Yabx, a prominent player in the digital lending space, is taking a significant leap forward by introducing WhatsApp lending services in Africa through a strategic collaboration with Clickatell. This move is poised to democratize access to financial services, enabling customers to secure credit in real time.
In Africa, the demand for loans, particularly for small ticket sizes, is soaring. Yabx’s initiative aims to create a customer-centric interface on WhatsApp, eliminating barriers to obtaining a loan. Leveraging digital footprints, Yabx analyzes customer data, providing them with a credit score and a predefined loan limit.
The choice of WhatsApp for lending services aligns with the increasing prevalence of WhatsApp Banking in various markets and the growing use of WhatsApp across Africa. With an average usage penetration of 70%, WhatsApp has become integral to daily life for individuals, retailers, wholesalers, and consumers.
Yabx has a proven track record of making financial services accessible through diverse channels, including web, app, and USSD, ensuring inclusivity for mobile phone users. Its cloud-based infrastructure enables responsible service delivery at scale, without an upper limit on the number of people it can serve. The integration of WhatsApp lending aims to further expand access to financial services, promoting seamless yet responsible financial inclusion.
With significant experience in the African market, Yabx understands the pulse of the region. The success of their Embedded Solution products in multiple African markets in 2020, which provided real-time lines of credit based on customer wallet data, demonstrated a 16x growth within just 12 months. This initiative serves as a compelling case study for leveraging data science and technology to assess risk, scale banks to new customers, and promote a cashless economy through mobile wallets.
Yabx’s collaboration with Clickatell for its WhatsApp product is strategic, as Clickatell has developed one of the world’s most reliable and high-performing messaging platforms. With features to support high-volume services and campaigns, Clickatell ensures strict security and compliance requirements, allowing large consumer brands to deliver billions of messages globally.
Krishna Chaitanya, Chief Product Officer of Yabx, commented, “Conversational Banking is our key to further solidify this narrative in Africa, making it more personal and interactive. Our technology is rooted in the belief that everyone seeks honest ways to improve their lives, and our mission is to make that aspiration a reality.”
Werner Lindemann, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Clickatell, stated, “This collaboration between Yabx and Clickatell marks a significant moment in enhancing accessibility to financial services across Africa. By using the power of WhatsApp for lending, we’re not just breaking barriers but also fostering financial inclusion in a way that empowers individuals.”
Yabx’s expansion into WhatsApp lending underscores its commitment to revolutionizing the credit infrastructure in the African ecosystem, bringing about a sustainable positive impact on the lives of people throughout the continent.
