Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund (LMDF) advised by ADA has invested an undisclosed amount in Yehu Microfinance, a Kenyan microfinance institution (MFI).

Yehu Microfinance is an incorporated, social impact microfinance lender that targets women living in rural areas by giving them lines of credit and financial management courses to enhance financial inclusion in the coastal area of Kenya.

Yehu concentrates its operations in the coastal area of Kenya, an area much less served by the microfinance sector.

Yehu Microfinance is characterised by the pursuit of a strong social impact and targets women (96% of clients) living in rural areas (70% of clients) and offers loans with an average amount of €312.

Its credits are associated with a range of financial education and business management training courses.

This financing is the result of a long process of analysis and discussions started several years ago.

The collaboration began in 2016, when ADA met for the first time with Yehu in Mombassa.

The MFI had been looking for a strong social impact but was facing IT problems that prevented it from having access to reliable data on its performance.

In collaboration with the Kenyan firm Finaltus, ADA supported the MFI with the implementation of a new information system that allows the institution to have access to quality information and to meet the investment criteria of the LMDF fund leading to the disbursement of a first financing at the end of 2020. 

"With more than 50 microfinance institutions financed in 25 countries, ADA, through the LMDF Fund, becomes a relevant partner of choice for MFIs. It should be noted that ADA’s role is not limited to the provision of financial resources. We are committed to our partners and build our relationship through continuous monitoring,” said Laura Foschi, Executive Director at ADA.

“In addition to financing and monitoring, we can and want to offer tailor-made technical assistance to our partners when the need arises. 75% of the MFIs we fund benefit from this personalized support and/or capacity building that we define together. All our will and vision is focused on providing institutions with the necessary means (financial or technical) to act.”