Her Social Lender was shortlisted alongside other two
runners up - BlueAvo by Indira Tsengiwe
from South Africa – a digital platform on which African creatives can
collaborate and sell services as an agency-alternative that is rich in
diversity, and places African creatives at the world’s fingertips, also Make3D
Medical by Juka Fatou Darboe from The Gambia - uses 3D printing to create
customised orthopaedic equipment for medical institutions and their patients. The
three runners up received £10,000 each.
More than 50% of Africans lack access to formal financial services, most of these are farmers, traders, artisans, young professionals, small business owners, and students.
Social Lender partners with service providers like banks, microfinance institutions, micro-insurance companies and agricultural input companies to offer access to financial services based on Social Reputation Scores.
In 10 minutes, its proprietary algorithm can perform a social audit of users based on their mobile, social media and other online activity, and assign them a Social Reputation Score on a scale of 1 - 100.
This digital fingerprint allows them to access credit, microinsurance organisations, farm inputs and other services. Members of a Social Lender user’s social network can also act as social guarantors or referees for users’ activities, which gives people who may not have qualified for credit through traditional institutions immediate access to potentially life-changing funds.
The average amount borrowed is approximately 15,000 Nigerian Naira; for those with a Social Reputation Score above 30, Social Lender has a default rate of less than 7%.
Users can access Social Lender’s platform through the internet, SMS, USSD, apps, APIs, or partner bank ATMs. Social Lender ambassadors visit communities that do not have smartphones and help them access the platform via USSD and SMS services, giving unbanked people access to credit, savings and other financing that they may never have had otherwise.
Since being shortlisted for the Africa Prize, the team has attracted promising new investors by instituting a dynamic new communication strategy. It has also upgraded the business’s corporate structure and employed 500 new Social Lender ambassadors, despite the global pandemic’s financial impact.
“Formal banking institutions demand collateral that people don’t have, in exchange for accessing financial services. We provide people with an alternative credit score to leverage on, so that they can grow their personal or business’ finances.” according to Faith.
“The Royal Academy of Engineering has provided invaluable support to Social Lender, the past eight months of specialised training truly illustrates their commitment to developing African innovators. Winning the Prize would be great for the business, not just financially, but as a validation of Social Lender’s purpose.” She concluded.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the
UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated
to engineering innovation, and has a proven track record of identifying
successful engineering entrepreneurs. Now in its seventh year, it supports
talented sub-Saharan African entrepreneurs with engineering innovations that
address crucial problems in their communities in a new and appropriate way.
The Prize has a track record of identifying engineering entrepreneurs
with significant potential, many of whom have gone on to achieve greater commercial
success and social impact.
Each year, up to 16 shortlisted African innovators receive a
unique package of support over seven months to help them accelerate their
businesses.
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