Nigerian fintech startup StartCredits has over 10,000 monthly users saving money on loan products as it attempts to ease access to finance.
Founded in 2016 and formally launched last year, StartCredits provides a free loan search that helps users identify the best loans and interest rates available in their chosen category.
The platform calculates the expected returns and provides the interest rates of investments, and builds proprietary credit risk models utilising big data analytics for financial institutions. This algorithmic credit-scoring engine emulates the human intelligence of experienced underwriters for short-term uncollateralised personal loans.
“Our loan search engine provides a new channel for Nigerians to borrow money with full transparency that increases competition in the market to reduce interest rates for qualified borrowers,” founder Rahmon Ojukotola told Disrupt Africa.
“Whilst our credit risk models help banks, mortgage and microfinance institutions to better assess risk, and hopefully disperse more loans to qualified individuals.”
Nigerians have embraced the product with since its launch, and StartCredits now has over 10,000 monthly users. Ojukotola said it has helped thousands of Nigerians save millions of naira in interest.
“We spotted a huge gap in the market for an independent loan search engine for Nigerians. We also identified an opportunity to improve the credit analysis field amongst microfinance organisations with our credit risk models,” he said.
The startup, which offers loan products from most major Nigerian banking institutions, raised a multi-million naira funding round last year to allow it to grow, and is currently in talks with VCs in Africa and Europe for its next round of funding.
“Our other landmarks include building partnerships with numerous higher learning institutions in Nigeria to enable the training and development of the future generation of data scientists,” Ojukotola said.
“We intend to expand into other West African countries in the near future to further promote transparency in lending.”
