Credit Afrique seals partnership with Gokada Rides

Crédit Afrique Microfinance Bank today announced its strategic partnership with Gokada Rides Limited for the provision of affordable Asset Finance loans to qualified members of the public.

The partnership was announced after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the two parties at a ceremony held at the Awolowo Road, Lagos office of Crédit Afrique MFB as it opened its doors for business to the public. Crédit Afrique will provide financing in the form of microloans to trained motorbike riders. The financing scheme will be in four phases, with the first tranche commencing in August 2018.

Under the MOU, GOKADA will conduct both written and psychometric tests for the intended participants and train them on the operation guidelines, safety, traffic rules and maintenance of the motorbikes before recommending them to the bank for loan disbursement on the purchase and setup of the motorbikes under the scheme for operation. The companies believe that the partnership addresses transportation/mobility challenges characterised by increasing levels of congestion, wide-spread pollution, road fatalities, and inequity in access in urban cities.

In her remarks, a member of the management and board of Directors, Mrs. Esohe Urhoghide expressed the bank’s excitement to partner with Gokada, “ To build safer, more inclusive, and sustainable cities of tomorrow, technology will play a crucial role in identifying mobility gaps and transforming existing transportation infrastructure as we have seen across the world. Our partnership with Gokada is in line with the bank’s mission to boost financial and social inclusion by making connections between viable financing and innovative solutions for small and medium businesses ”.

Deji Oduntan, Chief Executive Officer, Gokada Rides Limited, also had this to say, “We are delighted with our partnership with CA and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship. There is a synergy between our two brands that we feel will result in a profitable relationship and positively enhance the lives of all participants. Crédit Afrique is a great partner, and this partnership reflects our desire to collaborate with companies that share our vision of disruptive innovation and convenience. Gokada’s passion and dedication to innovation are already well known, and it’s an honour to work with the team.

“More importantly, our Bank takes pride in our mandate to be of service to the underserved and capturing the disorganised informal commercial sector that is unserved. A significant challenge around this has been the security of loans and high default ratios. Our focus on building a culture of creditworthiness and technology will aid our efforts in developing sustainable relationships with our customers, ” Mrs Urhoghide added.