UK government helps IT company break into Africa with £900k UKEF support
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has provided £900,000 of support to Atlancis, a Kenyan cloud services company, enabling it to forge a new relationship with UK exporter Vespertec to unlock growth opportunities in Africa.
A Standard Buyer Loan Guarantee was offered by UKEF to guarantee an export credit loan from Apple Bank, supported by its UK servicer and arranger of the deal AF Capital. Both AF Capital and Apple Bank specialise in export credit debt.
Launched in February 2021, the Standard Buyer Loan Guarantee allows UKEF to guarantee a loan of up to 85% of a contract value, ensuring UK exporters get paid upfront and their buyers benefit from flexible repayment terms. The deal was brokered through UKEF’s international export finance executive who supports deals across East Africa.
Based in Stockport, Cheshire, Vespertec is a leading provider of server, network, and storage solutions for the data centre and technology industries. With its in-house logistics capabilities, it deploys the full spectrum of IT hardware solutions around the world and, with a turnover in excess of £20m, nearly half its business is driven by exports. With a number of deals in the pipeline, its partnership with Atlancis is expected to see Vespertec’s cloud hardware and software deployed across several sectors, including telecommunications, health and fintech.
UK businesses, like Vespertec, are helping to accelerate the digitalisation of industries, creating more opportunities and fuelling growth across African economies.
Samir Parkash, interim CEO of UK Export Finance, said: “UKEF’s support will help Vespertec strengthen its exporting business and expand into new markets. It shows the huge trading opportunities open to British businesses. You don’t need to be a big company to access UKEF support, in fact, 81% of the companies UKEF supported last year were small and medium-sized enterprises, the highest annual figure on record.
Vespertec is a great success story of a UK business exporting next-generation technologies around the world.”
Steve Evans, finance director at Vespertec, said: “With UKEF’s support, we are tapping into a fantastic opportunity in Africa as part of our new partnership with Atlancis. We are excited for the future and the opportunity to increase sales in new geographies and sectors.”
Philip Kaye, director at Vespertec, added: “This deal is amongst a number of our recent successes that will create new roles in the business, strengthening our technical expertise and enabling Vespertec to meet the rise in demand for our products and services.”
Dan Njuguna, founder and CEO of Atlancis, said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Vespertec to support Kenya’s technology ambitions. Through the collaboration, our customers will benefit from cutting-edge IT solutions that delivers real benefits for their business.”
Andrew Woolfson, partner at AF Capital, adds: “The SBLG product has been a substantial success for UK exporters. AF Capital and Apple Bank remain a leading funder of these transactions and will continue to expand with this product. With Vespertec and Atlancis as our partners on this particular project, it is a shining example of how these transactions can expand opportunities for UK exporters.”
