{"id":9275,"date":"2026-10-16T15:53:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T14:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=9275"},"modified":"2026-10-16T15:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T14:53:51","slug":"kuunda-founder-andrew-milnes-legacy-in-small-business-lending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=9275","title":{"rendered":"Kuunda Founder Andrew Milne\u2019s Legacy in Small Business Lending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Andrew Milne, co-founder and co-chief executive of African fintech company Kuunda,<\/a> has died at the age of 54, leaving behind a legacy of expanding access to credit for small businesses, mobile money agents and underserved communities across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuunda confirmed Milne\u2019s death on October 15, 2026, stating that he passed away on October 13. The company did not disclose the cause of death but described him as an energetic and resilient leader who was deeply respected by colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Alison, and their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milne\u2019s death comes at a significant moment for Kuunda, the financial technology company he co-founded in 2018 with Sam Brawerman and Morn\u00e9 van der Westhuizen. Just days before his death, the company announced a $5 million secondary share sale, providing an exit opportunity for early investors and marking a new milestone in its development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuunda was established to address a persistent challenge across African markets: limited access to working capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs who often struggle to obtain traditional bank loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than lending directly to customers, the company develops technology that enables banks, mobile money operators and digital payment platforms to offer credit through their existing networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its solutions include financing for mobile money agents who need liquidity to serve customers, merchant cash advances and stock financing for small retailers. By using transaction data to assess creditworthiness, Kuunda helps financial institutions serve borrowers who may lack conventional credit histories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has worked with major digital financial services providers, including M-PESA, Airtel and Wave. According to published reports, its infrastructure has facilitated more than $4 billion in loans, demonstrating the growing role of embedded finance in addressing credit gaps across emerging markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before founding Kuunda, Milne built more than three decades of experience across African businesses. He served as managing director of South African health technology company Virgin Life Care from 2004 to 2008 before becoming chief executive of Hello Doctor, a digital health service that expanded into ten African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2015 and 2017, he served as chief operating officer of mobile money company Zoona, gaining further experience in digital financial services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These roles reflected a consistent focus on using technology to make essential services more accessible to people beyond the reach of traditional institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Kuunda, that approach evolved into a lending infrastructure business serving markets across Africa and Asia. The company raised $7.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round in October 2025 to support its growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $5 million secondary share sale announced on October 13 was an important milestone for Kuunda, allowing early investors to realise returns while strengthening the company\u2019s ownership structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milne\u2019s death now leaves his colleagues and business partners to carry forward the company\u2019s ambitions. Kuunda said it would announce plans to honour his legacy in due course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond financial milestones, his contribution highlights the importance of building technology that addresses practical economic challenges. By helping financial institutions extend credit through existing digital networks, Milne helped create opportunities for businesses that might otherwise have struggled to access financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His passing represents a loss for the African fintech ecosystem, but the infrastructure he helped build continues to demonstrate how digital finance can support small businesses, improve liquidity and widen access to economic opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Milne, co-founder and co-chief executive of African fintech company Kuunda, has died at the age of 54, leaving behind a legacy of expanding access to credit for small businesses, mobile money agents and underserved communities across Africa. Kuunda confirmed Milne\u2019s death on October 15, 2026, stating that he passed away on October 13. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9277,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275\/revisions\/9277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}