Many small and medium-sized clinics in sub-Saharan Africa often lack a credit history, adequate bookkeeping and accounting systems and financial performance records. As a result they are often unable to secure bank loans and struggle to find the money to purchase modern equipment, expand their facilities or even pay for basic repairs

Medical Credit Fund migrates risks for African banks in order to bridge this gap. Our partnerships have led to integrated loan products with strong repayment performances, prompting banks to take larger shares of the funding and repayment risk, a sign that we help building a healthier investment climate for health clinics.

By combining the loans with our technical assistance program, we help these clinics build a financial track record, grow their business and improve the quality of their service, which has become measurable thanks to SafeCare standards.

The growing role of the mobile phone in day-to-day financial services like sending mobile money also opens up new opportunities for innovative financing products. Mobile payment mechanisms that make risks transparent will allow us to expand and increase loan disbursements parallel to the more traditional banking channel.

In partnership with CarePay, we have developed a mobile cash advance product: a short-term loan that benefits from the low transaction costs. Such innovations tend to benefit especially the smaller healthcare facilities with the most difficulty accessing capital.