1.6 Million having closed a pre-seed round in 2017 from a group of Canadian angel investors.