CREDITINFO VOLO HAS BEEN SELECTED TO MANAGE THE PRIVATE CREDIT BUREAU (PCB) IN THE WEST AFRICAN MONETARY UNION (WAMU)

Creditinfo Tanzania Limited Chief Executive Officer, Davith Kahwa (left), speaks to reporters during the launch in 2013. Creditinfo was the first company to receive a licence to operate a Credit Reference Bureau in Tanzania. Creditinfo VoLo has been selected to manage the Private Credit Bureau (PCB) in the West African Monetary Union (WAMU).

Creditinfo VoLo is pleased to announce the result of the recent consultation launched by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) about the establishment of a private credit bureau (PCB) within the eight (8) member states of West African Monetary Union (WAMU). BCEAO issued a tender for the selection of a strategic and technologic investor on the 29th of April 2014 in order to create, operate and manage a regional private credit reporting system that meets the international standards for the eight (8) member states of WAMU.

Creditinfo and its business partner VoLo Africa, grouped into the joint-venture Creditinfo VoLo, are honoured to be selected as the accredited company in order to operate in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. This selection was based on the experience demonstrated by Creditinfo and VoLo in similar markets in Africa as in the world, and their commitment to comply with the agenda in order to make the PCB operational as of June 2015.

The implementation of this credit information sharing system meets the expectations of monetary authorities and credit institutions of the WAMU, a region with over 100 million people. Such a strategic infrastructure will not only accelerate the credit development in the region, but also will be a new pulse factor in the growth of the economy as a whole. It also gives a better rating in the Doing Business ranking of the World Bank, for each of the eight countries with positive externalities for industry and individuals.

In an interview with Intelligence Magazine, published on June 14, 2013 on the website Making Finance Work for Africa (African Development Bank), the BCEAO governor, M. Tiémoko Meyliet KONE said « the PCB will have a positive impact on the growth of the banks funding». Regarding this, M. KONE pointed out that "the risk assessment on customers, which influences the determination of the lending rates, will be improved to allow banks to better identify the borrowers' profiles, individuals or legal people."

Creditinfo VoLo, a joint venture created by Creditinfo and VoLo Africa, will work to implement the PCB in the coming months.

Mr. Reynir Grétarsson, CEO of Creditinfo Group enthusiastically welcomed this opportunity. He said « We greatly appreciate the confidence of the Central Bank towards our company. Creditinfo VoLo Africa and I  wish to express our total dedication in the practice of social responsibility and our contribution to the economic development of the countries where we currently operate and in those in which we will operate in the future. The increased financial inclusion will be part of the benefits of this project, which, we believe is one of the most exciting and ambitious project in this sector.»

Mr. Abdou Touray Draman, President and CTO of VoLo Africa, agreed with Mr. Grétarsson, stating that Creditinfo VoLo will play a fundamental role in the financial infrastructure in Africa, thanks to a better quality of credit information in the financial sector: «We are particularly honoured by the trust that BCEAO has granted to us. Our main objective is to remove barriers on accessing to funding and credit, with an affordable and efficient service for all social strata in the WAMU region», and also that «Access to credit would be a catalyst for economic growth and development of the middle class in any economy and the credit bureau would enable SME a fair cost of credit ».

About Creditinfo 

Creditinfo is a world leader in credit information service and credit risk management solutions providing, including decision-making tools, models and software. Creditinfo Group, established in 1997, is today one of the most successful companies in its sector. It has frequently been a privileged partner of local credit bureaus. Creditinfo Group was selected during several tenders supported by World Bank, IFC, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and other international organizations.

The most recent references are Tanzania (Central Bank), Sudan (Central Bank), Cape Verde (Chamber of Commerce) and Afghanistan (Central Bank). The strength of Creditinfo lies in the establishment of credit information offices in emerging markets, and hosting, management and delivery to customers, credit data and credit information directly or through partnership agreements.

About VoLo Africa 

VoLo Africa is an African company pioneer in the technology sector and dedicated to enhance financial inclusion in order to reduce poverty and increase access to health care for all, through the establishment of the VoLo Trust Information Platform (V-Tip). This unique system ties the biographical, biometric and sectorial information in a scalable platform and database that analyse information to provide a transparent risk assessment. The solution provide A simple rating adapted to African realities that subscribers can then use to determine the credit risk.

VoLo Africa initiated its relationship with the African Development Bank (ADB) after being given the opportunity to tender for a pilot project of credit information services to SME and VSE in Africa. This project was initiated by ADB in May 2012 through various channels, including the website Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) hosted by the ADB. This initiative highlights the awareness by the ADB of the lack of credit information service in Africa, which is a major driver to facilitate access to credit for SME and VSE. The solution proposed by VoLo, built on its trusted information system that includes biometric and GPS data, was considered as the most promising idea among those which have been selected to receive support from the African Development Bank.

Contacts 

Creditinfo VoLo                                                                

M. Muhammad M. Jagana                                          

Group CEO                                                                         

Tel. : +221 338204066                                                     

mjagana@creditinfovolo.com