- Loan Open For Subscriptions Until 26 Dec 2025
Inclusive Lending for Ghana’s Underserved Entrepreneurs
Startups Cooperative Credit Union
- Techiman Municipal, Bono East region, Ghana
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- 0 USD
Amount committed of 250,000 USD target. This loan will be funded as long as it raises between 100,000 USD and 250,000 USD.
The loan will be utilised as follows: a. 70% for MSME credit disbursement through StartCCU’s cooperative financing model, enabling affordable loans at interest rates 15-20% lower than traditional lenders. b. 15% for technology development, including StartCCU Daily Ledger App and digital onboarding systems to improve transparency and repayment tracking. c. 10% for capacity building, delivering quarterly financial literacy and business process training. d. 5% for operational scaling.
- 0 Lenders
Committed
- 24 months
Loan Period
- 10%
Interest Rate
- BACKGROUND
Loan summary
Startups Cooperative Credit Union (StartCCU) is a licensed Tier-3 financial cooperative based in Techiman, Ghana. It was created by Agrico Hub an Enterprise Support Organization (ESO) to close the financing gap that keeps rural MSMEs stuck in informality and poverty. MSMEs drive over 80% of jobs in Ghana, yet banks reject more than 70% of their loan applications and avoid small-ticket loans, leaving women and youth especially excluded. In the face of an estimated USD 5 billion SME financing gap in Ghana (AfDB), 2023, StartCCU provides a practical solution: we combine capacity building with affordable, flexible financing through a cooperative model that helps businesses improve compliance, manage finances better, and access the credit they need to grow. Since 2023, StartCCU has grown from 100 members to nearly 2,000 MSMEs – 58% women, and 70% youth under 35 years – creating fair access to credit and stronger local economies. We are seeking catalytic capital to scale this impact and transform rural enterprise growth
Borrower's mission
StartCCU has been actively pursuing its impact mission by providing inclusive financial services/products such as soft loans, microcredit, and welfare-linked financing to startups, agribusinesses, and informal sector entrepreneurs in the Bono East region, Ghana reaching close to 2,000 members to date. Through its partnership with Agrico Hub, it integrates financial support with business development, financial literacy training, and cooperative growth strategies.
StartCCU’s long-term ambition is to become a leading hybrid cooperative financial institution, scaling its reach to thousands of MSMEs while maintaining commercial sustainability. It aims to deepen its investment portfolio, expand digital financial services, and drive economic empowerment among rural women and youth through ecosystem-based innovation.
The activities funded by this loan are helping to achieve the above Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the UN.
This loan is listed by Impact Intermediary
- Greater Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Intermediary's experience with impact enterprises
International Financial Services Limited (IFSL) has over 25 years of experience in providing access to impact finance for small holder farmers, Agri-SMEs, Women-Led Businesses mainly in the agricultural sector in Ghana and across Africa. Other sectors of the company’s activity include Energy, Health, Financial Inclusion and Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth and PLWDs.The core activities of International Financial Services Limited over the past 25 years include the following: 1. Corporate Finance and Investment Advisory. 2. MSME Business Incubation and Acceleration, and Investment Readiness Programs 3. Corporate Restructuring including Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) 4. Capacity Building of MSMEs in Entrepreneurship and Business Skills/Managerial Trainings. 5. Facilitation of Finance (A2F) for MSMEs including Large Enterprises from Banks and Multilateral Financial Institutions and Foundations
- IMPACT
Impacts and how they are measured
StartCCU IMM Framework. StartCCU has developed an Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) framework to systematically track and assess progress towards its impact goals. The proposed loan will create strong social and economic outcomes by expanding access to affordable credit, improving financial literacy, and strengthening MSME resilience in rural and peri-urban communities. Based on StartCCUs Theory of Change, the project will achieve the following measurable results over 1 – 4 years. Key Measurement Tools a. StartCCU Daily Ledger App, tracks MSME sales, expenses, and cashflow in real time. b. Baseline and Endline surveys, measure income changes, financial literacy and empowerment indicators c. Loan Performance: Monitors repayment rates and credit utilisation. d. Training Attendance Records: Captures participation and completion rates e. Partner Field Visits & Digital Monitoring: Validate self-reported data to ensure accountability LONG-TERM IMPACT By 2020, StartCCU will expand access to affordable credit to 10,000 MSMEs including small holder farmers (70%) micro businesses, through low-interest cooperative loans and embedded advisory services. This will unlock USD50 million in cumulative financing, strengthen local value chains, and create over 30,000 indirect jobs across Ghana’s rural economy
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