PharmAccess mobilizes public and private resources for the benefit of doctors and patients through clinical standards and quality improvements, loans for healthcare providers, health insurance, mHealth innovations and operational research.
Medical Credit Fund (MCF) PharmAccess Group's non-profit health fund dedicated to providing loans to small and medium-sized healthcare facilities in Africa, has received European backing. The European Investment Bank, the investment arm of the European Union, has signed a USD 5 million (KhSh 514 million) loan agreement with MCF.
The fund, established in 2009, has been active in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by supporting local SMEs in the healthcare sector, bringing quality healthcare to underserved areas. With the EIB’s support, the fund aims to branch out into other Sub-Saharan countries, including Zambia, Senegal, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle commented: “This project makes sense not only from a human, but also from an economic perspective, as healthy people earn more, save more and consume more, thus contributing to the economy. The Medical Credit Fund has been around for nearly ten years in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana, and the EIB is happy to support its expansion into further territories in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
MCF Managing Director Arjan Poels added: “We are thrilled and proud to add EIB as another investor in our fund. MCF is currently disbursing over 1,000 loans per year and has doubled in size three years in a row. We are working with 20 financial partners in the countries we operate to ensure more capital is being invested in African health sectors and have shown these partners that investing in the health sector is not nearly as risky as most financial institutions think. Through our Technical Assistance programme, we also provide support to strengthen the business aspects within investees as well as the quality of care they provide to the communities.”
Through local financial intermediaries, MCF aims to provide financing to health SMEs including clinics, pharmacies, diagnostics centres and hospitals. The EIB-loan has a tenor of seven years and is denominated in Kenyan Shillings to reduce the currency risk that operators in the area usually face.
