Creditinfo Launches New Scorecard to Help SMEs Access Easy Funding

Creditinfo Group, on Wednesday, July 21, introduced a scorecard solution tailored to help SMEs in Kenya access easy funding from financial institutions.

The new scorecard is part of the company’s strategy to launch the service across Africa and several other key global economies.

It is aimed at helping financial institutions improve their credit assessment and facilitate financing to the small business market.

The global credit information and decision analytics provider in the new scorecard will utilize a unique approach to data and algorithms to help financial institutions facilitate financing to the SME market, which has typically been less able to access finance.

Creditinfo, recognizing the importance of SME risk assessment worldwide, aims to roll out a global solution to address this challenge.

The company will first launch the SME scorecard in Kenya, ahead of a wider rollout in key sectors around the globe.

The modeling approach Creditinfo has developed significantly reduces, and in some cases eliminates, the human effort needed to assess customers’ risk profile based on credit data.

It is delivered in a software platform that unifies, streamlines, automates, and centralizes the risk evaluation process.

Creditinfo’s SME scorecard is considerably stronger at predicting business failure than existing traditional models.

Commenting on the new venture, Burak Kilicoglu, Director of Global Markets at Creditinfo, noted that SMEs drive innovation and push digitalization forward for many people by providing services to underserved segments of the population and creating job opportunities.

“SME scorecards will accelerate access to finance for the benefit of the whole economic ecosystem. At Creditinfo we have access to a wealth of credit bureau data as a starting point, and so are uniquely positioned to offer this solution in global markets,” he added.

“Kenya is the most dynamic and receptive market for SME lending innovation, demonstrated by the successful adoption of mobile wallets and microloans. We look forward to seeing the economic impact of this new solution as it comes into full effect and we see more capital flowing through the SME economy,” concluded Kamau Kunyiha, CEO of Creditinfo CRB Kenya.