Kifiya Financial Technologies & Cooperative Bank of Oromia Announces Partnership for The Launch of Ethiopia’s First Uncollateralized Digital Lending Product, Michu.
On January 12, 2022, Kifiya Financial Technology (Kifiya) and Cooperative Bank of Oromia (Coop bank), announced a new partnership and launched digital lending product named Michu.
Michu is Ethiopia’s first uncollateralized digital lending product, powered by Kifiya’s Qena, an AI-driven digital lending platform.
The partnership allows Coop bank to tap into Kifiya’s Qena digital lending technology and give the ability to leverage Cooperative Bank of Oromia distribution and financial capacity. The Bank will offer lending solutions targeting Micro, Small, and medium businesses (MSMEs), providing access to credit, through groundbreaking and cutting-edge credit scoring systems.
Research shows that Ethiopia’s MSME Financing to GDP Ratio was 2% in 2020. This ratio is lower than South Africa’s 14% and Kenya’s 6% in 2020. Ethiopia’s poor ratio is attributed to the crowding-out of credit by the public sector and high requirements for a loan to MSMEs by Micro-Finances and Commercial Banks.
Financial institutions place high requirements partly due to a lack of credible credit ratings. Michu’s ease of access enables users to apply for loans and receive decisions based on credit scoring logic. The loan application process from eligibility and verification to analysis, scoring, and loan disbursement gets completed within a few minutes.
“We are excited to join hands with Kifiya’s Qena as we expand our digital financial offerings and deliver support to the financing needs of micro and small businesses that are often neglected but represent a significant part of the economy.”, says Deribie Asfaw, President of Cooperative Bank of Oromia.
“Today’s partnership with Coop bank marks an exciting era for the Ethiopian Digital Economy as Kifiya’s Qena technology heralds uncollateralized digital lending in the country. With the help of our AI-powered credit scoring digital lending platform, we hope to address the needs of uncollateralized finance in MSMEs sector in Ethiopia”, says Munir Duri, CEO of Kifiya Financial Technologies PLC.
Michu will have different offerings for Micro, Small, and Medium Businesses both in the form of loans and overdraft facilities. The Microloan is aimed towards the working capital needs of roadside traders and micro businesses with a maximum loan amount up to 30,000 ETB and has a repayment period of 1-4 months.
Whereas SME loans targets traders at small and medium levels with a maximum loan amount up tof 150,000 ETB and has a repayment period of up to one year. Similarly, SME loans are intended to cover the working capital of SMEs. In addition, Michu also offers a consumer loan targeting employee of various organizations.
The non-collateral digital lending product is believed to be an attractive loan that makes loan provision process swift and easy to access at anytime and anywhere as the solution is able to determine credit worthiness as well as avail a flexible payment method. Michu digital lending application is launching this month and is expected to increase Coop Bank borrowers base by 30% during the pilot period.
