African fintech, 4G Capital, has appointed Julian Mitchell as its new CEO, as the fintech’s founder Wayne Hennessy-Barret takes up the position of Executive Chairman.
Julian Mitchell held the position of Managing Director at M-Kopa Uganda, successfully driving the asset finance startup to profitable heights and innovative dominance. Before his appointment as CEO of 4G Capital, Julian was the CEO of Inspirafarms where his wins included doubling year-on-year contracts, achieving a 100% customer retention rate, and raising ~US$8 million worth of capital to improve the company’s value chains. At 4G Capital, Julian will strategize ways to infuse capital into the expansive MSMEs sector through efficient loaning and entrepreneural support. “I am delighted to join 4G Capital, a company that has made such a profound impact on the growth and success of micro and small enterprises across Kenya and Uganda. 4G Capital’s unique approach, combining rapid decision-making, innovative touch-tech channels, and a strong focus on customer protection and training has positioned it as a leader in financial inclusion. I am incredibly proud to be part of this mission and look forward to helping even more businesses thrive by providing the right capital and knowledge,” Julian Mitchell said.
The former CEO, Wayne Hennessy will collaborate with Julian to actively source partnerships and capitalization, as well as engage with stakeholders in both the finance and entrepreneural sector, 4G Capital said in a statement seen by The Kenyan Wall Street.
“We are extremely lucky to have Julian join us at this exciting year, when we are exceeding our operational, financing and transformation targets. This is a planned evolution on our journey from startup to scale-up, and we’re committed to the best practice of separating CEO and Chair roles. We have a vision to democratise wealth creation and supercharge small business growth from the ground up. 11 years in, we’re just getting started,” Hennessy-Barret said.
African economies rely greatly on the informal sector to satisfy needs. The greatest impediment for them is shortage of capital and lofty processes to access them. According to the IFC’s SME Finance Forum, the MSME finance gap is US$331 billion for the entire continent. Kenya alone records a finance gap of US$19 billion.
Nearly 72% of MSMEs receive capital injection from inadequate, often insufficient, loans from family or friends. About 30% of these enterprises fail due to these constraints. The presence of 4G Capital in the market seeks to fill that gap and prevent systemic collapse of MSMEs.
4G Capital was ranked in the top ten global B Corporation financial institutions and the Financial Times 100 fastest growing companies in Africa.
