Yabx and Clickatell Collaborate to Launch WhatsApp Lending in Africa

LONDON, December 14, 2023 – Yabx, a prominent player in the digital lending space, is making a significant stride forward by launching WhatsApp lending services in Africa, through a collaboration with Clickatell. The move promises to democratize access to financial services and enable customers to get credit in real time. 

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 analyze the data of each customer, providing them with a credit score and a loan limit.

Yabx chose WhatsApp for its lending service amid a landscape where WhatsApp Banking has been steadily increasing in other markets and an increase in WhatsApp use in Africa overall. African WhatsApp usage penetration varies by country but averages at 70%. The widespread adoption of WhatsApp extends beyond individual users to include retailers, wholesalers, and consumers, positioning the platform as an integral part of everyday life.

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. The integration of WhatsApp lending is set to expand the avenues for individuals to access financial services, promoting frictionless yet responsible financial inclusion.

Yabx has significant experience in Africa and understands the pulse of the market. The performance of their portfolios stands as a testimony to their confidence. In 2020, they rolled out very successful Embedded Solution products in multiple African markets which witnessed widespread adoption. The product was essentially a real time line of credit, which used the customer’s wallet data to provide her/him with a credit score and limit. This initiative itself saw a 16x growth only within 12 months. This product itself stood to be a very interesting case study of Africa as it leveraged data science and tech to effectively assess risk, scale banks to newer customers and promote a cashless economy through mobile wallets.

Yabx chose to collaborate with Clickatell for its WhatsApp product because it has built one of the world’s most reliable and high-performing messaging platforms with the necessary features to run high-volume services and campaigns. While adhering to strict security and compliance requirements, it enables large consumer brands to deliver billions of messages to customers all over the planet.

Krishna Chaitanya, Chief Product Officer of Yabx commented, “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 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 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."

The expansion into WhatsApp lending underlines Yabx’s commitment to revolutionizing the credit infrastructure of the African ecosystem, thereby bringing a sustainable positive impact on the lives of people throughout Africa.