Today, access to financial services remains a challenge for many, particularly those living in rural areas, a Ugandan company called aXiom Zorn is using data to bridge the gap.
Through their innovative solutions, they are enabling farmers and rural people to create reliable financial and business records, ultimately improving their chances of securing credit and other essential services.
“We are a data forensic enterprise. We started this out of the love to help unserved and underserved people be able to access finance and other services. Many banks used to turn away farmers and people from rural areas because they didn’t have data about them; their work, productivity and incomes. So, aXiom came to close this data gap. We use data to produce services that can help the farmers and generally rural people,” explains Carol Kyazze Kakooza, the Executive Director of aXiom Zorn.
For the past eight years, aXiom Zorn has been working tirelessly to ensure that farmers and rural people have visible and authentic data that enables them to access a wide range of services, including finance, insurance, micro-health, and markets.
Their extensive database, which includes detailed profiles of over 600,000 households with 326 data points each, forms the backbone of their innovative solutions.
One of their key partnerships is with Centenary Bank, one of the biggest banks in Uganda. By merging their credit score matrix with Centenary Bank’s systems, hundreds of customers have been able to access financial services.
“After we have rated the customers, we submit the credit scores and Centenary Bank usually extends credit to anybody with a credit score of 50 per cent and above. Those below 50 per cent can also access financial services from other lenders. We also provide a credit limit to the bank so that people are not given money that they have never received and unable to manage,” Kakooza explains.
Through the data they collect, aXiom Zorn is able to derive several other services, including the progress out of poverty credit score, access to finance, access to markets, digital soil map, fertilizer optimization, and insurance.
Their innovative approach has not gone unnoticed, as they have been featured on Day 31 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.
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