Egyptian fintech Lucky ONE gets $3m to scale credit platform

Key Takeaways

Credit makes the world go round. Governments, businesses, and individuals all rely on borrowing to function and grow. However, accessing credit is a major challenge across Africa. In 2023, while global debt hit a record $307 trillion, many Africans still struggled to get loans and other forms of credit. There are several key reasons why lending to Africans is uniquely difficult compared to other parts of the world. One of the biggest barriers to credit access in Africa is the lack of bank accounts and formal financial services for a large portion of the population. Countries like Morocco (71%), Egypt (67%), and Nigeria (60%) rank among the highest globally for unbanked populations. Across Africa, there are over 350 million people who have never had a bank account at all. Without this basic financial footprint, it becomes extremely difficult to access credit from traditional lenders like banks. This unbanked population is automatically excluded.