ClickPesa has launched the ClickPesa Debt Fund, a DeFi lending facility built on Stellar and powered by Soroban smart contracts, designed to provide financing to SMEs and women-owned businesses across Africa. The fund's SME I Pool uses Script3's Blend protocol and offers up to 12% annual interest with quarterly repayments, backed by ClickPesa Collateral Tokens (CPCT) pegged to real microfinance loan books.
ClickPesa has introduced the ClickPesa Debt Fund, a blockchain-based DeFi solution addressing financing barriers for African SMEs and women-owned businesses. Built on Stellar and leveraging Soroban smart contracts, the fund operates through the SME I Pool, a DeFi lending pool powered by Script3's open-source Blend protocol. The pool seeks to borrow between 50,000 and 250,000 USDc over a 1-year period with quarterly repayments and up to 12% interest. Security is provided through ClickPesa Collateral Tokens (CPCT), which represent microfinance loan books valued at approximately 515,000 USD and maintain an LTV ratio below 50%. The fund is structured as a bankruptcy-remote vehicle (CDF SME Limited) and includes a backstop module using Blend tokens as first-loss capital. This initiative combines transparency, real-world asset backing, and financial inclusion to enable sustainable lending to underserved businesses.