Airtel Money has announced that more than 80 percent of its customers can now access formal loans through Airtel Timiza, a micro loans service.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam, the Airtel Tanzania Managing Director Sunil Colaso said the service, which was launched in November 2014 is currently disbursing more than 10,000 loans per day across the country.
According to the Managing Director Mr. Sunil Colaso, 80 percent of Airtel Money customers today had never accessed a formal loan before; a strong indicator of how Tanzanians are being rapidly included through the digital financial ecosystem.
“A recent study found that working capital and other asset building strategies was the fastest growing use of the loans amongst 25 percent of the customer base. It is encouraging to see the positive way in which our customers use the financial tools available to them through Airtel Money,” said Colaso.
He said Airtel Money was committed to increasing access to next generation products which help people manage and grow their small businesses. “Micro-enterprises are the backbone of Tanzania’s economy and empowerment for this segment is important,” he said.
He said before Airtel Timiza, most Tanzanians only option to obtain credit was through informal agreements with friends and family, or through even riskier channels; an undesirable option with potentially high costs and no protection.
“Today, Airtel Timiza is providing access to credit through secure mobile wallets. Micro-business owners benefit because they don’t need a bank account or collateral to access the service.
He went on to say that currently, 50 percent of Tanzanians can now access formal financial services through their mobile phones, which is quite encouraging.
Grace, a linen supplier from Dar es Salaam said she could now met her customers’ demands as Airtel Timiza has enabled her to do more purchases of bed sheets and she repays the loan after selling.
“Previously I used to get problems in making huge orders due to cash flow issues but Airtel Timiza has helped me a lot as I can make more orders and pay later after selling. This has helped my business to grow and I am able to contribute towards building our home in Dar es Salaam,” she says.
Airtel Money works with JUMO, a predictive technology company, to ensure Airtel Timiza offers customers the most fitted financial products for their needs. JUMO assesses Airtel mobile wallet and phone usage to determine suitability for a loan, and identify the best products and terms for customers.
In addition to driving financial inclusion in Tanzania, Airtel Money has prioritized the development of a healthy and sustainable financial culture as more people are included by structuring terms and loan amounts to support customer needs, growing the Wakala network and optimizing the customer journey.
As of December 2016, there are 18 million registered mobile money accounts in Tanzania (TCRA Quarterly Communications Statistics Report, December 2016). In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 277 million registered mobile money accounts which are more than the total number of bank accounts in the region as reported by the GSMA.
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