The Development Finance Institute of Canada (FinDev) had no reply when asked if its $42.4 million worth of shares it purchased in a Kenyan cellphone company were lost, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are not in a position to respond to questions,” said FinDev spokesperson Angela Rodriguez in a statement. Rodriguez said the purchase of shares in Kenyan cellphone company M-Kopa Holdings “was informed by market development impact and financial return considerations.”Taxpayers have not received any dividends in M-Kopa. Records show it has never posted a profit. FinDev first bought shares in M-Kopa in 2017. Since then, it has lost a combined $115.6 million. To cover costs, M-Kopa said it relied on shares. “The group is under discussion to raise additional capital with new and existing shareholders, which would support the operations for the foreseeable future,” it said. “The directors have made an assessment of the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”Cabinet has never explained what contacts it had with M-Kopa CEO Jesse Moore. It said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons in 2021 it did not play a role in buying any shares in it. Moore is a former Toronto child activist who the Toronto Star praised as a “voice of Canada’s youth and a leader of tomorrow.” Maclean’s named Moore in its 100 Canadians to Watch in 1997. “We are a dynamic generation that has come of age in a bilingual, multicultural country,” he said. Prior to becoming CEO at M-Kopa, he was a director with CARE Canada and a participant in youth forum Action Canada with We Charity co-founder Craig Kielburger. “I realized as a young person I had no time to waste and I could do whatever I wanted to do and I could conquer the world,” he said.
The Development Finance Institute of Canada (FinDev) had no reply when asked if its $42.4 million worth of shares it purchased in a Kenyan cellphone company were lost, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are not in a position to respond to questions,” said FinDev spokesperson Angela Rodriguez in a statement. Rodriguez said the purchase of shares in Kenyan cellphone company M-Kopa Holdings “was informed by market development impact and financial return considerations.”Taxpayers have not received any dividends in M-Kopa. Records show it has never posted a profit. FinDev first bought shares in M-Kopa in 2017. Since then, it has lost a combined $115.6 million. To cover costs, M-Kopa said it relied on shares. “The group is under discussion to raise additional capital with new and existing shareholders, which would support the operations for the foreseeable future,” it said. “The directors have made an assessment of the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”Cabinet has never explained what contacts it had with M-Kopa CEO Jesse Moore. It said in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons in 2021 it did not play a role in buying any shares in it. Moore is a former Toronto child activist who the Toronto Star praised as a “voice of Canada’s youth and a leader of tomorrow.” Maclean’s named Moore in its 100 Canadians to Watch in 1997. “We are a dynamic generation that has come of age in a bilingual, multicultural country,” he said. Prior to becoming CEO at M-Kopa, he was a director with CARE Canada and a participant in youth forum Action Canada with We Charity co-founder Craig Kielburger. “I realized as a young person I had no time to waste and I could do whatever I wanted to do and I could conquer the world,” he said.
