Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO) and Kifiya Financial Technologies today launched Michu, its first collateral free digital lending platform in Ethiopia that provide loan without collateral.
The artificial intelligence based Michu platform will enable small and small businesses in Ethiopia to access loan without collateral from CBO digitally. At the launching ceremony in Addis Ababa today it is stated that small and medium enterprises can get up to 150,000 Birr with repayment period of up to one year.
While microenterprises can get loan of up to 30,000 Birr without collateral to be paid back in a month. Michu is expected to increase loan portfolio of CBO by 30 percent boosting the number of clients who take loan from the Bank.
With over a decade of experience in the market, Kifiya Financial Services is one of the pioneering private technology companies in Ethiopia specialized in fintech.
CBO mostly owned by smallholder farmers has been mostly serving farmers cooperatives as the only cooperative bank specialized bank in Ethiopia targeting mainly the rural community and those engaged agribusinesses and trading, among others.
The partnership is officially launched by the heads of the two companies, Deribe Asfaw, CEO of CBO, and Munir Duri, CEO of Kifiya.