Branch clinches Artificial Intelligence Award at African Fintech summit

Branch, a start-up firm focusing on credit lending in Nigeria, has bagged Artificial Intelligence (AI) excellence award at the African Fintech Summit in Lagos. The summit is a global initiative founded on the idea that fintech can unleash unprecedented economic firepower in Africa.
The company, alongside other local and international start-ups and companies operating in the financial technology space, was present at the summit. In what was a well-deserved recognition, Branch was awarded with the excellence award for best use of AI in financial innovation.

Maria Rotilu, general manager of Branch Nigeria, in a statement expressed gratitude for the recognition and reaffirmed the Branch’s commitment to its users.
“We are committed to continuously offer world-class financial services to our esteemed users, through continuous advancement of our technology to allow every Nigerian access to best in class financial services via their mobile phone,” Rotilu said.
AI sits at the core of Branch’s operational processes in its goal to deliver world-class financial services to its customers. AI allows Branch to leverage smartphone data to make lending decisions and eliminate the need for a collateral, paperwork, or guarantors.

It also allows Branch to serve customers who are traditionally unable to receive loans from traditional financial institutions. As a result, millions of underserved customers in Nigeria now have an opportunity to access quick loans in minutes and build credit regardless of their banking history.
Rotilu said since the global company launched operations in Kenya three years ago, Branch had been focused on a mission to deliver world-class financial services to the mobile generation. This, she said, is evident in the widespread use of the Branch mobile app by millions of users across Africa and Latin America.

“Branch has leveraged the rapidly growing penetration of smartphones and the emergence of machine learning to build a secure, convenient and customer-first financial product for people. At the moment, Branch has disbursed over $250 million in loans to over 2 million customers across its operational markets through the app,” she said.
In Nigeria, she said Branch provides small loans ranging from N1,500 to N150,000 to users. “ Branch is positioned to eliminate the need for paperwork while requesting for loans, as all processes–from application to disbursement–are done in-app. The only requirement to access a Branch loan is an Android smartphone. Branch also gives customers the freedom to spend the money whenever and however they want.
“Branch does not require any form of collateral, and it takes just a few minutes to go from install to loan application. Plus, as you successfully repay each loan, you unlock access to larger and larger loan amounts,” she said.