The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has signed its first investment agreement with Ethiopian fintech company Kifiya Financial Technology PLC to expand access to finance for smallholder farmers and underserved businesses across Africa.

Announced on November 4 at the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026 in Luanda, Angola, the investment will support Kifiya’s agricultural financial technology (AgFinTech) operations in Ethiopia and its expansion into other African markets.

Kifiya uses artificial intelligence (AI) and alternative data to assess borrowers who are often excluded from traditional financial systems. Its infrastructure processes more than 42 data families and 10 billion alternative data signals to generate borrower risk profiles, credit scores and lending recommendations.

The company also provides digital financial infrastructure that enables partner financial institutions to disburse and collect loans through agents and rural cooperatives, while connecting borrowers with suppliers, buyers and other agricultural services.

According to Kifiya, its technology infrastructure has already supported more than US$1 billion in credit, helping financial institutions reach customers who may lack conventional credit histories.

The investment is expected to strengthen access to financing for smallholder farmers, agricultural microenterprises and other underserved businesses. It will also support farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, mechanization, advisory services and markets.

“Farmers and microenterprises already produce, trade and create value, but much of that activity remains unseen by formal finance,” said Munir Duri, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kifiya.

IFC Vice President for Africa Ethiopis Tafara said the investment would help bring financing within reach of more farmers and entrepreneurs, enabling them to invest, create jobs and strengthen their livelihoods.

The investment builds on IFC’s existing advisory engagement with Kifiya. The corporation’s 2026 report, Cracking the Credit Code, also features the Ethiopian company as a case study of how alternative data and digital lending infrastructure can help banks serve informal businesses and first-time borrowers.

Beyond Ethiopia, Kifiya is holding expansion discussions in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The company operates AI and technology hubs in Nairobi and Cape Town and plans to adapt its infrastructure to the financial institutions, currencies and regulatory environments of different markets.

The agreement marks another step in the growing role of Ethiopia’s fintech sector in developing digital financial infrastructure and expanding access to credit across the continent.