1/ Almost 2 years after launching in Cameroon, @SMECreditPro has made very little progress locally.
The Non-Performing Loan in Cameroon is ~14%, one of the highest (if not the highest) in SSA.
Banks are not lending to MSMEs and less thank 5% of SMEs get access to finance.
The Non-Performing Loan in Cameroon is ~14%, one of the highest (if not the highest) in SSA.
Banks are not lending to MSMEs and less thank 5% of SMEs get access to finance.
2/ the SME credit gap in Cameroon is ~$8 Billion.
Despite these, we have seen reluctance in adopting a solution that can help ease the situation.
Culture seems to play a big role in all of this. There is lack of transparency in the #cameroon banking industry.
Despite these, we have seen reluctance in adopting a solution that can help ease the situation.
Culture seems to play a big role in all of this. There is lack of transparency in the #cameroon banking industry.
3/ it is not clear how credit files are evaluated and/or why a loan file is rejected. "Black Box" still exist. The industry practice collateral based lending which has lucked millions out of the formal banking sector. This has also led to fraud as there is no collateral registry.
4/ @SMECreditPro has invested over $200k in the last 2years+ to develope a very robust SME scoring /decision Engine. Uptill date, we have seen very little interest from local banks and stakeholders in Cameroon.
5/ early this year I spent ~3 weeks in Kigali to gauge the business environment and potential business opportunities. Within that short period, I met with more Banking Executives than I have done in Cameroon in the last 2 years.
6/ later this year, we were approached by two P2P lenders in Vietnam & we have made significant progress in a pilot discussion and expanded to SEA
We also concluded a pilot project with a Pan African Debt Marketplace which enable us to expand our service to 20 African countries
We also concluded a pilot project with a Pan African Debt Marketplace which enable us to expand our service to 20 African countries
7/ Recently, we won the Virtual Africa Hackathon organised by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
As winner, @SMECreditPro will go on to participate at the Global Fintech Hackcerator at the Singapore Fintech Festival in December 2020
As winner, @SMECreditPro will go on to participate at the Global Fintech Hackcerator at the Singapore Fintech Festival in December 2020
8/ These and the recent award and validation from the CBK and MAS has given us the impetus to startt thinking about cutting on our investment in Cameroon and/relocating our headquarters to East or West Africa.
A decision that will have to be taken by the end of 2020.
A decision that will have to be taken by the end of 2020.
Lesson learned:
If We'd focused 100% on Cameroon, @SMECreditPro will dead and gone by now. So your launch market is critical for your success. If it doesn't work, try a different market before thinking of giving up.
Your country of origin should not influence your launch market
If We'd focused 100% on Cameroon, @SMECreditPro will dead and gone by now. So your launch market is critical for your success. If it doesn't work, try a different market before thinking of giving up.
Your country of origin should not influence your launch market
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