Building Africa's Credit Infrastructure
The Economic Paradox
Mtaji was born from a profound understanding of Africa's economic paradox: a continent rich in entrepreneurial spirit yet constrained by a $155 billion SME financing gap.
Small and medium enterprises drive growth, employment, and innovation across emerging markets. Yet traditional banking systems remain inaccessible to them. They lack credit history. They cannot collateralize. They exist outside formal financial infrastructure.
But they have something more valuable than traditional collateral: they have relationships. They supply large corporations. They move goods through supply chains. They have transaction history measured in thousands of completed orders.
Mtaji is Swahili for 'capital'
Our Vision
The definitive financial operating system for SME supply chains in emerging markets.
Our Mission
Orchestrate the flow of global capital to emerging market SMEs, unlocking economic potential and transforming lives.
Our Journey
Concept Development & Market Research
Founded with deep insights into Africa's SME financing challenges and supply chain dynamics.
Platform MVP & M-Score Algorithm Development
Launched the Ankara platform MVP and developed our proprietary M-Score credit intelligence engine.
Market Expansion & Strategic Partnerships
- • Q1-Q2: National Bank of Kenya partnership; Natbizz white-label launch
- • Q3-Q4: 18x revenue growth; 44 anchors onboarded; Access Bank Group integration
Pan-African Expansion
Scaling operations across Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. Building the continent's credit infrastructure.
Leadership
Kefa Nyakundi
Co-Founder & CEO
Kefa brings over two decades of experience spanning banking, risk management, and financial advisory across Africa. His career in banking included progressive roles in credit risk — from Risk Analyst to Head of Collections & Recovery and Head of Credit — building deep expertise in credit assessment, portfolio management, and institutional lending.
As CEO of Africa Risk Management Advisors (ARMA) since 2015, he has consulted extensively with financial institutions, central banks, and development organisations on strategy, trade finance, supply chain finance, and risk management. This advisory work across Africa's financial ecosystem directly informed the design of the M-Score algorithm and the Ankara platform architecture.
Kefa holds an MBA from United States International University (USIU-Africa), a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from Kenyatta University, a Diploma in Risk Management in Finance & Banking (Sweden), and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB). He also founded the Nyakundi Foundation, focused on youth employability and life skills development.
Our team is growing. New team members and advisors will be announced as we scale across Africa.
Our Values
Professional yet Approachable
We bring institutional rigor to our products while remaining deeply connected to the SMEs and communities we serve.
Innovative yet Trustworthy
We push boundaries in fintech while maintaining the security, transparency, and reliability our users depend on.
Pan-African yet Globally Ambitious
We are rooted in Africa's context while building solutions with global reach and impact potential.
Data-Driven yet Impact-Focused
We use rigorous analytics and AI to drive measurable impact: more capital unlocked, more jobs created, more businesses empowered.
SDG Alignment
No Poverty
Enabling SME growth to lift communities out of poverty.
Gender Equality
Increasing access to capital for women-led enterprises.
Decent Work & Growth
Supporting job creation and economic development.
Industry & Innovation
Leveraging technology to build resilient infrastructure.
Reduced Inequalities
Bridging the SME financing gap for inclusive growth.
Peace & Justice
Promoting transparent, accountable institutions.
Partnerships
Building multi-stakeholder collaborations for impact.
Join Us in Building Africa's Credit Infrastructure
Whether you're an anchor, SME, financial institution, or investor, there's a role for you in our mission to unlock emerging market potential.