EZRA | Apis Partners

The credit industry in developing markets especially in Africa is at a very nascent stage. Financial industry has been dominated by traditional banks with the focus on large corporates and a limited capacity and intent to serve large portions of small businesses and individuals due to the high acquisition and risk costs. The only options for individuals to borrow money was either to rely on their friends and family or turn to loan sharks.

Ezra has taken the challenge to fill this void and to offer small and medium sized loans to individual customers and small merchants by partnering with mobile money operators, mobile network operators and banks. Ezra’s proprietary credit scoring engine was able to generate credit scores for these customers using their daily transactional data. Customers can borrow money in real time and have the ability to improve their credit score by ensuring timely repayments.

The financial services industry in emerging markets and especially Africa is on a trajectory to grow and evolve in coming years. In 2022 only, Ezra has served 40 Million plus customers on monthly basis and processed 2 Billion plus loans worth 1.6B USD annually. At Ezra, we have an ambition to play a role in driving financial inclusion and providing affordable and accessible financial services to people who are currently excluded from the formal financial sector. To achieve this we will continue to innovate and find new ways to deliver financial services that meet the needs of our partner’s end consumers.

Ezra is providing affordable and accessible financial services to the customers in emerging markets by collaborating with Mobile money operators, Mobile network operators, banks and utility companies. By providing access to credit, Ezra is helping its customers to start or grow a business, finance a major purchase, or cope with an unexpected expense. This helps increase their income, create new job opportunities, and improve their standard of living.