Hustlers are the backbone of our economy and our nation’s future. Technically referred to as Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) or Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), we rely on them for our everyday goods.
They move our food from farm to plate. They stock the brands people love, in accessible ways. They sell us our clothes and make our children’s school uniforms. We see them every day, up early, pulling carts, running kiosks – the mama mbogas (small-scale grocers), duka (shop) owners, start-up ‘strivers’, ‘thrivers’, and survivors. Supporting them is the core function of 4G Capital, the neobank for Africa.
Our mission is to grow business with capital and knowledge. Our purpose is to unlock people’s potential for good. We succeed when our customers succeed. We are here to celebrate the Heroes of the Hustle.
The informal economy feeds the communities, which comprise our beautiful, diverse country. It also feeds tomorrow’s formal economy. Providing a pathway to formality, where hustlers can grow their businesses, access better livelihoods, and become part of our integrated society, has never been more important.
Hustlers constitute 60 percent of Africa’s economy and 50 percent of its earning power. Life can be hard in the low-income informal sector. Savings are limited. External shocks that disrupt trade, like drought, insecurity, or health emergencies, hit hustlers disproportionately. They are hit harder by rising costs of living, where inflation puts pressure on margins for traders and consumers alike. But hustlers are inspiring in their resilience. They are brave, tough, and smile as they overcome adversity. They, like all of us, are working hard for a better future for their families. Their struggles are our struggles as we strive for a better future together.
4G Capital is Africa’s leading financial service B corporation. Winner of multiple impact and industry awards, we are committed to business as a transformative force for good. Hustlers call our relationship officers ‘Mwalimu’ (teacher) as we help them grow their financial and business skills.
Since 2013, we have built a team of over 1,000 talented and dedicated Kenyans representing every sector of society. We have issued more than 2.3 million loans to over 307,000 clients, 53 percent of whom are rural, 40 percent youth, and 75 percent women.
We seek to democratise wealth creation using our fintech and AI systems, combined with dedicated in-person relationship officers. We work with global and local brands and their distributors to boost sales with invoice financing. We blend financial literacy training with our working capital loans to give hustlers the ways and the means to succeed.
We achieve industry-leading customer success. About 82 percent average customer revenue growth means a sustainable growth rate for our stakeholders. We succeed when our customers succeed.
We also provide off-balance sheet financial services for banks and other large financial institutions.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we partnered with Mastercard Foundation and disbursed over Ksh1 billion in grants to over 37,000 micro-businesses stricken by the pandemic. We partnered with Citibank and the US Government’s Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to get $3 million much needed credit into the informal economy to support informal market recovery.
4G Capital kept lending to its clients throughout that dreadful time, helping them to trade through the crisis and providing the green shoots of economic recovery. The company dropped its prices by 10 percent, waived all late payment charges, and distributed free hand sanitisers, facemasks, and emergency food parcels through its nationwide branch network.
Today, 4G Capital celebrates the Heroes of the Hustle with another reduction for risk-based loan pricing. We will introduce more value-added services for our amazing hustlers in 2023, including exciting new partnerships to power business growth.
Getting working capital into the informal economy, where high volume, rapid transactions generate earnings and increase household wealth, is the key to overcoming the global headwinds which face us today. We stand proudly committed to playing our part in delivering national and UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
