NBE Approves Wegagen’s Non-Collateralized Digital Loans Platform Efoyta Targeting a Million Customers

Wegagen Bank S.C. has received the commercial green light from the National Bank of Ethiopia for its non-collateralized digital lending platform dubbed Efoyta under the revised regulatory framework. Powered by Kifiya Financial Technologies' AI-backed intelligent system Qena, the Platform has disbursed over 2.7 billion Birr to around 185,000 borrowers in its pilot phase over the past nine months. NBE’s official approval, given three weeks ago, will enable Efoyta to roll out operations nationwide as it targets around a million customers.

Efotya offers four types of loan products. Mekoya which unlocks around 50,000 Birr monthly loans at 8% interest rate, Ediget which offers around 30,000 Birr at an interest rate of 3.75% another credit product dubbed Melegna with a similar interest rate, for up to 5,000 Birr for 14 days and Wase which entails up to 20,000 Birr for 0.6% interest rate.  Two of the products designed with particular attention to women have received significant traction during the pilot phase. Efoyta also enables fully digital onboarding of customers, a feature distinct from operators in the sector, requiring physical visits to bank branches.

Wegagen looks to tap into the underserved micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ethiopia through its digital lending platform. Non-collateralized loan products have begun to gain traction over the past few years, primarily spearheaded by Kifiya’s Qena AI portal, which notably gave way to the Cooperative Bank of Oromia’s Michu service. Nonetheless, access to credit remains one of the main barriers preventing Ethiopian MSME’s from growing and scaling their businesses.