Finnfund lends Bisedge €10 million to grow electric forklift fleets in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania

Finnfund, Finland's state-owned development financier, has agreed a €10 million (about $11.2 million) senior debt deal with Bisedge Holdings, a provider of electric materials handling equipment and logistics services, Launch Base Africa reported on 15 October. The publication describes it as Finnfund's first electric vehicle investment in Africa.

The loan will pay for more electric forklifts in Bisedge's fleets in Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya. It is supported by the EDFI Renewable Energy Transition programme, a guarantee under the European Union's EFSD+ scheme. The deal also starts a strategic partnership between Finnfund and impact investment platform Trine, which has backed Bisedge since 2021 and has deployed about €16.5 million in early financing to the company.

Bisedge was founded in Lagos in 2020 and is now headquartered in Mauritius. It works in nine African markets, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda, and has also expanded into the Gulf. Rather than selling equipment outright, it supplies electric forklifts and warehouse machinery as a service.

The debt follows a $20 million equity investment from pan-African private equity firm Metier in May 2026, according to Launch Base Africa. The two are separate transactions: this one is a loan, not new equity.