Digital Credit Surges as Mobile Lending Bakes Opportunity, Brews Risk
Hana Surafel spent years behind the counter of her uncle's traditional cloth stall in Merkato, listening to customers haggle over fabric patterns. The 29-year-old mother of three earned a "respectable wage," yet each long day ended with the same unfulfilled wish. She was adamant to open a neighbourhood bakery in Gulele, near Addisu Gebeya, where the scent of fresh bread would rise with the morning sun.
Lacking a property, a vehicle, or any other conventional collateral, she relegated the dream to quiet evening conversations. That is, until a taxi ride to work changed her fortunes.
A radi...