Social impact investor Oikocredit has provided an € 800,000 first-time loan to Fortune Credit just as the Kenyan inclusive finance organisation’s innovative work has earned it a place in the European Microfinance Award 2023 final.
This new partnership marks a significant step in advancing economic empowerment in rural Kenya and underscores Oikocredit’s commitment to fostering sustainable development in Africa. Fortune Credit provides inclusive access to savings, credit and insurance for rural Kenyan micro-businesses, smallholder farmers and low-income households. Its offer includes land financing, motorbike loans to facilitate farmers’ market access, micro-insurance, water tank financing, a pay-by-instalments seed programme, household cookstove and education loans, and training.
The European Microfinance Award organisers have announced Fortune Credit as one of three finalists for the 2023 award for Inclusive Finance for Food Security and Nutrition. This year’s award responds to recent growth in the number of people worldwide facing hunger and recognises how financial inclusion can facilitate food production and distribution, enable low-income people to plan, save and mitigate shocks, and increase food systems’ resilience and sustainability. The € 100,000 prize winner will be announced on 16 November during European Microfinance Week.
Janet Kuteli, Chief Executive Officer of Fortune Credit, said: “Fortune Credit’s new partnership with Oikocredit represents a key step in our development as a responsible provider of appropriate financial solutions for Kenya’s low-income rural communities. We very much look forward to working with Oikocredit and are honoured to be shortlisted finalists for this year’s European Microfinance Award.”
Lewis Nyaga, Investment Officer at Oikocredit, said: “We are proud to collaborate with Fortune Credit in supporting economic empowerment in rural Kenya, where people often face significant economic challenges. And we congratulate Fortune Credit for its well-deserved nomination for the European Microfinance Award in recognition of its social impact under the leadership of its visionary founder, Ms Janet Kuteli.”
Founded in 2014, Nairobi-based Fortune Credit Limited is a microfinance institution working with rural communities in western Kenya and especially with micro-enterprises and smallholder farmers. Besides providing inclusive financial products and services to its clients, Fortune Credit offers training in financial literacy, food production and environmental sustainability, and it facilitates capacity-building to address critical issues such as the need for climate-smart farming practices.