COOP Bank, Kifya Launch Digital Uncollateralised Lending Platform


COOP Bank, Kifya Launch Digital Uncollateralised Lending Platform

The Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Kifya Financial Technologies have partnered to launch an uncollateralised digital lending platform dubbed 'Michu.' The platform offers loans and overdraft facilities mostly catered towards providing credit access to micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs). The Bank is offering a maximum of 30,000 Br in credit with a repayment period of one to four months. "We're excited to join hands with Kifiya as we expand our digital financial offerings and deliver support to the financing needs of micro and small businesses that are often neglected but represent a significant part of the economy,” said Deribie Asfaw, CEO of the Cooperative Bank of Oromia. Powered by Kifya's Qena technology, the platform will use an AI-enabled credit scoring system. Kifiya Financial Technologies was incorporated in 2010 and has been operational since 2013 developing digital payment solutions. The Cooperative Bank has 1.7 million subscribers and over 18,000 merchants accepting payments through its mobile money platform.


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Yirgalem Hospital Inaugurates New Oxygen Production Plant

A new oxygen production plant has been inaugurated at Yirgalem Hospital Medical College in Sidama Regional State. The launch was attended by the regional state's chief administrator Desta Ledamo and Health Minister Mekdes Daba (PhD). Desta noted that a new kidney dialysis centre will soon be opened as well. Mekdes stated that the Ministry is working to increase the number of oxygen production facilities from the current 10 to 34 nationwide. The Yirgalem plant cost 86 million Br to build and h...


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Corridor Develops with Parking, Recklessness Concerns, Research Finds

Research involving 400 respondents across four first-round corridor development routes revealed major challenges to the initiative. The study, conducted by Shaka Analytics and ETC Institute in collaboration with the Addis Abeba City Transport Bureau, examined the impact of the program on transportation patterns, transit accessibility, and parking availability. The routes—Arat Kilo to Bole Deldey, Embassy of England to Arat Kilo, Mexico roundabout to Wello Sefer, and Piassa to Arat Kilo—we...


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Digitalisation Spreads to the Court System

Ethio telecom and the Amhara Regional State Supreme Court have agreed to implement a Smart Court project in Bahir Dar to modernize court operations using digital technology. This agreement includes building a modern network infrastructure, implementing cloud services, creating a modular data centre, establishing a network operations control centre, and connecting the region's courts with a secure digital network. The project is designed to facilitate secure digital information exchange betwee...