KENYA – East Africa leading digital logistics company Amitruck, has partnered with IMFact, a Smart Finance alternative to traditional bank lending for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in the supply chain business, a move that will see Amitruck increase its financial stability while optimizing working capital that eliminates overhead cost constraints and other long payment cycles.
Commenting on the deal, Derrick Lwatati, IMFact Commercial Director said that: “IMFact offers clients the ability to grow their business by turning their debtor portfolio immediately into cash. Also known as factoring, this method allows IMFact clients to use the cash we inject into their businesses to purchase more goods or optimize payments to their suppliers.”
“As IMFact clients access cash immediately they are able to extend favorable payment terms to their clients or even offer upfront credit as a strategy to secure new business which ensures they generate more sales,“ he added.
Factoring differs from the traditional invoice discounting offered by banks which focuses on single invoices for large institutions coupled with collateral demands. Instead, it seeks to understand the business and its operating environment as well as data related to the potential for growth.
“We have affiliated with Amitruck because of their innovative approach to solving the inefficiencies in the logistics sector. Their solutions have disrupted the local transport market and given them an edge over other trucking and logistics companies,” he concluded.
Trucking logistics companies usually face challenges in allocating funds to fuel trucks, paying drivers and maintaining quality professional standards and IMFact’s financing bridges the gap to enable transporters to run their businesses efficiently and affordably.
Speaking on this partnership, Mark Mwangi CEO of Amitruck said, “We have been able to realize financing with IMFact at attractive commercial terms and we especially like the flexibility it offers. This means that we can use exactly the amount of financing we need without any additional costs as bank financing would have.”
“Amitruck is going across borders, and this has been made possible through partnerships like this where Growth Africa through its accelerator program offers mentorship and advisory support then brings on board IMFact to plug in the much-needed financial resources. We are honoured to be part of this ecosystem alongside other SMEs in the logistics sector that has been given the opportunity to scale, hence impact Africa’s economy through efficient logistics solutions.”
Founded in 2019, IMFact is a pan-African non-deposit-taking financial institution that offers supply-chain financing working capital for SMEs.
The fintech factoring solution is responsive and flexible in meeting client financing needs. IMFact was incubated by Cardano Development (CD), an incubator and fund manager – also the parent company – based in Amsterdam.
IMFact has previously received early-stage grant funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and Convergence.
Other players that offered support along the way are FSD Africa Investments and Total Impact Capital Advisors (TIC) that funded the Kenya regional hub.
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