How Embedded Lending Infrastructure is Enabling Telcos, Banks and Fintechs to Reach the Unreached

Building the Credit Rails: How Embedded Lending Infrastructure is Enabling Telcos, Banks and Fintechs to Reach the Unreached keynote by Nadeem Juma, co-founder of Credable Group.

Nadeem traces the story of financial inclusion in Africa back to his early work in mobile money in 2007 Tanzania, where platforms like M-Pesa built the payment rails that now move over $1 trillion a year across 856 million accounts. Yet despite that success, formal credit penetration remains under 6%, leaving nearly a billion adults locked out – not for lack of data, but for lack of infrastructure that can turn behavioral data into credit decisions.

Credible Group is building that missing layer: a platform connecting telecoms, fintechs, and banks so lenders can embed real-time credit scoring, decisioning, and portfolio management directly inside the apps people already use. Since its first live microloan inside M-Pesa Tanzania in 2022, Credible has scaled to five markets, disbursing over $600 million to 36 million credit profiles by 2025 – with a data flywheel that sharpens every time a loan is repaid. Nadeem’s vision for 2031: credit histories that travel with people across countries and platforms, making access to credit as universal as mobile money itself.

Highlights include
💡 Mobile money infrastructure like M-Pesa enabled 856 million accounts and $1 trillion in annual transactions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
🚫 Despite payment rails, formal credit penetration sits below 6%, leaving roughly 1 billion adults without access.
📊 80% of potential borrowers lack traditional credit history but generate rich alternative data through mobile money and agent banking.
🤝 No single player can close the credit gap alone — channels bring data and reach, banks bring capital and licenses, Credible connects them.
⚡ Credible’s first embedded microloan went live inside M-Pesa Tanzania in 2022, disbursing credit instantly using behavioral data with no bureau checks.
🌍 By 2025, Credible had disbursed over $600 million across five African markets to 36 million credit profiles.
🔁 A data flywheel means every loan issued and repaid sharpens the model, compounding accuracy and access across markets.
🔄 By 2031, Nadeem envisions credit histories becoming portable across borders and platforms, unlocking seamless borrowing throughout Africa.

Africa Tech Summit London 2026 celebrated its landmark 10th edition on May 29th at The London Stock Exchange. Bringing together leading industry players, the summit explored the latest trends and insights in technology and business across Africa and beyond.

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