Lulalend Debt SA (IFC-49222)

Countries
  • South Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 10, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Lula Lend Pty Ltd
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 100.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 12, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Sep 10, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed project is an up to US$20 million (equivalent in South Africa Rand (ZAR)) senior unsecured loan under the MSME Finance Platform - BOP Envelope with a 4-year (2-year grace) tenor to Lula Lend Pty Ltd, an existing equity client of IFC. The loan is comprised of a US$10 million A Loan for IFC’s own account and an up to US$10 million B Loan. The proceeds of the IFC loan will support the expansion of the Company’s loan portfolio to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), including [25%] for Women-owned MSMEs (WMSMEs), in South Africa (the “Project”).  To meet the MSME Finance Platform’s eligibility criteria for use of proceeds under the BOP Envelope, sub-projects should seek to address financial inclusion gaps with a focus on micro and small enterprises (MSEs), informal enterprises, and low-income households with an average aggregate outstanding loan size not to exceed US$100 thousand. 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project has been categorized as FI-2 (medium risk). The loan proceeds will support the expansion of the Company’s loan portfolio to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, retail, healthcare sector, food services, and professional services. E&S risks and impacts associated with these transactions are considered limited and can be managed through mitigation measures; the project portfolio risk is thus considered ‘medium’. The main E&S risks and impacts of the Project derive from the E&S risks associated with the Company’s investment activities and its E&S capacity and system in place to manage these risks. These risks typically include occupational health and safety issues, waste management, and labour and working conditions issues, among others.

The Project will not support investment activities on the IFC Exclusion List, coal-related activities or higher-risk investments that may include a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on Indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage or d) significant occupational health and safety risks. IFC’s applicable E&S requirements for this Project will be the IFC Exclusion List and the host country's laws and regulations.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Senior unsecured loan of up to US$20 million comprising a US$10 million loan for IFC’s own account and an up to US$10 million B loan.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Lulalend is an online uncollateralized MSME lending platform based in Cape Town, South Africa. The Company utilizes technology to provide loans to banked but underserved businesses in South Africa. Lulalend's target customers are MSMEs with annual turnover ranges of US$36,000 to US$3.5 million. 

Lulalend has a diversified shareholder base, with IFC being one of the largest institutional investors, holding 11.0%.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Lula Lend (Pty) Ltd
Quentin Daniel
Financial Manager

quentin@lulalend.co.za
3rd Floor Pier Place, Heerengracht Street, Cape Town 800112
https://apply.lula.co.za/fast-flexible-funding-cs-v3?utm_source=google_search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_ter

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If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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How it works