Nigerian startup CreditChek has announced a significant investment from the Baobab Network. The innovative platform is tackling a long-standing challenge faced by African immigrants: access to financial services in their new countries of residence. In 2022, the startup raised $240,000 in pre-seed funding led by Atom Capital
Founded by Kingsley Ibe and Lionel Orishane in 2022, CreditChek is building the cross-border credit infrastructure that enables banks and lenders to assess creditworthiness in less than five minutes, a transformative solution for millions of African emigrants who struggle with financial exclusion due to untransferable credit histories.
Empowering African Immigrants
For African immigrants, financial exclusion is a major hurdle. A staggering 70% of Africa’s 40 million annual emigrants are locked out of essential financial services because their credit histories do not travel with them. This means no access to loans, mortgages, or even basic credit lines.
CreditChek solves this problem by offering a platform that connects major African credit bureaus, leverages open banking for income assessments, and integrates government databases for secure identity verification. The result? A comprehensive system that empowers immigrants to access financial services globally.
According to Kingsley Ibe, CEO of CreditChek, “We aim to ensure that African immigrants are no longer overlooked by global financial systems. With our platform, financial institutions can onboard and serve these customers faster and more affordably than ever before.”
Why Baobab Network Invested
The Baobab Network, known for supporting high-impact African startups, identified CreditChek as a game-changer in fintech. The investment firm cited the startup’s innovative technology and the strength of its leadership team as key factors in their decision.
Ibe’s background in fintech, including building and scaling MicroMoni, and CTO Lionel Orishane’s decade-long expertise in systems architecture and cybersecurity, bring a unique combination of vision and technical capability.
The duo has built a system that reduces credit integration times from nine months to just 72 hours, dramatically improving the speed and efficiency with which financial institutions can serve immigrant populations.
Baobab Network drew comparisons to Nova Credit, a U.S.-based company that solved cross-border credit issues for immigrants, and expressed confidence that CreditChek is poised to do the same for Africa’s emigrants.
What This Means for African Emigrants
The implications of this innovation are vast. CreditChek’s platform ensures that African immigrants no longer face financial exclusion simply because they’ve moved across borders. Instead, they can access loans, mortgages, and other financial tools critical to building stable lives in new countries.
With Africa’s emigrant population projected to reach 147 million by 2050, the demand for such solutions will only grow. CreditChek’s ability to bridge the gap between African credit histories and global financial systems positions it as a leader in this space.
Looking Ahead
For CreditChek, this investment marks the beginning of a significant growth phase. The company plans to scale its operations and enhance its technology to serve even more customers. For African immigrants, this means an end to the frustration of financial exclusion and a new era of access to opportunities that were previously out of reach.
As the fintech world watches CreditChek’s progress, this startup is set to redefine cross-border financial inclusion for Africa and beyond. With the backing of Baobab Network, the future looks bright for this innovative company and the millions it aims to serve.
