COFINA Group, a fast-growing financial services group founded by Ivorian multimillionaire Jean-Luc Konan, has received €60 million ($64.2 million) from Development Partners International (DPI), an Africa-focused investment firm with $2.8 billion in assets under management.
The $64.2-million capital injection, which is part of COFINA and DPI’s strategic agreement, will be used to expand financial inclusion in West and Central Africa and contribute even more to economic development through the growth of small and medium enterprises.
The latest investment comes nearly five months after La Finance pour ELLE (Fin’Elle), a COFINA subsidiary, received a €5-million ($5.6-million) loan from the Dutch development bank, FMO, as part of a move to improve access to credit for entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses in the agricultural value chain.
Konan, COFINA’s founder and CEO, explained that the $64.2-million injection from DPI demonstrates that the financial services provider’s resilience despite the difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as the firm moves to build on its previous success.
“As the COFINA Group embarks on this new chapter, this transaction will enable us to strengthen our equity, consolidate our positioning, and accelerate our digital transformation,” he said.
The capital commitment, which represents a minority stake in the fast-growing financial services group’s shareholding, will enable the micro-finance specialist to launch new and differentiated products and services as part of its efforts to reach a larger number of customers.
The investment will also provide a much-needed boost to the Ivorian group, as it moves to expand its presence in West and Central Africa in line with its strategic expansion roadmap in the region.
Based in Abidjan, COFINA Group was founded in 2014 by Konan and is the leading micro-finance and transactional financial services institution in West and Central Africa.
Since it was established more than eight years ago, the company has expanded its operations to Senegal, Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Congo-Brazzaville, Burkina Faso, and Togo, with assets totaling over €400 million ($453.3 million).
