The investment, brokered by CARE Social Ventures, will significantly expand efforts to ensure women and girls have the digital and financial access they need to thrive in today’s world.

Licensed digital/online money lenders, who are diverting from the newly issued digital lending guidelines issued in March by the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (Umra), risk having their licenses revoked, the sector regulator has warned.

This partnership is poised to significantly narrow the financial inclusion gap, streamlining the processes of money transfer, savings, and credit accessibility for individuals.

The aim of the investment is to boost competitiveness in the small and medium enterprise finance market while also improving financial inclusion, creating jobs, and supporting the nation's climate goals. 

The grant will allow Opportunity International to provide micro and small business loans, digital tools and specialized technical training to women-led small- and micro businesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda.

Quest Digital Finance, a Ugandan tech company, is placing the power of banking and service delivery in the palms of the farmers and entrepreneurs using its digital platforms.

The investment in the nation's recovering financial sector is part of a wider SME strategy, which aims to help spur a greater range of financial products and services such as psychometric scoring solutions and payment systems reforms.

The credit aims to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions, and increase access to financial services in support of Nepal's green, resilient, and inclusive development.

This collaboration will enable the last-mile consumers in Nepal to reap the benefits of an open interoperable payments system driving immediate payment transfers between bank accounts and merchant payments in real-time.

The new investments include a $5M local currency facility for Uganda from Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), $6M from existing lender Symbiotics, and $1M from crowdfunding platform Lendahand, all to support growth in Uganda.