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Tugende

“Can asset finance and digital credit profiling for Africa's informal-sector MSMEs become the foundation of a full financial ecosystem for the unbanked?”

Founded2012
HQKampala, Uganda
FoundersMichael Wilkerson
Total raised$76.8M
Latest roundSeries A extension, March 2021
IndustryFintech / Lending
The story

Founded in 2012 as a motorcycle lease-to-own company for informal-sector riders in Uganda, Tugende scaled its asset finance model by combining technology with customer support to build verifiable digital credit profiles for unbanked MSMEs. The company expanded into Kenya and pursued decentralized credit (Goldfinch) as a funding mechanism in 2021, but defaulted on that $5M loan in 2023 — reflecting the difficulty of scaling informal-sector lending across multiple East African markets. The company has repositioned around a broader digital platform for MSMEs encompassing financing, credit profiling, and value-added services, now operating across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Last 12 months
2023-09
Product timeline
2012
Michael Wilkerson founded Tugende in Uganda to provide lease-to-own asset financing for motorcycle taxi (boda-boda) riders.· lending
2020
Raised $6.3M Series A led by Mobility 54 (Toyota Tsusho investment fund); expanded operations to Kenya.· lending
2021
Closed $3.6M Series A extension led by Partech; took a $5M loan from Goldfinch decentralized credit protocol to fund Kenya growth.· lending
2023
Defaulted on $5M Goldfinch loan and entered restructuring agreement with Warbler Labs, signaling operational stress in Kenya market.· pivot
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Tugende’s embedded-finance stack
Lending
Motorcycle lease-to-own (hire-purchase)Asset finance for income-generating vehiclesMSME digital credit profile
Accounting gap: none