Kwaba, rental financing, and property listing company that assists low-middle income Nigerians to access properties and financial services has announced the unveiling of its digital platform.
The start-up is targeted at changing the approach to rent payment by harnessing the power of financial technology and the internet to solve the bulk rent system of payment in Nigeria.
With the most population in Africa, Nigeria has more than 20 million housing deficit. The high cost of acquiring properties in the country where millions live on less than $2 a day has left over 130 million people as tenants.
“During our business validation phase, in four weeks, we had over 1500 renters requesting rental financing of up to N300 million. This led to the development of our new user-friendly mobile app which will be released on the 6th of November 2019 on the google play store for android and the app store for iOS,” Obinna Molokwu, chief executive officer of Kwaba.ng said.
According to the Lagos-based company, Kwaba app has two available financial services platform. One of which is the Rent Now – Pay Later feature which avails users easy access to credit facilities towards paying their rent.
“Renters employ the services of Kwaba through the Kwaba app to help pay their rent, so they can pay back in monthly convenient instalments,” the company confirmed in mail response to BusinessDay.
With an increasingly urban population at about 4.6 percent growth rate per annum and the fragile economic growth which has eroded the purchasing power of many Nigerians, renting has become more unaffordable.
“The other financial service available on the Kwaba app is an interesting target saving feature that offers users the opportunity to save a certain amount daily, weekly or monthly,” Molokwu said.
The Save for Rent feature is a proactive measure designed to create a feel of monthly rent payment as well as reward users for saving towards their rent monthly, with an impressive 10 percent interest per annum on the total amount saved at the end of their desired savings tenor, the company said.
According to Molokwu, Kwaba is looking to efficiently bridge property and finance seamlessly and redefine its impact with its product offering.
The rental financing services by Kwaba is at the moment available to only salary earners. However, the company has said it is optimistic that business owners and others in the informal sector will soon be able to access the service.
For a 6 percent interest rate, the rent repayment is spread between 6-12 months. “We are actively working to push the interest rate down to about 1percent but our current rate is due to the cost of funds. As soon as we get cheaper funds, the rate will become much lesser than what we have now,” the company said.
Other features on the Kwaba App include: Property search- through this feature, property hunters can gain access to various properties for rent, sale, including student accommodation across Nigeria.
Users are also able to rent, lease or buy properties of their choice from thousands of listed properties on the app with options to pay in full online.
Video viewing is another function of the app, according to the company, the Kwaba app comes with a live-video viewing feature which is a passable alternative to physical viewing or property inspection with agents, especially for busy, working-class individuals who are at work all day.
In his comment, Molokwu said the video viewing feature is also perfect for people abroad who want to rent, lease or acquire properties in Nigeria.
On how the Kwaba.ng works, Molokwu explained that the app and site have been designed for easy accessibility on mobile devices or laptops. In his words: Download App, sign up on the app, select service- find property/rent now pay later/ save for rent, get sorted, and the app is completely free to use.
“With an emphasis on seamless user experience, aesthetics, and convenience, the new Kwaba Mobile App promises ‘best-in-class’ in mobile property search and rental financing services. If a tenant is unable to pay his/her rent in the current apartments they are living, we can come in and pay the rent on their behalf,” Molokwu assured.
