AGF partners with crowdfunding platform to increase impact investing for SMEs in Africa
African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has partnered with Frankfurt-based bettervest, a crowdfunding platform, to increase financing of sustainable SME projects in Africa.
AGF will provide partial guarantees requested by bettervest, on the basis of risk sharing, in respect of defaults arising from credit facilities offered to African SMEs.
Speaking on the new partnership, AGF Group CEO Jules Ngankam said, “Partnering with a crowdfunding platform and Fintech is in line with our strategy for the coming years and represents a unique development opportunity for innovative financing. Through our risk-sharing mechanism, the partnership with bettervest will have a positive impact on Africa’s green economic transition.”
“By cooperating with the African Guarantee Fund, we have come much closer to our goal of also letting our investors benefit from the valuable instrument of a default guarantee and thus perhaps directing more investments to the African continent. This partnership is a milestone for our company”, says Marilyn Heib, CEO of bettervest GmbH.
The aim of this partnership is to further increase the attractiveness of impact investments, which therefore makes a valuable contribution to the planet and its people. As with any type of investment, impact investing is not free of risks. If a project fails, the worst-case scenario is the loss of the investment amount. The partial guarantee provided by African Guarantee Fund will help to mitigate the risk of default.
