In a significant partnership, Yango in Côte d’Ivoire, part of Yango Group, a global technology company that creates daily services, has teamed up with COFINA, a mesofinance institution in the country and Yabx, an embedded finance platform that builds credit profiles for thin, no file customers to introduce a Driver Cash Advance service. This is a digital loan product that will improve access to credit for many individuals and businesses.
Beneficiaries will have instant access to up to XOF 300,000, US$500 cash advances and flexible repayment options of over two to eight weeks. This partnership is currently exclusive to Yango’s partners’ drivers, with plans to expand to consumers, riders, food delivery agents and merchants.
Speaking about the partnership’s impact, Kadotien Soro, Country Manager of Yango in Côte d’Ivoire, underscored the importance of enabling entrepreneurs and supporting partners’ drivers to access financial assistance to grow their businesses.
“We are excited to partner with COFINA and Yabx to support our community. By providing this lending service to our partners’ drivers and users, we empower them to fulfil their dreams and achieve the desired results by investing in their businesses. This is a great opportunity and I entreat all beneficiaries to take advantage of it and be diligent with the utilisation of these funds in order to grow,” he said.
Yango operates in over 30 countries globally including various African countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, RD Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon, Senegal and Namibia. With an exponentially growing user base and an industry CAGR of 5.96%- the scale of providing financial inclusion to previously underserved segments will only get wider.
Yango, one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most trusted platforms, handles millions of rides and deliveries each month through its partners. The launch of the “Driver Cash Advance” service strengthens driver engagement and enhances financial accessibility for Yango’s community, contributing to an improved experience for all users. With its broad user base of drivers and riders growing as fast as 25+% year over year, Yango offers drivers a seamless way to manage their cash-flow and handle daily expenses more efficiently.
Yabx, a Lending-as-a-Service, LaaS platform, uses AI and machine learning algorithms to analyse digital footprints and create detailed financial identities for borrowers without prior access to formal credit. By employing non-traditional methods of credit scoring and building an end-to-end loan journey on the Yango application, Yabx enables drivers to receive cash advances in real time.
Yabx has successfully developed and implemented a diverse range of financial solutions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These offerings include term loans, overdrafts, microloans, handset financing, and more, tailored to drive financial inclusion and empower underserved communities.
Puneet Chopra, Chief Growth Officer at Yabx, commented, “This partnership with Yango represents a key milestone in our mission to deliver financial services tailored to emerging markets. By embedding lending directly within the Yango platform, we are removing barriers to financial access, offering users quick and convenient access to capital. We believe embedded lending has the potential to transform access to credit in underserved regions and contribute to a more sustainable gig economy across Africa.”
The COFINA Group, a provider in mesofinance in West and Central Africa, is dedicated to promoting financial inclusion by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs as well as entrepreneurs in their development. As a partner in this innovative project, COFINA Côte d’Ivoire plays a key role in providing the necessary financing, ensuring Yango drivers have quick and simplified access to credit.
With its experience and continental reach, COFINA reaffirms its commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening platform economies and contributing to inclusive economic growth in Côte d’Ivoire and beyond.
“At COFINA, we firmly believe in the power of financial inclusion and digitalisation to drive innovation and support players in the digital economy. This partnership with Yango and Yabx represents a significant step forward in offering financing solutions tailored to the needs of Yango drivers. We are proud to play a role in this initiative, which paves the way for a more inclusive and resilient digital economy in Côte d’Ivoire” emphasized Mr. Amed Sié TOURE, Managing Director of COFINA Côte d’Ivoire.
The integration of data-driven lending models and AI technology in the financial sector allows for the rapid expansion of financial services without adding significant risk. This innovation not only enables drivers to access formal loans for the first time but also introduces them to a simplified, streamlined user journey aligned with the driver’s immediate needs.
Through this process, individuals and little businesses, constituting the missing middle of African ecosystems who are not the core customers of microfinance institutions or traditional banks, can be recognised as credible borrowers with legitimate credit scores.
This service is designed to enhance the financial stability of drivers, allowing them to focus on their work without financial strain. Yabx, Yango, and COFINA are proud to be the way in providing inclusive financial solutions and supporting the growth of a sustainable gig economy across Africa.
Yango Group is a technology company that transforms global technologies into everyday services tailored for local communities. With an unwavering commitment to innovation, the company reshapes and enhances cutting-edge technologies from around the world into seamlessly integrated daily services for diverse regions.
Their mission is to bridge the gap between world innovations and local communities, fostering connections and enhancing everyday living experiences.
COFINA is the first pan-African financial institution dedicated to mesofinance, the missing middle between microfinance and traditional banking, which offers SMEs easier access to credit. Present in eight African countries, Burkina Faso, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Togo and in France, subsidiary dedicated to the diaspora, COFINA has established itself as a reference in terms of support for entrepreneurs and SMEs in West and Central Africa.
By offering its customers meso- and micro-credits, insurance, bancassurance products, m-banking and e-banking products, social housing financing as well as structured financing, and operating according to international standards, COFINA supports entrepreneurs and SMEs, whose financing needs have become too great for microfinance institutions and not structured enough for traditional banks.
Yabx revolutionizes credit accessibility in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America through its cloud-based lending platform. By leveraging digital footprints, AI and diverse data partnerships, we provide personalised credit scores and limits to underserved individuals and businesses.
