Yabx & Clickatell join forces to launch WhatsApp lending in Africa

By Delisha Fernandes

Yabx, a FinTech company, has launched WhatsApp lending services in Africa through a collaboration with Clickatell. The move aims to democratise access to financial services and enable customers to get credit in real-time.

Yabx chose WhatsApp for its lending service amid a landscape where WhatsApp Banking has steadily increased in other markets and has increased WhatsApp use in Africa overall. African WhatsApp usage penetration varies by country but averages at 70%.

In Africa, the growing demand for loans is extremely high, especially for small ticket sizes. Yabx’s move aims to provide a customer-centric interface on WhatsApp removing the barriers to securing a loan. Yabx leverages digital footprints to analyse the data of each customer, providing them with a credit score and a loan limit.

Krishna Chaitanya, Chief Product Officer of Yabx, said, “We’ve been reimagining innovative methods to democratize credit in emerging markets thereby, transforming the way underserved individuals and businesses perceive finance today. Conversational Banking is our key to further solidifying 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.”

Yabx collaborated with Clickatell for its WhatsApp product because it has built one of the most reliable and high-performing messaging platforms with the necessary features to run high-volume services and campaigns.

Yabx has a strong track record of making financial services accessible through various channels, including web, app, and USSD, making it inclusive for mobile phone users. This helps banks to responsibly serve a huge customer base, at scale, due to its cloud-based infrastructure- meaning it has no upper cap on the number of people it can serve.

Werner Lindemann, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Clickatell said, “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. This move aligns with our collective vision of having a sustainable impact and improving the landscape of financial services in Africa.”