Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha, has launched Pezesha Academy, a financial literacy platform that provides financial education to individuals accessing alternative credit.
In collaboration with Akili Group, an institution focused on value addition and training for farmers, Pezesha Academy will empower 60,000 farmers in Embu with training, beginning with a two-day course in the core components of financial education.
The academy is a move by Pezesha to promote and enable widespread and well-informed responsible financial practices among digital borrowers.
According to Pezesha, there is clear evidence of unhealthy financial management practices including gambling, loan stacking (taking out one loan to pay another), and over-indebtedness, per data gathered from interacting with over 20,000 individuals.
This coupled with high interest rates, aggressive marketing, complicated T&C’s and unnuanced “yes or no” credit scoring systems contribute to the “broken system” the Kenyan lending industry has become.
The startup’s financial education curriculum for 2018 will cover areas such as savings and investment, effective debt management, how to improve one’s credit score, what are CRBs and their role and much more.
“Financial education is critical for us and society, as we seek to empower the less privileged, to enable them to make better financial decisions,” said Hilda Moraa, CEO and Founder, Pezesha/Patascore.
“Our flagship service is Patascore, which encompasses the financial education and credit scoring aspects of our business.”
Pezesha is a peer to peer micro-lending marketplace that leverages on alternative data and financial education to empower individuals by connecting them with lenders offering affordable financial services.
By: ClaraDoku/techvoiceafrica.com
