IFC backs Ethiopian fintech Kifiya as it targets farmers and small businesses

A farmer can sell produce throughout the season and still have no credit history with a bank. A small agricultural supplier may have regular customers but lack the financial statements or security needed to qualify for a loan. This is the lending gap Ethiopian fintech company Kifiya is trying to address. It has received its first investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand its technology for agricultural finance in Ethiopia.

The investment was announced on 4 November 2026 at the Africa Financial Summit in Luanda. The amount has not been made public. Kifiya works with financial institutions, providing technology that helps them assess customers who may not have a conventional credit record. Its platform uses alternative data and artificial intelligence to build a picture of a borrower's financial activity.

Looking beyond the usual credit records

Banks generally rely on financial statements, credit histories, income records and collateral when assessing loan applications. Many small businesses and farmers cannot provide all of these. Kifiya's system brings together information from different sources to help lenders assess the risk. The company says its platform uses more than 42 data families and 10 billion alternative data signals. It can help lenders assess credit risk, recommend loan limits, flag possible fraud and monitor their loan portfolios.

According to Kifiya, its technology has supported more than $1 billion in credit and helped 1.1 million farmers and MSMEs access financing and insurance. The distinction is important: Kifiya is not the bank providing the money. Financial institutions use its technology to assess customers, while the lending decisions and funding remain with those institutions.

Agriculture is a key part of the business

The need for finance in agriculture is not limited to farmers. Businesses across the supply chain also need money to keep operating. A farmer needs to pay for seeds, fertiliser and labour before selling a crop. An agricultural supplier has to buy stock before selling it to customers. Traders and processors need working capital to purchase produce and cover transport and storage costs.

Without access to finance, these businesses can struggle to take on more orders or maintain their operations through the season. Kifiya has been working with IFC on a project to improve the digital profiling of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The initiative, launched in 2025, was intended to build digital profiles for one million farmers, giving financial institutions more information when considering agricultural finance.

A relationship that goes beyond the latest investment

IFC's investment builds on work it has already done with Kifiya. The company was also featured in IFC's 2026 report, Cracking the Credit Code, which looks at how alternative data can help financial institutions assess borrowers who are often overlooked by traditional credit systems. The latest backing will help Kifiya expand its agricultural finance technology and its work with financial institutions.

For lenders, the challenge is not simply finding more customers. They need enough information to make lending decisions and manage the risk of customers failing to repay. Technology that provides a clearer picture of a small business could help with that process.

Kifiya has its sights on other markets

Kifiya is headquartered in Addis Ababa, with technology hubs in Nairobi and Cape Town. It is also exploring opportunities in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Moving into these markets will require more than introducing the same platform in another country. Kifiya will need to work with local banks and financial institutions, understand how their lending systems operate and adapt its technology to local markets.

The company is entering a space where many African SMEs still struggle to obtain working capital. Whether its approach gains traction will depend partly on how willing banks are to use alternative data when assessing businesses that do not fit their usual lending criteria.