Crédit Afrique, Gokada partner on soft loans

Crédit Afrique Microfinance Bank has announced its strategic partnership with Gokada Rides Limited for the provision of affordable Asset Finance microloans to trained and qualified motorbike riders in Nigeria.

The financing scheme, which will be in four phases, is expected to commence with the first tranche in August 2018.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Gokada will conduct written and psychometric tests for intended participants.

It will also train them on the operation guidelines, safety, traffic rules, and maintenance of motorbikes before recommending them to the bank for loan disbursement for the purchase of motor bikes.

The partnership is aimed at addressing transportation challenges characterised by increasing levels of congestion, wide-spread pollution, road fatalities, and inequity in access in urban cities.

Director of Crédit Afrique, Esohe Urhoghide, expressed the bank’s excitement to partner with Gokada in building safer, more inclusive, and sustainable cities of tomorrow.

Urhoghide said: “Technology will play a crucial role in identifying mobility gaps and transforming existing transportation infrastructure as seen across the globe.

Our partnership with Gokada is in line with the bank’s mission to boost financial and social inclusion by making connections between viable financing and innovative solutions for small and medium businesses.”

Urhoghide added that Crédit Afrique takes pride in its mandate to be of service to the underserved and capture the disorganised informal commercial sector that is unserved.

“A significant challenge around this has been the security of loans and high default ratios.

Our focus on building a culture of creditworthiness and technology will aid our efforts in developing sustainable relationships with customers.”