Weza.io is a company that has entrenched itself in the global credit lending space in developing markets. Started in 2016, it has had a laser focus on understanding the lending market and the supporting infrastructure; from the interface of these platforms, credit scoring engines relevant to the data available in these markets, and the fraud mitigation models to be employed.
The Weza.io team is clear that lending is a unique field, where first-hand experience is a requirement before offering B2B solutions to third parties.
On this, Weza.io got their feet wet from 2016 by lending out their own capital, from which they got the experience and knowledge to develop the whitelabel solutions and credit scoring engines that they are now offering to other businesses in the market.
Some of the key first-hand lessons they got from the market as a lender include the need to have very intuitive app interfaces, with minimal texts due to varying end users literacy levels. Interfaces that are very easy to understand and navigate accommodate all and sundry.
The pervasiveness of fraud in the lending market in their many forms, including identity theft, was an expensive first hand lesson for Weza.io, that resulted in development of appropriate mitigation models.
Through these experiences, Weza.io platform was built and is being offered to existing and new lenders in developing nations across the globe.
Lending platforms for those wishing to enter the market
Weza.io offers:
- End-to-end loan administration solutions to new entrants in the mobile phone loan space
- End-to-end loan administration solutions to existing players in the digital lending industry who wish to upgrade their systems to a more efficient one.
The systems that Weza.io builds for clients can cater to either open lending or closed lending.
Open lending comprises lending to the public after meeting a specific criterion. The default risk is mitigated through the credit scoring and fraud mitigation tools embedded in the lending platform.
In contrast, closed lending involves lending to pre-qualified clients such as members of a co-operative society, credit union, a Sacco, Chama, or employees of a particular company.
Understanding how the service works
Weza.io will tailor and implement any of the following components, either in full or partially, depending on your needs:
- A Mobile phone app, USSD platform, website loan interface;
- The back-end loan system for configuration of loan products, interest rates, communication SMS;
- A dashboard for performance monitoring;
- API access to the Weza.io Credit Scoring Engine with the inbuilt Fraud Mitigation Algorithm;
- A CRM software tailored to mobile lending market.
Implementation
The Weza.io lending services have been implemented in various developing markets across different verticals such as empowering lending globally online through online platforms. This shows the wide application of the technology.
The company can provide the end to end solution or a particular component of the lending infrastructure e.g. scoring and fraud mitigation services alone for an existing lender with fully developed back-end and front system, or CRM software for lenders.
Samuel Njuguna, the company’s co-founder, says the traction has been impressive, with interest in other developing markets outside Africa such as Latin America.
More information can be found at their website.
