The Hague-based Yabx and SC Ventures invest €9.5M in Furaha to expand access to purpose-driven financing in Africa

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On Friday, SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered, announced that it has teamed up with The Hague-based Yabx Technologies, a company of Tech Mahindra group, to invest in Furaha.

Out of the total, SC Ventures has put in $7M (approximately €6.6M), and Yabx has provided technology support, totaling a combined investment of $10M (approximately €9.5M).

“We are glad to partner with like-minded innovators like Yabx and Tech Mahindra who share our vision of increasing financial inclusion and access. The partnership will help enhance purpose-driven financing in Africa and support our work to rewire the DNA in banking,” says Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures.

Furaha: Making finance accessible across sub-Saharan Africa

Incubated by SC Ventures, and co-founded by Yustus Aribariho and Ian Fernandes, Furaha is a lending platform that aims to make finance accessible across sub-Saharan Africa, starting with education financing.

The company is based in the UAE’s Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and is focused on expanding its services to Africa, beginning with Uganda.

Furaha helps parents and schools by creating a system that provides data for credit scoring, allowing banks to offer affordable loans for education.

Furaha is currently offering loan products in Uganda with partners like Opportunity Bank, SchPay, and MTN MoMo, and plans to expand to other African countries.

Furaha utilises Yabx’s advanced platform, which incorporates AI-driven alternative lending capabilities.

Partnered with SC Ventures’ extensive expertise in banking and risk management, Furaha aims to lower the costs of providing targeted lending products.

Yabx: Simplifying financial access

Led by Rajat Dayal, Yabx is dedicated to providing financial services to over two billion unbanked individuals in Africa, Asia, and Latin America through mobile technology.

The organisation aims to democratise access for underserved communities by leveraging technology and analytics to reduce service delivery costs.

Incubated by Mahindra Comviva, a global leader in Mobile Financial Services, Yabx is a part of the $20B Mahindra Group.

“This strategic partnership aims to make financial solutions more inclusive and impactful. It’s indeed an exciting beginning, and we look forward to collaborating with SC Ventures on many such initiatives that redefine financial empowerment and drive innovation globally,” says Mohit Joshi, CEO and Managing Director, Tech Mahindra.

Yabx currently operates out of The Hague, New Delhi, Capetown and Nairobi.

“This partnership with SC Ventures is a big moment for Yabx. It marks our first step into the education financing space. The long-term impact of a partnership like this is huge, and we’re excited to work with Furaha as they positively impact education outcomes in Uganda and other African countries in the coming months,” says Rajat Dayal, CEO, of Yabx.

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Vigneshwar Ravichandran

Vigneshwar has been a News Reporter at Silicon Canals since 2018. A seasoned technology journalist with almost a decade of experience, he covers the European startup ecosystem, from AI and Web3 to clean energy and health tech. Previously, he was a content producer and consumer product reviewer for leading Indian digital media, including NDTV, GizBot, and FoneArena. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Instrumentation in Chennai and a Diploma in Broadcasting Journalism in New Delhi.

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