SC Ventures, the innovation and fintech investment arm of Standard Chartered, and Yabx Technologies (Netherlands) B.V., part of the Tech Mahindra Group, have committed $10 million to establish Furaha, a purpose-driven lending platform aimed at increasing financial accessibility in sub-Saharan Africa. SC Ventures contributed $7 million, while Yabx provided technology transfer to support the initiative.
Furaha, co-founded by Yustus Aribariho and Ian Fernandes, is incubated by SC Ventures and headquartered in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The platform’s first offering focuses on education financing, with Uganda as its launch market. Furaha plans to expand its reach to additional African countries, addressing critical financial inclusion gaps.
“We are glad to partner with like-minded innovators like Yabx and Tech Mahindra who share our vision of increasing financial inclusion and access,” said Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures. “The partnership will help enhance purpose-driven financing in Africa and supports our work to rewire the DNA in banking.”
Furaha marks a significant step in driving inclusive financial solutions, leveraging cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships to empower communities across Africa.
“The transformative power of purpose-driven financing lies in its ability to bridge gaps in access and opportunity, particularly in regions like Africa. This strategic partnership aims to make financial solutions more inclusive and impactful. It's indeed an exciting beginning, and we look forward to collaborating with SC Ventures on many such initiatives that redefine financial empowerment and drive innovation globally," said Mohit Joshi, CEO and Managing Director, Tech Mahindra.
Africa has the youngest demographics globally with over 600 million children under the age of 18. An education financing platform like Furaha could positively impact families across the continent. Furaha leverages Yabx’s nimble future-ready platform with AI driven alternate lending capabilities, with SC Ventures’ deep understanding of banking and risk management to reduce the cost of delivering purpose-driven lending products and widen financial inclusion across underserved segments in Africa.
“This partnership with SC Ventures is a big moment for Yabx. It marks our first step into the education financing space. The long-term impact of a partnership like this is huge, and we’re excited to work with Furaha as they positively impact education outcomes in Uganda and other African countries in the coming months,” said Rajat Dayal, CEO, Yabx.
Among the biggest expenses families have to account for is the cost for good quality education for their children. Most parents lack adequate liquidity or access to short-term borrowing instruments — like credit cards or affordable, digital loans — and regularly face challenges paying school fees on time. Delayed or unpaid school fees often results in children unable to continue or complete their education, which impacts their future prospects and importantly the community and country’s development. The challenge is especially acute for parents with monthly incomes under $500.
Furaha offers a much-needed solution for parents and schools by creating a rich ecosystem of data for credit scoring and enabling commercial banks to channel affordable credit towards education financing. Furaha has started offering loan products in Uganda with partners including Opportunity Bank, SchPay and MTN MoMo and plans are underway to expand to other countries in Africa.
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