Farmers and generally people living in rural areas have over the years been the most unserved when it comes to access to financial services.
This is particularly because they usually don’t have financial records, credit history and business data to back their requests for finances.
However, technology is changing this as it is allowing thousands to be able to create reliable financial and business records that can be depended on when assessing credit worthiness. Among the platforms making this possible is aXiom Zorn.
“We are a data forensic enterprise. We started this out of the love to help unserved and underserved people be able to access finance and other services. Many banks used to turn away farmers and people from rural areas because they didn’t have data about them; their work, productivity and incomes. So, aXiom came to close this data gap. We use data to produce services that can help the farmers and generally rural people,” Carol Kyazze Kakooza, the Executive Director of aXiom Zorn said.
She noted that for eight years now, aXiom Zorn has been ensuring that farmers and rural people have visible and authentic data that enables them to get different services such as access to finance, insurance, micro-health, and markets.
“We support a wide range of institutional clients, including banks, insurance companies, and agricultural stakeholders. Our company’s database, which includes detailed profiles of over 600,000 households with 326 data points each, forms the backbone of their innovative solutions. Among the banks we have partnered with is one of the biggest banks that works for the people – Centenary Bank. We merged our credit score matrix with Centenary Bank and with this, hundreds of customers have been served,” she explained, adding:
“After we have rated the customers, we submit the credit scores and Centenary Bank usually extends credit to anybody with a credit score of 50 per cent and above. Those below 50 per cent can also access financial services from other lenders. We also provide a credit limit to the bank so that people are not given money that they have never received and unable to manage.”
She noted that through the data they collect, they are able to derive several other services including the progress out of poverty credit score, access to finance, access to markets, digital soil map, fertilizer optimization, and insurance.
aXiom Zorn has featured on Day 31 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.
Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services.
It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.
With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space.
We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies.
Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
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