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  If you own a business, you’ll know how important finance is to keep it alive. With it, you can stock up on inventory, make round trips, launch and sustain marketing campaigns, and take care of payroll.
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What happens when you don’t have enough cash to meet urgent obligations? You can get help from online lending platforms that offer quick loans to entrepreneurs like you. If they deem you creditworthy, they’ll give you a loan without demanding collateral. This article goes through seven of such online platforms that you can access starting today.

Carbon

Carbon provides a plethora of services to small businesses—online payments, fund transfers and overdrafts, and identity verification. But they’re better known for their loans, which are available to individuals and small businesses. This platform offers small business loans of up to ₦20 million within 48 hours of receiving the loan application. To qualify, businesses must have been operational for at least 6 months. A fixed 5% is charged on amounts disbursed to new users, and 4% on returning businesses.

Lidya

One of Nigeria’s biggest online lenders, Lidya also has a presence in Poland and Czech Republic. The company caters to small businesses in these countries, providing them with the funds they need to grow. Lidya grants loans for various purposes, including the purchase of inventory, equipment upgrades, and operating expenses. SMEs can access loans if they are registered on its platform, a process that takes just a few minutes. Loan amounts start from ₦150,000, with interest rates at about 3.5% per month.

Branch

This international lending platform has gained the trust of many Nigerians in the past few years. It currently has a 4.5-star rating on Google Play Store, with almost 400,000 reviews.
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While it’s not specifically an SME loan app, you can get loans here for various uses, including for your business. Amounts you can borrow range from ₦2,000 to ₦500,000, with tenor running from 1 to 12 months. Monthly interest rates start from 1.7%, and there are no late fees.

Kiakia

Kiakia operates a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model. Users of the Kiakia platform can either request a loan or fund one, with terms within the limits set by the platform. Intending borrowers can access the Kiakia loan service via its website. The Kiakia app is built for lenders only. Borrowers can receive between ₦50,000 and ₦2.5 million in loans, with the tenor spread between a month and 24 months. To date, Kiakia has lent out over ₦7.8 billion to users across Nigeria.

Renmoney

Renmoney operates with a model that’s somewhat different from the others discussed so far. It’s a microfinance bank, so it provides services you would expect of a typical bank—including savings and deposits. It does provide loans as well, which can be applied for on its website. You can borrow anywhere between ₦6,000 and ₦6 million from Renmoney, and receive it within 24 hours of applying (if your application is accepted). Interest is set at about 2.8% per month, and loan tenor ranges from 3 to 24 months.

Quick Credit

Quick Credit is a loan service run by GT Bank. It’s designed for both salary earners and self-employed people and can be accessed via USSD (with code *737*51*51#) or the bank’s internet banking and mobile app platforms. Loan amounts of between ₦500,000 and ₦5 million can be provided for by Quick Credit, with the interest rate fixed at 1.5% per month. Repayments may be made between 6 and 12 months.

Fast Credit

Established in 2014, Fast Credit is a Nigerian FinTech company that provides loans and investment opportunities to individuals and small businesses.  Other services include loans to workers in the public sector and high-interest accounts for children. Loans of up to ₦3 million are available from Fast Credit. Repayment tenor ranges from 3 months to 15 months.

Final Words

For decades, Nigerian businesses have battled with funding gaps. These days, they have options outside of the old formal sources (such as traditional banks), including the ones we’ve talked about here. They will come in handy for you if you’re looking for quick financing for your business. Featured Image Source: Brand News Day
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This article was first published on 22nd July 2021

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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