Standard Bank has led a $4 million investment in Nomanini, a mobile pint-of-sale and data analytics service for merchants operating in typically cash-based economies.
Standard Bank intends to use Nomanini’s platform to unearth previously ‘invisible’ data on the informal retail economy, offering a mobile application which provides access to new lines of business, credit and savings services for millions of informal merchants across 14 African countries.
Transaction data analysis via Nomanini's platform means that micro-merchants’ creditworthiness can be more accurately assessed and, as a result, many will become eligible for working capital loans for the first time.
“The reality is, around 86% of all employment in Sub-Saharan Africa is informal. Going to the bank and filling out forms for a loan is simply not viable - and can take days," says Adrian Vermooten, head of digital in Africa Regions, Standard Bank. "Our partnership and investment in Nomanini has helped us uncover simple, scalable opportunities while granting new and existing customers access to financial services for the first time. Previously, this type of information was unavailable to us but now our merchant customers can access banking services wherever they are and whenever it suits them.”