Our Approach

Our goal is to validate approaches that can effectively mobilise capital while advancing climate adaptation and gender equality across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Challenge

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs), SMEs, and Women-Led Businesses face persistent barriers to accessing appropriate financing. Despite these businesses being vital engines of local economies - generating over 80% of jobs - they remain chronically underserved by traditional lenders.

This financing gap is particularly acute when it comes to climate-smart and gender-focused initiatives, where both perceived risks and lack of technical capacity create additional hurdles.

Our Solution

Koma is piloting an innovative approach to bridge these critical funding gaps through strategic credit guarantees and targeted technical assistance. We believe we can create meaningful change by:

Strategic Guarantee Deployment

We're testing new approaches to credit guarantees that can help mobilise capital for NBFIs, SMEs, and Women-Led Businesses. By acting as an intermediary between guarantee providers and local opportunities, we aim to demonstrate how strategic guarantees can unlock vital funding for underserved sectors

Climate Action Integration

We are exploring how to effectively integrate climate considerations into business practices. Through careful assessment and targeted support, we aim to help businesses:

Understand their climate risks and opportunities
Develop practical adaptation strategies
Access climate-smart financing options
Build more resilient business models

Gender-Smart Solutions

Gender equality is at the core of our approach as it unlocks more equitable economic growth, and we will achieve this by:

Supporting women-led businesses
Promoting gender-inclusive practices
Providing specialised technical assistance
Creating targeted financing solutions

Technical Assistance as a Catalyst

We believe technical assistance is crucial for:

Building capacity in NBFIs and SMEs
Enabling effective use of mobilized capital
Supporting climate-smart transitions
Advancing gender-focused initiatives
Creating pathways to larger-scale financing

Through this pilot, we aim to demonstrate how strategic guarantees, combined with focused technical assistance, can create a lasting positive impact for historically underserved businesses and communities.