Kuunda co founder and co chief executive Andrew Milne has died at the age of 54, just two days after the African digital lending infrastructure company announced a $5 million secondary share sale.
The company confirmed Milne’s death but did not disclose the cause. In a statement shared by Kuunda, the company described him as an energetic and resilient leader while expressing condolences to his wife, Alison, and their children.
Milne founded Kuunda in 2018 alongside Sam Brawerman and Morné van der Westhuizen. The Mauritius based company developed technology that allows banks, mobile money operators and payment platforms to provide credit to customers through existing networks.
Kuunda’s services include financing for mobile money agents, merchant cash advances and stock financing for small retailers. The company uses transaction data to assess borrowers and help financial institutions extend credit to people and businesses that may not have traditional credit histories.
Over the years, the company has grown into a significant player in Africa’s digital lending space. Kuunda said its infrastructure has supported more than $4.4 billion in credit through over 870 million loans, reaching about 14.6 million agents, merchants and consumers.
The $5 million share sale, announced on October 13, was led by E4E Africa, with Accion Ventures, Portugal Gateway Fund and Seedstars Africa Ventures also taking part. The transaction provided an exit opportunity for some early investors and reduced Kuunda’s number of shareholders from 12 to four.
The deal came about a year after Kuunda raised $7.5 million in 2025 from investors that included Nedbank and 4Di Capital. According to the company, angel investors who sold their shares in the latest transaction recorded annualised internal rates of return above 70 percent, while seed investors achieved returns ranging between 25 and 40 percent.
Milne brought more than three decades of experience working across African markets to Kuunda. Before launching the company, he held senior positions at South African health technology firm Virgin Life Care, digital health company Hello Doctor and mobile money business Zoona.
His career was closely linked to the growth of technology driven businesses and financial services across the continent, experience that later helped shape Kuunda’s approach to expanding access to credit.
Following his death, Kuunda said it would announce plans to honour Milne’s legacy in due course.
His passing comes at a significant moment for the company, which had just completed a major shareholder transaction as it continued to expand its digital lending business across African markets.
