African digital credit company M-Kopa signs $255 million in new funding

African financing platform M-Kopa has signed a total of $255 million in new debt and equity from Standard Bank and Sumitomo Corporation among others to fund its expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa, M-Kopa said on Monday.

Founded in 2011, M-Kopa started its operations in Kenya and has expanded to Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana and says it has to date it has helped 3 million customers to access over $1 billion in credit to buy items like smart phones, solar power systems and health insurance.