Absa Bank Kenya and Melanin Kapital partners to launch unsecured lending for startups

Absa Bank Kenya has partnered with pan-African investment platform Melanin Kapital, to social impact-driven African startups access up to $27k funding.

The initiative which has been dubbed Tuungane2x is expected to reach 1,000 women-focused startups and enhance financial inclusion by providing them with financial training, investment-readiness capacity building, structured mentorship, structured networking, and access to finance.

The aim of the partnership is to de-risk these startups, make them investable by linking them to impact-driven capital.

The partnership will leverage Absa Bank’s expertise wholistic financial services and Melanin Kapital’s knowledge in the field of impact investment, to accelerate business growth.

Absa Bank’s Business Banking Director Elizabeth Wasunna speaking on the partnership said that the initiative aims to address some investment bottlenecks among startups

“This partnership is as a result of feedback we have received from SMEs across Kenya and especially start-ups and through it, we seek to address some of those bottlenecks with the aim of ensuring that they can survive after their 3rd birthday and beyond.

“We are committed to continuing supporting Micro and Small Enterprises to develop resilience mechanisms to enable them to withstand different social, economic & political circumstances,” Elizabeth said.

Melanie Keïta, Melanin Kapital’s CEO also added that: “We aim at bridging the SDG financial gap by channeling more investments towards early-stage entrepreneurs operating in Africa, looking for pre-seed, seed as well as funding that focuses on solving a critical social impact challenge,”.

Interested startups can click here to apply and partake in a six-month investment readiness program that culminates in proposal pitches to impact investors.