14 Nov 2014 07:00
14 November, 2014
GLI Finance invests $1.28 million in Africa focused peer-to-business lending platform Ovamba
GLI Finance Limited ("GLI Finance"), a leading investor in the alternative finance sector, announces that it has invested $1.28 million in return for a 20% equity stake in Ovamba Solutions, Inc. ("Ovamba"), the Africa-focused peer-to-business investment platform. GLI Finance Chief Executive, Geoff Miller, will also join Ovamba's board of directors.
Ovamba is the first peer-to-business lending platform in francophone Africa, and also one of the first market lending platforms to offer investment opportunities to individuals and institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was established to address two issues: solve the problem of restricted access to affordable credit for the small and medium enterprise sector of Africa; and, connect accredited and institutional investors to viable investment opportunities with good returns.
Ovamba offers investors access to a transparent, secure platform where they can invest in high quality, short term loans made to well-vetted, small and medium sized African businesses that could potentially outperform other investment opportunities. For business owners, Ovamba offers reliable capital to help them build their businesses and contribute to their local economies, often at better rates than those offered by the banks.
Geoff Miller, Chief Executive of GLI Finance said: "Ovamba is a hugely exciting business that uses the latest technology to connect the members of the more than 40 million strong African population to local investment opportunities. Ovamba also exemplifies the universal demand for alternative finance and I am delighted that GLI Finance is partnering the business"
Marvin Cole, Global CEO and Chief Leadership Officer for Ovamba said: "Joining the GLI Finance family of investment platforms is an exciting step for Ovamba. We are proud to be at the forefront of Africa's finance and technology transformation and that GLI Finance recognises the huge opportunity in Africa. Peer based lending and financing is not new to the continent, in fact it was the original and is often the primary vehicle of business investment for many African small to medium sized enterprises. Ovamba's technology driven solution for improving and managing the access to capital will help Africa fully realise its full growth potential."
-ENDS-
Contact:
GLI Finance Limited
Geoffrey Miller
D: +1 203 916 0003
M: +44 7408 830719
Ed Gascoigne-Pees / Hazel Stevenson (Camarco)D: +44 203 757 4984 / 89M: +44 788 4001 9499 / 798 600 9720
Ovamba
Viola Llewellyn
US: +1 202 390 3165
Cameroon: +237 53789830
viola.llewellyn@ovamba.com
About GLI Finance Limited(www.glifinance.com)
GLI Finance is a specialist provider of finance to small and medium sized enterprises and is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker GLIF). GLI Finance both invests in loans to SMEs and originates finance for SMEs through a variety of finance platforms.
The platforms in which GLI Finance is invested vary by geography, industry, size of lending and by type of lending. They include global trade finance, UK and US SME lending, offshore lending, UK invoice discounting, European invoice discounting, global multi-asset crowd funding and UK property-backed lending.
About Ovamba Solutions, Inc.(www.ovamba.com)
Ovamba is a US based financial services technology company. Marvin R. R. Cole and Viola A. Llewellyn founded Ovamba in early 2013. Ovamba launched in June 2014 in Douala, Cameroon. Ovamba's internet based platform allows accredited and institutional investors seeking liquidity from investment in African debt to invest in high quality, well-vetted small business loans and other assets from African financial institutions. Ovamba currently originates loans in Cameroon with plans in the near future to offer similar services in the Economic Community of Central African States market. Longer term expansion plans include other regions of Africa and additional loan and investment products. Ovamba is led by a management team with deep experience in banking, technology and banking advisory from firms such as Mckinsey & Co, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, National Commercial Bank, Rothschild, Unisys and many others.