Three African financial startups launch on Mambu

Mambu

Mambu, the cloud banking technology provider, has expanded its customer footprint in Africa, confirming three new customers in Angola, Kenya and Nigeria. All three are new financial organisations extending access to financial services in underserved markets, and have chosen Mambu as their core-banking platform to launch their businesses.
Mambu enables any financial institution to deliver state-of-the-art banking through its software-as-a-service cloud solution. Agile, flexible and open, Mambu eliminates the complexities typically associated with core banking software, at a fraction of the cost.Mambu makes it simple and cost-effective to provide essential banking services such asloans and deposits.
In Nigeria, One Credit was established to provide better access to consumer credit for individuals who previously had limited access to finance, offering simple cash loans to individuals as well as partnering with retailers to provide point-of-sale financing for consumer goods and household appliances.
"Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world, yet it remains largely 'un-banked' with nearly 80% of the adult population having no access to basic banking services," said Chijioke Dozie, chief executive of One Credit.
"One Credit's mission is to provide short-term and affordable consumer credit to these individuals and Mambu is helping us to do that, quickly and cost-effectively, by providing a scalable platform that allows us the flexibility we need to service this significant and growing client base."
Mambu's second new customer is also the company's first in Kenya. A brand new financial services provider, Premier Kenya Ltd currently offers individual loans and group lending, and plans to progress to small business lending. Premier Kenya went live on the Mambu platform in January 2014 and is already servicing more than 1,800 customers. It is also planning to open operations in Uganda by mid 2014.
Tim Carson, chief executive of Premier Kenya Ltd said, "As a new financial services business, we needed technology that would be quick to deploy, easy to implement and scale with us as our business grows. Mambu provided the perfect solution and we were able to get up and running in less than two weeks, which has been a key factor in helping grow our business rapidly since launch."
In Angola, Mao Solidaria Microfinanca is a new microfinance organisation that was established to serve individuals, groups and small to medium enterprises with loans. Mao Solidaria Microfinanca is Mambu's first customer in Angola. The company secured its microfinance banking licence in April 2014 and will launch on the Mambu platform in May 2014. Its focus is on serving women in remote rural areas, many of whom are currently excluded both financially and socially.
Eugene Danilkis, co-founder and chief executive of Mambu added: "The challenge of servicing the underbanked is particularly acute across Africa, where physical distance makes the 'bricks and mortar' approach of traditional banking just too expensive. New financial innovators, such as One Credit, Premier Kenya and Mao Solidaria Microfinanca, are turning to cloud technology to deliver previously unavailable financial services, and are seeing rapid growth as a result. Together with our clients, Mambu has helped
extend access to basic financial services to more than half a million individuals and businesses in more than 30 countries worldwide."