GroFin, a pioneering private development finance institution that specialises in the finance and support of small and growing businesses, has expressed its commitment to continuously provide necessary support to entrepreneurs at this crucial time.
This was stated in a message posted on their website by the CEO, Brienne van der Walt. “Our model has always centred on providing entrepreneurs with continuous support and advice. We realise that this is even more crucial than ever before during an unprecedented crisis like this. As such, we have taken several measures to continue assisting our clients despite the challenges presented by the virus,” the message read.
The company has, since inception in 2004, offered investments and business support to generate employment, strengthen value chains, and develops markets to bring about inclusive growth and improved living conditions in the low and middle-income countries where they operate.
With an established network of local offices spread across fifteen countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Nigeria, GroFin has been able to finance businesses in some of the world’s most vulnerable economies.
In expressing their commitment towards supporting small and medium enterprises in this trying time, Walt said “We are hard at work to increase the resilience of these communities as they deal with the fallout of the outbreak.”
The CEO also shared some of the measures the organisation is taking to ensure effectiveness of their support initiative to their clients, some of which includes ensuring the safety and continual servicing of GroFin employees by implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to limit the possibility of infection while directing majority of the staff to work from home. The company also developed a toolkit to assess the disruption and impact on key business elements of each SME in their portfolio as part of measures to provide entrepreneurs with continuous support in line with the company’s business focus.
Explaining this approach, Walt said in his message “We believe this will allow GroFin to use our expertise to provide appropriate advice to each entrepreneur, while also giving us a view on the viability of each business during and after disruptions to their operations. The outcomes of this assessment will determine our actions to be taken per client. Where available, we will also link our investees to local relief options like government support.”
“As an organisation working with SMEs in some of the most challenging markets, we have always been amazed and inspired by the resilience, determination and ingenuity of the entrepreneurs who are our clients. They will need all these qualities to overcome this crisis but can rest assure that GroFin will be there to support them throughout it.”
