Accessing funds for business still a major problem for Nigerian businesses. Though, there are investors looking to put their money in a startup, finding them is a big issue. Getting loans from financial institutions is even more stressful.
Chiwete John-Njokanma, founder of FINT want to make it easier for both business owners and investors
Through his platform, FINT, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, he aims to provides business owners with access to affordable credit, and enable investors find businesses in need of loans.
FINT connects borrowers to investors who are looking to make attractive returns from investing in such loans.
To use the platform, users indicate whether they are in need of finance or want to invest. Those who are looking to access funds, are screened through a national credit agency, xds Credit Bureau, and an in-house proprietary risk algorithm that determine the borrower’s credit-worthiness and interest rate (believed to be in the range of 24% -37%) respectively.
Once accepted, the borrower’s loan request is uploaded on the online platform to reach full funding in a given time period, whereby one or more investors (individual or institutions) invest, based on their portfolio demands and investment criteria.
Investors earn returns from monthly loan repayments (principal + interest) made by the borrower over the span of the specified loan period.
For a startup with this kind of model, one thing that might come as a drawback is being able to convince investors to actually come in and loan out their money to unknown people.
But with security and screening measure that can assure investors that they are in safe hands, then FINT has a great chance of winning hearts. Also, given the pressing challenge of funds faced by business people, FINT sounds like a great solution, and we can’t wait to see how it scales.
