Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI), a Norway-based public-private partnership that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, recently paid USD 3.1 million to acquire a 39.4 percent stake in Juhudi Kilimo, a Kenyan microlender offering “wealth-creating financial solutions for smallholder farmers and rural microentrepreneurs in Kenya.”
Bernard Kivava, the CEO of Juhudi Kilimo, said the institution “has had a running relationship with NMI as a debt provider since 2019 to on-lend to rural smallholder farmers and microentrepreneurs. NMI [also] has provided immense support to Juhudi through technical assistance for digitization to improve on efficiencies and turnaround time in service delivery.”
Juhudi Kilimo began operations in 2004 within the Kenyan nonprofit K-Rep Development Agency and became independent in 2009. As of 2022, the MFI has 90,000 clients and operates 48 service locations. About two thirds of its clients are women and over one third are youth. Juhudi Kilimo offers group and individual loans as well as business and financial education. Its loan products are designed for uses such as farming inputs, equipment and animals; renewable energy; housing; and education. In addition to NMI, Juhudi Kilimo’s equity investors include a fund of Belgium’s Incofin Investment Management and the US-based nonprofit Acumen Fund.
NMI was founded in 2008 with the goal of creating jobs and wealth via financial inclusion. The organization reports financial returns of approximately 4 percent per year via five funds holding aggregate assets of USD 370 million. In addition to seven investments in third-party vehicles, NMI’s funds have 20 active equity and debt placements in institutions serving 10 million clients, of whom 80 percent live in rural areas and 95 percent are women. NMI is one-third owned by: (1) Norfund, which is backed by the government of Norway; (2) the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries, which is known by its Danish acronym IFU; and (3) a group of five private companies.
By Sheen Gupta, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
NMI press release
https://www.nmimicro.no/news/nmi-acquires-39.4-stake-in-juhudi-kilimo-supporting/
Juhudi Kilimo homepage
https://juhudikilimo.com/
Previous MicroCapital article on NMI and Juhudi Kilimo
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mfi-juhudi-kilimo-of-kenya-upgrades-digital-infrastructure-with-technical-assistance-from-nordic-microfinance-initiative/
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