KAMPALA —The era of moving around from one lender to another shopping for the best loan deal could have come to an end, thanks to a solution by Enabling Finance Limited that links borrowers to professional money lenders.
Dubbed Finablr, the product by the credit finance company seeks to create a platform to serve people who were previously underserved by the traditional finance sector, conveniently, affordably and safely, according to the founder and Chief Executive Officer Luke Yyeyo.
“We know that majority of Ugandans are unable to qualify for the tier I – commercial bank loans maybe because the security is inadequate but mostly because they don’t have the other requirements like audited cash flow records. But with Finablr, because we are operating in the tier IV sector, they are able to access credit as long as the collateral one has been qualified against is worth it,” Yyeyo says.
Additionally, Yyeyo says, the firm also imparts basic financial management skills to its clients such as cash flow management, budgeting and financial reconciliation, among others, to help them do business better.
To access the loan, one only needs to download the Finablr App, set up an account and submit a loan request, which is then relayed to all the lenders registered on the system.
One only goes to Enabling Finance offices after receiving an offer that suits them, with terms acceptable to them.
A borrower can access loans ranging from Shs 100,000 to Shs 20 million, while repeat clients can access up to Shs 50 million. The borrower is also assured to get their money as soon as the loan is approved.
“We give out money that day. Even in the event that the lender is wiring cash using a system that requires two or three working days, our agreement with our lenders is that Enabling Finance releases the money to the borrower as long as a critical stage in the lending process has been passed, and we wait for reimbursement from the lender,” Yyeyo says.
Unlike the traditional finance service system that requires experience, he says that with Finablr, even one without any lending experience can sign up unto the system and start lending as the Enabling Finance team manages the entire process on their behalf.
“We manage the entire process from pre-qualification of borrowers, linking lenders to the borrowers and the repayments systems all the way to the recovery system. So even if you don’t have any experience, or have as little as Shs 100,000; we have products that can enable you start off as a lender,” Yyeyo notes.
40-Days 40 FinTechs initiative
Enabling Finance Limited is among the firms participating in the ongoing 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative organized by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation, and sponsored by the Gates Foundation.
The initiative to enable FinTechs innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.
Yyeyo expressed gratitude to HiPipo for organising the project, saying it has marketed their innovations and given them an opportunity to reach out to people who are interested in their solutions.
The HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya notes that this edition of 40-Days 40 FinTechs will be Uganda’s most comprehensive foray into things like distributed ledger technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Automated Customer Relationship Management, cash management and lending platforms.
He adds that FinTech in Africa offers attractive opportunities and that investors are rightfully picking interest in the various startups that are offering a plethora of services, ranging from payments and lending, remittances, cross-border transfers and neobanks, among others.