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Watu, the pan-African and Latin American asset-financing company, has closed a $7 million strategic debt facility from AHL Venture Partners.
The new capital will fund working capital needs and support the continued growth of Watu’s loan portfolio in several of its African markets, according to AHL.
“AHL has been an important funding partner as Watu has grown across Africa. This facility strengthens our working-capital base and gives us additional capacity to expand our mobility and smartphone-financing portfolios while continuing to serve our customers consistently and responsibly,” said Andris Kaneps, founder and CEO, Watu.
Founded in 2015, Watu is an asset-financing company that provides credit for motorcycles, three-wheelers and smartphones, and assets the company says are used to generate income and stay digitally connected. The company finances motorcycles and three-wheelers through its core mobility business and smartphones through a dedicated unit called Watu Simu.
The company operates in ten markets: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil, having expanded into Latin America in 2025 after a decade of operations centred on Africa.
Its business is built on fast onboarding, flexible repayment terms and local market knowledge, which has allowed it to originate more than 7 million loans since it began operating a decade ago, disbursing over $1 billion in credit along the way.
Roughly 80% of loans disbursed are for smartphones, underscoring how central connectivity financing has become to the business alongside its original motorcycle-lending model. The company is now expanding its financing of electric motorcycles in select African markets as part of a wider push into cleaner mobility.
Its success not only stems from the ease with which consumers usually left out by traditional finance can secure a loan but also the support of the broader ecosystem. Watu works with more than 4,000 registered dealerships across the continent and says it maintains a 100% repayment track record with its more than 35 lending partners, which range from development finance institutions to private credit funds and local banks.
For AHL, the deal adds to a growing book of African credit investments, with the firm recently announcing the second close of its AHL Africa Credit Fund at $45.5 million.
“We are delighted to deepen our partnership with Watu and support its continued growth across Africa. Watu’s asset-backed model is expanding financial inclusion and clean mobility for millions of underserved customers, generating exactly the kind of measurable social and economic impact that sits at the heart of AHL’s priorities,” said Rosanne Whalley, CEO of AHL Venture Partners.
The new facility, which builds on a relationship that dates back to 2022, comes as Watu continues to widen its footprint beyond East Africa into West Africa, Southern Africa and Latin America, while folding electric vehicle and connectivity financing onto its traditional motorcycle-lending business.
