When a disruptive new technology enters the market, it’s predictable what comes next: chaos. Without prior regulations or power players controlling the field, a free-for-all ensues in which advances are made and winners and losers are had — often among companies and consumers alike. This situation is squarely where the nascent industry of mobile money…
The focus on the potential and real risks of digital credit, while commendable, runs the risk of taking our collective eye off the wider credit market, which has a much more significant impact on Kenya’s economy. Recently there was a huge fuss about forest fires burning in the Amazon Jungle. Suddenly, the world seemed at…
he evolution of M-Pesa from simple payment tool to full fintech solution is still underway. Here, Dario Betti, CEO of MEF, reports on the results of the latest addition to Safaricom’s mobile money solution: micro-loans. M-Pesa is the long champion of mobile payments in Kenya and a number of African countries. But success brings higher…
Microloans are small loans offered to people over a shorter period of time, typically without providing any form of security for the lender and often without requiring a credit history from the recipient. They are very similar to credit cards, but are more widely available, especially in markets where a majority of the population is…
The Innovation of the Day from trendwatching.com Twiga Foods in Kenya, a platform helping farmers distribute produce to food stalls, partnered with IBM to extend microloans to stall vendors. IBM created a system to help these sellers receive credit scores; a machine learning algorithm analyzes their mobile purchase records and calculates a credit score. The end-to-end lending process…
