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CreditChek Chief Executive Officer, Kingsley Ibe, discusses how its AI-driven financial technology solutions are facilitating $750m in solar energy funding for low-income and off-grid Nigerian families in this interview withJUSTICE OKAMGBA

UnderNigeria’s $750 million Distributed Access via Renewable Energy Expansion initiative, how is technology enabling CreditChek to extend its services to areas without grid connectivity?

CreditChek’s involvement in the DARES project aims to eliminate a major obstacle to growth: scattered data and insufficient credit records. Many families, especially those with lower incomes or located in areas without grid access, do not have the necessary financial history to qualify for the adaptable payment options or reduced-interest loans they require to participate in such programs.

For these communities, obtaining credit via conventional financial institutions has thus been a challenging and lengthy procedure. However, at CreditChek, thanks to our AI-powered underwriting system, we can determine loan eligibility in seconds instead of days. Our platform streamlines income verification, reviews credit histories, and identifies possible fraud instantly, providing institutions with the necessary insights to make secure and well-informed lending choices.

We have collaborated with Bboxx to enable them to provide smaller, cost-effective payment plans to low-income and off-grid families faster and more securely than previously possible. As a result, this will help Bboxx speed up its expansion and connect more households throughout Nigeria.

Constraints on credit information and elevated default risks have historically impeded accessible solar financing in Nigeria. How is CreditChek’s artificial intelligence-driven credit verification system overcoming these financial challenges?

We create a more comprehensive view of creditworthiness by combining both non-traditional and conventional data. Our AI evaluates sources like bank records, telecom information, utility and device payment histories, identity verification, and bureau data. Our system can then process all this information to perform a credit check in under 90 seconds.

This AI-based method helps us detect regular cash flow trends and willingness to repay that basic scorecards overlook, which reduces the perceived risk of default and allows for a more equitable pricing model. Importantly, our models are designed to account for the challenges of informal earnings: they search for signs of consistency even when there is no formal, salaried job. As a result, more businesses, like Bboxx, can provide affordable installment options to customers who would otherwise be left out, and serve a larger number of people throughout the country.

After confirming over one million identities and enabling more than $50 million in loans, what has CreditChek learned about credit behaviors among Nigerians, especially in the renewable energy sector?

Some recurring trends are noticeable. Initially, when funding is synchronized with cash flow, for instance, weekly or monthly payments that correspond to a family’s income rhythm, the efficiency of repayments increases considerably.

Second, individuals who earn informally often exhibit consistent patterns: a regular flow of income and recurring small expenses that our models can utilize for responsible underwriting. Third, prompt and clear communication, such as SMS/USSD alerts and straightforward repayment schedules, significantly decreases late payments. Lastly, fraudulent activities typically occur around inefficient manual procedures; automating verification of identity and income helps lower both fraud and operational challenges, thereby enhancing approval-to-disbursement speed and the overall quality of the portfolio.

The alliance between CreditChek and Bboxx is considered a major factor in advancing renewable energy. Could you explain how this partnership functions and the unique contributions each organization offers to the DARES project?

In practice, our collaboration is complementary and functional. Bboxx offers product design, field distribution, last-mile logistics, and extensive expertise in financing solar home systems in Nigeria; CreditChek contributes underwriting, identity verification, and connections with lenders and credit bureaus.

During implementation, Bboxx is responsible for sourcing and installing the SHS and handling customer interactions; when financial support is needed, we integrate our API into Bboxx’s sign-up process and the lender’s approval system to enable almost immediate decisions. Bboxx’s description of us as their “Pirelli tyres” captures it well: they are the vehicle, while we offer the precise element that allows them to move forward securely and efficiently.

Numerous Nigerians living off the grid are unable to access formal credit systems because of limited financial inclusion. How is CreditChek providing loan opportunities to those who are unbanked or partially banked?

We enhance the data vault: for customers without a bank account or with limited banking activity, we increasingly use alternative indicators such as airtime/top-up behavior, mobile money or agent cash-in trends, device usage frequency, field agent verification, and payment history from current Pay-As-You-Go devices.

Our Income Insight solution can determine financial capability based on spending patterns even without official pay slips. We also offer minimal KYC processes that function via USSD or basic smartphone applications, ensuring customers aren’t left out due to technological barriers. By integrating these indicators with human-assisted verification at a large scale, lenders can securely provide small, manageable loans to families that traditional credit scoring overlooks.

As DARES progresses, how is CreditChek promoting the ethical handling of data and implementing responsible AI methods while increasing financial inclusion on a large scale?

Ethical handling of data is fundamental to our strategy. We limit data gathering to what is necessary for verification and underwriting purposes, and we ensure explicit, traceable consent processes that align with the platforms users engage with. Models undergo ongoing reviews for bias and unequal effects, particularly concerning gender and location, and we maintain human supervision for more critical decisions.

We also emphasize data security and comply with relevant privacy and regulatory standards outlined by the NDPR; sharing information with lenders and bureaus occurs through strict access controls and limited purposes. Ultimately, transparency is important: we collaborate with partners to clarify decisions using simple language and offer remediation options so customers can address mistakes and comprehend results.

Establishing trust is essential within Nigeria’s developing digital financial landscape. In what ways does CreditChek build assurance among users and loan providers through its artificial intelligence-based platforms?

Trust is established by means of openness, quickness, and dependability. With regard to customers, we emphasize explicit permission, straightforward clarification of payment timelines, and prompt assistance, including face-to-face agent verification in the initial stages of implementation. For lenders, we offer verifiable audit trails, real-time data accuracy indicators, and integration guides that reduce operational risk.

We also provide quantifiable results: quicker verification, reduced fraud, and enhanced portfolio conversion. These results build commercial confidence. Ultimately, public collaborations such as DARES and partnerships with reputable entities like Bboxx contribute to making the technology more accepted and give assurance to both consumers and financial institutions.

What is your perspective on the integration of AI, fintech, and renewable energy shaping Nigeria’s overall development objectives, and what comes next for CreditChek after DARES?

The convergence of artificial intelligence, financial technology, and renewable energy has the potential to bring about significant change by substituting the limitation of capital with the capacity to assess risk effectively on a large scale. When you can confirm income and handle risk in an affordable manner, you enable access to funding for healthcare, education, and energy, thereby boosting overall social and economic progress.

For CreditChek, DARES serves as a foundation: we will keep improving our models for different regions across Africa and expand integrations with more lenders and distributors. We will also make use of our recent purchase of CreditCliq to support diasporas and cross-border transactions. In the end, our aim is to turn dependable, cost-effective financing into an easy-to-use feature for any company providing essential services, so that access, rather than paperwork, is the standard.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).