The Investment: $5.5M in Impact Debt

The debt investment was provided by Symbiotics through the Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (REGMIFA), according to a February 18, 2026 statement. REGMIFA, launched in 2010 and managing more than $750 million deployed across emerging markets, focuses on channelling blended finance into ventures that balance financial returns with measurable social impact. The fund has a specific mandate to serve micro, small, and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa.

The proceeds will support Fido Ghana’s working capital needs, expand its lending portfolio, and strengthen the digital infrastructure that underpins its platform. CEO Alon Eitan confirmed the capital will fund the scaling of Fido’s AI platform across both Ghana — where the company has achieved countrywide coverage — and Uganda, its second market, where it has served 50,000 customers since launch.

“The capital raised will support the scaling of our platform as we continue developing financial solutions to provide more individuals and MSMEs with tools to build financial security,” Eitan said. Aldric Luyt, Head of Fintech at Symbiotics, praised Fido’s “highly innovative, data-driven credit assessment capabilities and its measurable impact on underserved communities.”

“For a lot of the customers who come into our ecosystem, we are probably their first-ever interaction with financial services.”

— Alon Eitan, CEO, Fido Group

The Fido Score: AI That Opens Doors for the Unbankable

At the heart of Fido’s model is the Fido Score, a proprietary AI credit-scoring system that analyses alternative data points — ranging from mobile phone usage patterns to transaction behaviours — to build a real-time financial profile for individuals with no formal credit history. This allows the platform to disburse instant loans and offer savings products via its mobile app without requiring physical paperwork, collateral, or prior banking relationships.

To date, Fido has disbursed hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to more than one million customers, 40 percent of whom are small businesses. The platform has maintained a default rate below 4 percent — a figure Eitan attributes to continuous improvement in its AI underwriting models, including acquisition models, fraud models, and collection treatment models deployed across the loan lifecycle.

Fido’s loan book covers amounts between $20 and $500 for consumers, with higher amounts available for businesses, all repayable within six months at interest rates between 7 and 12 percent. The company has been profitable for four consecutive years — a notable achievement in an African fintech landscape where many venture-backed lenders have struggled to reach sustainable unit economics.

Why Debt, Not Equity — and What’s Next

The choice to raise debt rather than pursue an additional equity round reflects Fido’s operational maturity. For a lending company, debt provides the capital needed to expand the loan book while preserving ownership structure for founders and early backers. This $5.5 million raise adds to previous funding including a $20 million Series B from BlueOrchard and FMO, bringing total funding to date to approximately $73.5 million.

With Ghana’s Bank of Ghana having recently tightened oversight of digital lenders — requiring unlicensed operators to regularise their activities by June 2026 under the BoG’s lending framework — Fido’s compliance track record and formal regulatory standing make it well-positioned to continue operating and growing as others face licensing questions.

Looking ahead, Fido is expected to deepen its push into East Africa, with Uganda serving as a springboard for potential expansion into Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. The company’s focus on the MSME segment — often called the “missing middle” of African economics, too large for microfinance but not yet eligible for commercial banking — gives it a differentiated niche in a crowded but fast-growing market.