The Dutch Good Growth Fund is partnering with Charm Impact, a first-time fund manager currently raising a blended finance debt fund to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa’s clean energy sector that are underserved by conventional lenders.
Image: © Charm Impact
While banking and alternative lending sectors are expanding in the region, these institutions frequently lack the infrastructure to deliver swift, small-scale SME loans without collateral or lengthy credit records, particularly to locally-owned and women-led businesses. Managed from Nairobi, Kenya, Charm Impact's Hummingbird One Fund specifically targets: (1) early-stage entrepreneurs seeking business growth; (2) local off-grid energy sector innovators who receive a limited share of available capital; and (3) those who are otherwise ineligible for traditional funding due to insufficient credit history or collateral. Through a series of unsecured, smaller-scale loans, Charm aims to help early-stage, local clean energy entrepreneurs establish their commercial creditworthiness.
Charm specialises primarily in climate solutions, focusing on clean cooking, commercial and industrial solar, as well as domestic solar and e-mobility. By concentrating on select segments within the climate mitigation space, Charm offers targeted and efficient financing to promising enterprises, with the overarching objective of accelerating positive environmental impact.
Investment
DGGF commits a seed capital loan of USD 1.85m and a USD 150k technical assistance grant.
Sector
Commercial & industrial solar, clean cooking, e-mobility.