Rwandan financial technology startup Kayko has secured $1.2 million in seed funding to scale its micro-ERP platform and expand efforts to digitise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), company and industry sources reported in December 2025.
The seed round attracted backing from a consortium of investors, including Burrow Capital, the Luxembourg Development Agency (LuxDev), Hanga Ignite by the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) and develoPPP Ventures, according to multiple funding notices.
Founded in 2021 by brothers Crepin and Kevin Kayisire, Kayko provides a digital platform used by more than 8,500 SMEs across Rwanda for bookkeeping, inventory management and tax compliance, generating real-time business data that can be used to assess creditworthiness.
Investors and company executives said the fresh capital will support product development, strengthening data infrastructure and expanding credit-scoring capabilities, as well as deepen partnerships with financial institutions to unlock formal lending for typically underserved informal merchants.
Kayko’s technology converts routine commercial activity such as sales records and inventory flows into actionable insights that lenders can use to evaluate risk and extend working capital, addressing longstanding financing barriers for small businesses that lack traditional collateral or formal financial histories.
The startup’s focus on transforming operational data into trusted financial profiles reflects a broader trend among African fintechs to use alternative data sources to expand financial inclusion and close the SME credit gap.
With the new funding, Kayko aims to increase its market footprint within Rwanda and explore expansion into other East African markets as part of its next phase of growth, industry analysts noted.
The seed round underscores growing investor interest in data-driven fintech models that support both business management and financial access in emerging economies.
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