Can ‘PAYGo Finance’ Connect Investors to Low-Income Customers?

BFA
BFA
Jul 27, 2017 · 5 min read

The Rise of a New Asset Class

Raju Haria, CEO of Raj Ushanga House (left), Daniel Goldfarb, CEO of Lendable (second from left), and Sharon Arungu-Olende, head of East Africa for Lendable (right), provide a PAYGo solar system to a customer.

Alternative lenders in East Africa are connecting underbanked consumers with affordable, asset-backed financing that allows them to own productive assets, access credit and link to a range of pay-as-you-go services (PAYGo or PAYG), including energy. Notably, U.S.-based Lendable Inc. has pioneered a marketplace lending platform that connects these alternative lenders in East Africa (non-financial operating companies that use digital payment systems) with impact and institutional debt investors.

Lendable helps alternative lenders scale up their operations through access to technology-enabled structured financing deal services, including deal origination, due diligence, standardized documentation, payments administration and post-deal reporting. The company also facilitates customized deal pricing around principal, yield, duration and currency for alternative lenders and investors. So far, Lendable has structured financing for solar panel (click here for a related post) and motorcycle leasing companies in East Africa, where it estimates that, by 2020, the alternative lender market will reach USD $15 billion.

THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR SOLAR ENERGY

Structured asset-backed financing has strong potential to bring clean energy to residents of developing countries. According to recent estimates, 1.2 billion people — about one-sixth of the world’s population — live outside their country’s electrical grids. Currently, approximately 1 million people benefit from off-grid solar power — that’s less than 0.1 percent of those living off-grid. The potential of this untapped market is considerable. When households access solar energy and move from candlelight to electric lighting, or from polluting wood- and coal-burning stoves to electric stoves, their quality of life is greatly enhanced. Access to off-grid solar power may also prompt them to acquire refrigerators, radios and televisions. The potential of these improvements and the associated reductions in climate-affecting pollutants could provide significant benefits to low-income individuals, their communities and their countries.

A MARKETPLACE LENDING PLATFORM TO CONNECT LENDERS AND INVESTORS

How Lendable works, courtesy of Lendable

The Lendable approach to data analytics builds predictive models on the probability of repayment of the receivables it finances on leased assets, such as solar panels and motorcycles. The platform approach offers several innovative vehicles for lenders and investors:

RISE OF A NEW ASSET CLASS: PAYGO FINANCE

Providing alternative lenders with structured debt financing could potentially give rise to a new asset class of PAYGo receivables. To constitute an asset class, PAYGo receivables would need to:

If successful in raising funds from investors at scale, the Lendable approach could bring financing for low-income individuals full circle. A predictive, risk-based approach would allow for low-touch methods with customers that financial services providers can use to originate and manage portfolios. To scale the platform, Lendable would need to ensure robust performance in its underlying receivables portfolios and operate in countries where an enabling environment would attract investors.

The latest FIBR Briefing Note “Lendable: Case Study of a Marketplace Lending Platform in East Africa” elaborates further on the new platform and PAYGo financing as a new asset class. In the past months, we have been working with Lendable through FIBR, a project by global consulting firm BFA, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. FIBR brings together fintechs and banks to partner on using networks of small businesses to deliver digital financial services to low-income customers. The PAYGo sector and the data generated could advance fintech solutions for low-income customers using the FIBR approach. Thus, we will continue to explore PAYGo finance in the coming months.

Learn more by following @BFAGlobal on Twitter.

Author Jim Kaddaras is an international lawyer and consultant in the development finance field

Originally posted on Next Billion


FIBR stands for Financial Inclusion on Business Runways and aims to learn how to transform emerging business data about low-income individuals and link them to inclusive financial services to deepen financial inclusion and its impact. FIBR is a project of BFA in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation.

Stay connected by signing up for the FIBR mailing list and joining the Inclusive Fintech Group on LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed this story, please recommend by clicking the ❤ below.

Finance for Life

BFA specializes in using finance to create solutions for low-income people around the world. We bring deep expertise in customer insights, business strategy, inclusive fintech, policy and ecosystem development to enable the next billions to strive for better lives.

BFA

Written by

BFA

BFA specializes in using finance to create solutions for low-income people around the world. Innovating for finance, for life. Visit www.bfaglobal.com

Finance for Life

BFA specializes in using finance to create solutions for low-income people around the world. We bring deep expertise in customer insights, business strategy, inclusive fintech, policy and ecosystem development to enable the next billions to strive for better lives.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade