Verdant Capital, a Mauritius-based corporate finance firm, recently arranged USD 10 million in debt funding from US-based Lendable Asset Management for UsPlus, a South African funder of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This comes after UsPlus raised ZAR 15 million (USD 967,000) in a sale of notes to the alternative asset management arm of Absa Wealth Management, a member of Absa Group Limited, which evolved from the former Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA). These secured notes mature in May 2024 and carry an interest rate of 750 basis points above the 3-month Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate.
Founded in 2015, UsPlus is a financial technology (fintech) firm that buys invoices and contracts from SMEs as well as provides them with technical assistance. UsPlus, which has a particular emphasis on creating jobs and supporting Black-owned SMEs, serves customers operating in sectors such as agribusiness, engineering, logistics and media. The firm reported assets of ZAR 162 million (USD 10 million) and receivables of ZAR 107 million (USD 7 million) as of February 2022.
Lendable issues debt to financial technology firms in developing countries seeking to improve financial inclusion. Since its creation in 2015, the company has disbursed loans totaling USD 249 million to 25 fintech partners.
Founded in 1991, Absa Group offers insurance, banking and investment management services in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. As of December 2021, the group holds assets valued at MUR 164 billion (USD 3.8 billion).
In addition to Mauritius, Verdant Capital has offices in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and South Africa. The firm provides capital-raising and financial advisory services as well as assisting in mergers and acquisitions.
By Ben Greissman, Research Associate
Sources and additional resources
UsPlus announcement of Lendable transaction
https://www.usplus.world/s/Verdant-Capital-Arranges-USD-10-M-Debt-Capital-Raise-for-UsPlus-v3-130522-Clean.pdf
UsPlus announcement of Absa transaction
https://www.usplus.world/s/UsPlus-New-Issue-Voluntary-SENS-v2-120522-clean85.pdf
UsPlus homepage
https://www.usplus.world/
Lendable homepage
Verdant Capital homepage
Absa Alternative Asset Management description
https://www.absainvestmentmanagement.co.za/wealth-and-investment-management/institutional/capabilities/alternative-asset-management/overview/
Absa description
https://www.absa.africa/absaafrica/about-us/who-we-are/
Absa Group financial statements
https://www.absa.africa/content/dam/africa/absaafrica/pdf/sens/2022/Absa-Group-annual-consolidated-and-separate-financial-statements-single-pages.pdf
Previous MicroCapital article on Absa
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-cdc-group-announces-50m-risk-sharing-facility-with-absa-bank-to-boost-lending-to-households-msmes-in-africa/
Previous MicroCapital article on Verdant
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-verdant-capital-hybrid-fund-closes-with-34m-from-kfw-to-invest-in-microfinance-sme-lenders-in-africa/
Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
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