Credit services firm, Mines has announced a $13 million Series A round that will help it acquire new talents, sustain growth in Africa and expand its offerings to other emerging markets.
Series A round is used to describe a company’s first significant round of venture capital financing. Mines’ financing is led by The Rise Fund with participation from Velocity Capital, Western Technology Investments, First Ally Capital, X/Seed Capital, NYCA Partners, Persistent Capital, Singularity Investments, Trans Saharan Investments, and the Bank of Industry (BoI).
Founded in 2014 by Kunle Olukotun and Ekechi Nwokah in Palo Alto, California, Mines has grown to become a credit-as-a-service digital platform that enables institutions in emerging markets to offer credit products to their customers who do not need a smartphone to access them. The company relies on data sets to serve loans to customers neglected by available credit systems thereby opening up entirely new revenue opportunities.
Some of its partners include 9Mobile, Airtel, Interswitch and NIBSS.
With over three billion adults lacking access to credit worldwide, Mines has set an ambitious target to reach every one of them in the next ten years, according to Ekechi Nwokah, CEO of the company. Part of its strategies is to collaborate with banks, retailers and mobile operators, “and power digital credit products tailored to their markets so they can create the customers of tomorrow, today.”
Mines said it can instantly access credit risk using high volume data like phone records, bank records, and payment transactions in real-time. The risk models are then integrated with identity, origination, payments, loan lifecycle management, and customer service to form a holistic platform. This produces a seamless user experience where partners’ customers can apply for and receive a loan in less than 60 seconds or make instant purchases with virtual or physical credit cards.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2017, Mines’ services have been accessed by 1 million customers putting it in the league of top consumer credit providers in the country. However, in the coming months, the company will need to bring in more customers to truly be the leader in the Nigerian market over competitors like Branch International and Paylater, both of which services over one million customers each.
“What we have done differently is take Silicon Valley technology and built it into a product that is robust enough for emerging markets like Nigeria, Brazil, or Indonesia,” Kunle Olukotun, chief scientist for Mines said. “We can extend credit to all types of customers, including customers without smartphones or even bank accounts as these are the type of people who need credit the most.”
Yemi Lalude from TPG Growth creators of The Rise Fund makes the point that what sets Mines apart from competition is the integration of artificial intelligence and extensive use of data with a strong focus on local partnerships to build financial inclusion.
“We are excited to partner with them to drive financial access across the world,” Lalude said.
Adia Sowho, who joined Mines as Vice President Commercial said the company’s success depends more on deep understanding of two things – distribution and partnerships.
“In Nigeria, Mines has demonstrated that its platform it is flexible enough to enable partners and consumers reach across the income pyramid, activate a wide swath of distribution channels, from rudimentary USSD to more advanced web-based ones,” Sowho said. “We look forward to building more partnerships in Nigeria and beyond.”
