(Ecofin Agency) – Backed by East Africa-focused investor Dob Equity, Power, which connects workers to financial service providers, wants to expand into new markets beyond Kenya and of Zambia, and finance this expansion with new financing mobilized.
Power Financial Wellness, a fintech company operating in Kenya, announced the raising of $3 million in seed funding. The platform, which connects employees and freelancers with financial service providers, plans to use this resource to accelerate its growth in Kenya and Zambia, as well as expand its presence in other African countries. South, East and West.
Its co-founder and managing director, Brian Dempsey, has emphasized the need to develop comprehensive financial solutions to improve the financial health and well-being of formal workers and workers in growing economies.
This financing is the first of the year led by Dob Equity, a Dutch investor which works only in East Africa and which is present in Kenya in many sectors such as health, agriculture, financial services and waste management.
Power Financial Wellness claims to have already onboarded over 70 employers on its platform, representing over 40,000 workers in Kenya. The fintech is also expanding into the Zambian market by collaborating with banks to provide digital banking and financial services to businesses and employees.
Although financial inclusion has improved markedly in Kenya in recent years, with around 84% of adults having access to financial products and services in 2021, people’s financial health has deteriorated. According to Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya), only 17% of Kenyans were in good financial health in 2021, compared to 39% in 2016. The main factors behind this deterioration are high interest rates and a lack of financial transparency. The situation is not very different in several other countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
Chamberline MOKO