Zambian asset financing startup Rent to Own has secured an investment of EUR1 million (US$1.13 million) in order to help it double its portfolio of rural Zambian entrepreneurs.
Rent to Own provides high-impact assets to small scale-entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers in rural Zambia, offering an “all-in-one” package of non-collateralised financing, delivery, installation, and equipment training.
The company has secured convertible note funding in recent months from longtime partners Small Foundation and Lundin Foundation, managed by AHL Venture Partners, and has now backed that up with a new round secured from the Seed Capital and Business Development facility of the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), managed by Triple Jump BV.
This investment will be used primarily as working capital to more than double the company’s portfolio of rural Zambian entrepreneurs, whom Rent to Own empowers to grow their businesses and improve their quality of life via its flexible, tech-enabled platform that also provides a route-to-market for equipment suppliers.
To date, the company has financed over 7,000 high-impact assets in Zambia and achieved a 96 per cent repayment rate since inception.
“Our purpose at Rent to Own is to unlock the potential of rural entrepreneurs to improve the quality of life of their families and communities. We are extremely excited by the opportunity provided by DGGF to continue to focus on this mission and rapidly grow our loan book despite the tough economic conditions we are currently experiencing in Zambia,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Jeffrey Scheidegger.
