SeedFi, a fintech company, has moved to expand access to capital for micro, small and medium enterprises in the country to scale their businesses.
Pelumi Alli, founder and CEO of SeedFi noted that the resolve to expand credit access for businesses came about owing to the large percentage of Nigerians who are unable to easily access credits.
He stated that aside from expanding financial access to under-served groups, SeedFi will also mitigate the challenges by providing financial education and trust-building activities with consumers, sharing information on how to build a good credit profile; how to manage personal finance; and providing flexible repayment structures.
He stated that SeedFi provides access to seed funds to borrowers, ‘’by leveraging data from various data sources to assess creditworthiness and offer loans to individuals and businesses with limited or no formal credit history’’.
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Alli, who is passionate about using data-led services to create user-centric lending solutions that will make a difference in people’s lives, stated that SeedFi was created out of a need to reduce the risks around lending from the standpoint of data.
‘’At SeedFi, our vision is a world where the dreams of young Africans are supported through access to credit and financing. We are improving the credit experience for borrowers and managing risk for lenders by gathering and learning from different data touchpoints,” he said.
“We are bridging the financing gap by providing flexible, convenient, and affordable digital lending solutions that are tailored to meet the needs of our customers, wherever they are,’’ he affirmed.
Samaila Dogara, SeedFi co-founder and chief commercial officer, said its pull factor from others in the market is that it reduces principal balance interest calculation.
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According to him, each time a customer makes a repayment, it applies a portion of the amount to reduce the principal outstanding, and this ensures that the customer pays less in interest charges on each repayment, it can also reschedule the customer’s loan repayment date for ease and convenience.
‘’We have what we call cluster, which is a group lending feature that allows customers to take loans in groups to meet specific financial needs. For example, a group of friends can form a cluster which allows them access to a group loan start a business, or go on holiday.”
“With this feature, the group members are accountable to one another for repayment of their loans so that each member maintains a good credit score.’’
Read also: How tech is driving financial inclusion for MSMEs
He stated that SeedFi does not charge any hidden fee, and all fees are explicitly stated before they are charged.
“One of our core values is integrity and transparency which means that we present our terms and conditions in clear terms that are easy to understand.”
“We do not access customer information without their consent; and upon loan approval, we provide an offer letter with an apparent breakdown of the loan terms and repayment schedule which customers are encouraged to read and accept before the loan is disbursed.’
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