Building a brand for progress
2 mins read
We’ve spent the last 2 years building a strong business – one that we believe will do well by doing good. It was clear that the next step was to rethink and build a brand that measures up to the size of our ambition. So we started by asking questions…
Why did you start your business?
It’s unlikely that 2 entrepreneurs can have the same answer to this question; the complexities of individual realities and personal aspirations ensure this. However, regardless of individual context, there is one thing that every entrepreneur wants to experience: progress.
But what does progress mean?
2 years ago, Advancly was born as a simple answer to a glaring problem. Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) power the African economy and account for 90% of businesses across the continent. However, only 65% of MSMEs survive beyond the first 3 years of existence majorly due to poor access to finance for growth and scale. Despite the continuous growth of the global lending market, only 5% of Deposit Money Banks’ credit facilities in Africa are made available to MSMEs. According to the World Bank, MSMEs in sub-Saharan Africa face a huge finance gap of $331 billion (USD). MSME financial requirements are too large for microfinance banks but too small to be served effectively by corporate bank models. This is where we come in.
Advancly exists to enable African entrepreneurs build capacity by connecting them to affordable financing to grow and scale their businesses. Over the last two years, through our aggregators (who we fondly refer to as our “progress partners”), we’ve disbursed over $43.9 million (USD) in loans to over 50 thousand beneficiaries across 6 African countries. Our ethos is backed by our belief that: When businesses progress, society progresses.
For us, “progress” simply means “better”. It is the daily efforts put in to create a positively different reality. It is when a business can serve one more customer and sell one more product. It is when an entrepreneur moves one step closer to building the business of their dreams. It is what has shaped the face of our new brand.
It’s been two years of building and making impact in relative stealth. Now, we are poised to step into the limelight, confident in our results and the success stories of our progress partners, which we will tell in the coming weeks. Until then, we leave you with this question:
What does the future of progress hold?