Kwaba, The Low Income Rent Payment Platform

Housing is one of the major challenges in Nigerian cities. Many houses in the cities are in poor condition, lacks potable water, toilet, and decent environmental conditions. Accommodations in cities are often inadequate and expensive with most of them not properly built and ventilated. Almost half of Nigeria’s population live in cities, with 80 percent living in overcrowded slum areas with poor living conditions coupled with poor infrastructural amenities. One of the major reasons people dwelling in the city choose to live in Slums is because of finance and the absence of favourable mortgage rates.

Kwaba is a rent payment platform that helps low-middle income-earning Nigerians pay their house rent in convenient instalments. It is not a traditional loan company that gives out loans for business or medical bills rather it helps interested Nigerians pay their rent directly to the landlord in bulk while the person repays the loan amount monthly as selected by the individual at the point of signing up.

It was co-founded by Obinna Molokwu and Jadesola Opawumi in 2019 and launched fully in 2020 as a platform targeted at changing the approach to rent payment by harnessing the power of financial technology and the Internet to solve the bulk rent system of payment in Nigeria. It not only makes rent payment less stressful, but also offers further services such as apartment search, quick funds at affordable rates, and further credit facilities for the purchase of properties.

With kwaba, there is no sense in paying rent yearly when salaries are paid monthly so utilizing the platform is like saying ‘goodbye’ to paying landlords one to two years’ rent in advance and ‘hello’ to the new school where you can spread your rent payment over six to 12 months. During the startup’s business validation phase, they had over 1,500 renters requesting rental financing of up to N300 million in four weeks. This led to the development of their new user-friendly app.

In  2019,  renters used the services of Kwaba through its app to help pay their rents so that they could pay back in monthly convenient instalments. Kwaba has moved into a crucial area in Nigerians’ lives, with data showing that the country’s housing gap is over 17 million annually. With an increasingly urban population of 4.6 percent growth rate per annum and the economic recession, renting has become more expensive and inaccessible for many Nigerians. This is the niche market, Kwaba operates in to bridge the gap between property and finance as well as redefine impact with their other product offering.

Kwaba, took part in the LABS by ARM accelerator, raising US$20,000 in funding and additional growth support in the early part of2020. The startup also raised funding from Ingressive Capital, a US$10 million VC fund targeting early-stage startups across Sub-Saharan Africa. Kwaba planned to use the investment to expand its reach and give more people access to its solution, especially during the post-COVID-19 days.

Savings: Kwaba makes saving for rent or mortgage down payment to be simple. There’s an option to save with friends, family, or as an individual.

Rent now, pay later: Kwaba pays rent for their customers so they pay back in easy monthly instalments with interest. It can also be used to request for rent top-up from family and friends.

Emergency funds: Kwaba’s customers can access instant loans of up to 40% to the value of their rent savings. Just be a good saver to unleash the power of Kwaba.

Mortgages: Kwaba powered mortgages can make their customers a homeowner sooner rather than later

To get a rent payment loan from Kwaba, first, you have to sign up on their website by providing details such as; Full name, phone number, email, and the desired password. After your sign up, you will proceed to tell the company details about your accommodation status, and the options here include:

• Looking to renew my rent.
• Want to pay for a new place.
• I’m still searching.

After selecting any of the above options, you will state the price of your rent followed by how much you have at hand then the amount you wish to get from Kwaba, the amount you earn monthly, and finally your repayment plan. After this process, the company will then calculate the amount you requested from them and distribute it into the number of months you selected in your repayment plan. If the amount is okay by you, you are then to proceed to provide your employer’s details(company name and address) followed by your BVN(bank verification number) and finally your date of birth(this should be the same with your BVN).

After successful application submission, the company will run some background checks to make sure you are creditworthy and also to verify the information you provided. If cleared, the company will make the payment of the sum you requested to the landlord while you pay back the stipulated amount shown in the repayment calculation.  

Their loan can take a few days to a month before it is approved depending on the amount and how soon the company can verify the information you submitted. Currently, the Kwaba rent service is only available in Lagos and Abuja. Hence, only those within the city who are employed and whose salary or income is up to NGN 50,000 monthly are eligible to use or apply for this service. The company’s app is available on the play store or iOS store if you prefer the app option.

The notion behind Kwaba can quickly dominate Nigeria with its service as the country is going through hard times and most people can hardly afford the increasing cost of rent renewals. Its adoption will be a lot faster if they can reduce their interest rate and ensure proper verification is done to avoid being scammed.