Watu, an asset financing company, has published its inaugural sustainability report. The report shows the company’s progress in financing mobility and connectivity assets and the environmental impact of its operations.
Key highlights from the report show that Watu financed 680,000 mobility and connectivity assets. Impressively, 50% of the financing was for rural residents. In line with its gender equality agenda, 32% of Watu’s clients in 2023 were female. This shows the company’s commitment to empower its female clients.
Watu’s ESG strategy is underpinned by three key pillars; financial inclusion, climate action, and Road Safety and Health. Through these pillars, the company seeks to provide equitable access to underserved communities, focusing on women, youth, and rural residents while enabling SMEs to meet their full financial needs.
Since its inception in 2015, Watu has disbursed over 1 million loans. This financial empowerment has unlocked opportunities by making motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and smartphones accessible to the unbanked and underserved citizens of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, the DRC, and Sierra Leone.
To reduce its carbon footprint, Watu has set an ambitious target of increasing financing for electric vehicles and their infrastructure, which will help expand e-mobility across the continent. In 2024, Watu has set an ambitious target to finance the adoption of 10,000 electric bikes in East Africa in a commitment to clean energy adoption and promoting sustainable transportation solutions.
The company seeks to increase EV financing to 500,000 bikes by 2030 while empowering 1,000 entrepreneurs to adopt Compressed Natural Gas tuk-tuks by the end of 2024.
In 2023, Watu made a strategic investment in GOGO Electric, formerly Bodawerk International Limited, a Ugandan technology company pioneering electric vehicle (EV) solutions for Africa. This investment was supplemented with professional training of 20,000 riders in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, focusing on road safety and first aid for boda boda riders.
Making his remarks at the launch of the report, Watu CEO and Founder Andris Kaneps said, “At Watu, we integrate global best practices with local needs, fostering financial inclusion, upholding the highest safety standards, and championing environmental and social responsibility in everything we do. We believe that financial inclusion is the catalyst for unlocking Africa’s economic potential. By championing electric mobility and advancing digital inclusion, we are not just reducing our carbon footprint and closing the digital divide; we’re driving socio-economic development across the continent.”