Innovations Item Code: IN-2024-2100546
Sector: Others
Description:
A web/mobile apps that brings banking to the doorsteps of rural dwellers that are not literate, not digital savvy and own no smartphone – by allowing informal workers, artisans and microtraders to open full-useable bank account with debit card issuance under 15 minutes and access to non-interest microloan using profit/loss sharing for cash-based microloan and cost-plus markup for inventory or asset-based financing, through our stationed and mobile agent. Rural dwellers can walk-in into our stationed agent while our mobile agents move around to service busiest people.
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Stage of Innovation: Proof of Concept (You have created something to show the innovation can work)
Problem:
We are solving inaccessibility of affordable and easier ways to open/use bank account and secure microloan by individuals and micro businesses in hard to reach communities in Nigeria. (Including lack of financial and digital literacy for rural dwellers to use financial service and loan very well to improve their businesses and livelihood).
Unique Selling Point: The existing competitors can be categorized into 2. 1. Non banking MFIs have half local operating base where micro traders are onboarded but must travel to their city office for disbursement and bank account that is not available locally is now also mandatory to receive the loan due to the new cashless policy of the CBN. These are LAPO, Grooming Center, SEAP, Grace and Mercy, CGEE (and local thrift collectors). 2. Banking MFIs are located in the city and required the rural dwellers to travel which cost them time, money and stress. The MFIs operating in our starting area of operation are AB, Accion, Astra Polaris, Lavender, Solid Rock. Our solution is different in the following: - Ethical i.e. Non-interest based - Completely available locally without the need to travel to city for additional documentation before fully useable - Shorter processing time - Save them 80% of access cost & 90% of time - Longer repayment period and cycle.