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By Isaac OGANGA
Verdant Capital (www.Verdant-Cap.com) has announced that its Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund (the “Fund”) has completed its fifth investment of USD 2 million, structured as junior convertible debentures in UsPlus Limited (“UsPlus”) incorporated in South Africa.
UsPlus has greatly impacted the financial landscape of SMEs in South Africa by using working capital to support sectors and projects that are essential to the sustainability of the country’s society and environment.
This investment will enable UsPlus to expand its invoice factoring services across key sectors in South Africa, reinforcing the company’s role as a pivotal player in the South African invoice factoring vertical.
Since its inception in 2015, UsPlus continues to offer essential working capital solutions to businesses across the country, that have historically been unable to access traditional forms of financing. While the company supports a wide range of sectors, it has a current emphasis on funding women and sustainably led ventures.
UsPlus’ service offering is guided by a developmental agenda which is mainly focused on supporting local manufacturers, logistics providers, local farmers, renewable energy players and service providers, among others, to improve the competitiveness of such entities by enhancing their ability to (i) meet the procurement requirements of large multinational corporations and (ii) promote financial inclusion for SMEs that historically have been unable to access traditional forms of working capital solutions.
The Fund’s investment will strengthen UsPlus’ capital position and help “crowd-in” more senior debt funding into the business to further grow its balance sheet.
The Fund is attracted by UsPlus’ business model as it aligns with the Fund’s mission to use its funding to provide financial solutions that have the broadest possible impact on society, while benefiting from fundamental credit risk mitigants.
This investment will yield a return which is aligned with the Fund’s return target.
The Fund is investing in inclusive financial institutions on a pan-African basis, with a focus on digitally enabled financial institutions providing services to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
The Fund invests in hybrid capital instruments including subordinated debt, mezzanine, preference shares and stapled investment structures. The Fund has a size of USD 38 million (target of USD 100 million at Final Close in H1 2025).