Many individuals and SMEs in Nigeria still have a hard time when it comes to accessing loans in Nigeria. This is due to a lack of credit information coupled with a high percentage of unbanked and underbanked individuals among the Nigerian population and the excessively complicated loan system typical of Nigeria banks.
While several credit platforms have sprung up over the years to mitigate this problem, there is still much to be done given the growing number of startups in need of loans.
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To further solve this problem, Kia Kia, an AI and machine learning service was launched with credit scoring and risk assessment features in order to vet and grant consumers and SMEs loans.
Kia Kia operates solely online in order to save customers the trouble of waiting a long time to access loans. The process of applying for loans is completed in less than three hours for first-time users. Repeat or returning users, on the other can carry out the process in less than 15 minutes.
As of 2017, Kia Kia had amassed over 5,000 registered borrowers on its platform with no marketing spend and had recorded hundreds of disbursed loans on its platform.
“The level of interest in our peer-to-peer loans has been incredibly impressive, with new individual lenders signing up each day,” Olajide Abiola, Kia Kia co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kia Kia, told Disrupt Africa.
“A number of the DMBs and SME associations have approached us for partnerships, which we are reviewing and having ongoing discussions about,” he said.
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Although Aella credit and Paylater emerged to offer the same services, KiaKia takes a different approach by focusing on the unbanked population in Nigeria. Kia Kia also launched a virtual assistant called “Mr. K” to assist customers in accessing credits. This innovative technology gives Kia Kia a competitive edge in the industry.
With the high population of unbanked individuals in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, Kia Kia has the potential to take financial inclusiveness to a whole new level if it plays its cards right.
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