Lidya’s aggregation tool and mission to unlock credit for Africans: A fintech success story

Lidya, a digital fintech lender that provided one-click same-day credit to business owners in fast-growing economies, has shifted its focus to becoming a lender. Tunde Kehinde, CEO of Lidya, explained in an interview that the company’s new focus is to provide financial institutions with the technological infrastructure to acquire customers and originate, manage and collect loans. The Collect tool, a key feature of the Lidya platform, enabled the company to achieve a 99% repayment rate. Kehinde believes that unlocking credit for Africans is essential for financial inclusion and economic growth, and the company’s mission is to unlock credit for Africans. Having registered over 220,000 businesses, disbursed ~32,500 loans and approaching USD 100 million in disbursement value across Nigeria, Lidya has the ability to provide financial partners with access to more than 2 million leads. Lidya has some blue-chip clients, including Accion, with whom they have partnered for credit activation. By using Lidya’s credit infrastructure, all lenders will be able to distribute a wide range of loans faster, with a higher repayment rate and excellent after-sales service.

Lidya, a digital fintech lender that provided one-click same-day credit to business owners in fast-growing economies, is transforming into a credit enabler. According to Kehinde, the company’s new focus is to provide financial institutions with the technological infrastructure to create, manage and collect loans. In a conversation with Business Insider Africa, Tunde explained that access to fair and fast financing is essential for financial inclusion and economic growth in Africa. “Lidya started as a digital lender and has disbursed over $100 million in credit on over 32,500 loans to customers, with a default rate of 1%. However, we realized that the demand for credit (over $300 billion credit gap in Nigeria alone) could not be satisfied with one lender, no matter how aggressive they were in extending credit to customers. With this in mind, Lidya began to open up its credit infrastructure to allow any business wishing to extend credit to: a) acquire customers, b) originate loans, and c) collect digital credit with the secure, flexible infrastructure they can deploy today.”

Lidya has achieved significant growth with over 220,000 registered businesses, disbursed ~32,500 loans and is approaching USD 100 million in disbursement value across Nigeria. According to Kehinde, three main factors have contributed to their growth; the market, their technology and their team. “Lidya focuses on adopting technology that provides clients with immediate working capital to continue growing their business without sacrificing credit quality. Lidya’s team has the capacity to adapt to new challenges with a customer-first approach, and the market’s needs for SMEs in Nigeria to access easy, fast and reliable financing has driven high demand,” Kehinde said.

Lidya’s transition to a credit provider is a natural development of their mission. By partnering with financial institutions, Lidya aims to unlock excellence in digital lending, enabling banks, fintechs and microfinance institutions to scale up their lending with lower risk. Lidya’s credit infrastructure allows lenders to access more customers, distribute a range of loans faster, with a higher repayment rate and excellent after-sales service. The company’s Collect tool, a key feature of the platform, has helped it achieve a 99% repayment rate, solving the problem of non-performing loans. According to Tunde, Lidya’s decision to offer its technology and expertise to financial institutions is expected to help unlock credit for Africans and facilitate economic growth. The move is also expected to improve the user experience for customers, as Lidya’s platform enables businesses to access funds faster, reducing the time spent waiting for loan approval. Ultimately, Lidya aims to support Africa’s economic growth by providing innovative and reliable credit infrastructure to businesses and financial institutions.